BY OMER MUDERRISOGLU
SABAH - Has there been a shift in Turkey's foreign policy? Is the West losing Turkey? Is Turkey moving away from the West? Over time, repeatedly asking such questions is growing more meaningless. But it's now the top issue concerning Turkey in the Western press. Serious US and European newspapers trumpet articles asking these questions almost daily. These articles are usually biased, but sometimes you unexpectedly come across an interesting analysis. Looking at pieces on Turkey's 'breaking off fromthe West' recently, I saw a very refreshing and objective analysis. 'I know there are those who like to debate Turkey's future,' it said. 'They see your country at the crossroads of continents, and touched by the currents of history. They know that this has been a place where civilizations meet, and different peoples come together. They wonder whether you will be pulled in one direction or another. But I believe here is what they don't understand: Turkey's greatness lies in your ability to be at the center of things. This is not where East and West divide - this is where they come together.' This piece was penned by US President Barack Obama, and it was delivered in a speech to our Parliament in May. Obama's analysis is the most objective answer that can be given to the question of where Turkey is going. When I think about the countless articles written to provoke Washington against Ankara because 'Turkey is breaking off the West,' I can better understand how Obama deliberately made these statements. Yes, Turkey is going neither to the West, nor the East. As Obama said, Turkey is standing in the middle of the two, in the center.
During his visit to Turkey, Obama used a concept never used by any US administration before, that is, 'model partnership.' As he told Parliament, Turkey's skill at staying in the center between the East and the West isn't dependent solely on its foreign policy. It's an issue of political identity, which is as important as foreign policy. So Obama brought this dimension of political identity and democracy to the foreground due to this planned model partnership between Turkey and the US. The main focus was on global peace. Obama said that under this model partnership, the US and Turkey, whose sub-identities are determined by two different religions, share a common supra-identity on the basis of democracy, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, secularism and respect for minorities. At times like now when East-West friction is rising, such a model partnership concept is important for Washington overcoming this tension. This is the pursuit of global peace. Obama supports this peace message by championing a world free of nuclear weapons. This goal belongs not only to Ankara, but also to Obama. Similarly, the Obama administration considers Turkey's democratization, its rapprochement with Armenia, and its European Union membership bid from the view of this global peace and model partnership. He gave the same message to Europeans in Prague before his visit to Turkey. He told them to embrace Turkey, as it will make you stronger. In that speech, Obama also stressed identity, saying that Europe should embrace a candidate country which can broaden and strengthen its cultural and religious basis. There was an emphasis on Turkey's Muslim identity in the background as well. In sum, for Obama, Turkey's identity is an element which is as important as its foreign policy and geostrategic importance. As long as Turkey maintains its peaceful democratic identity in the center of the East and West, talk of a shifting foreign policy is all meaningless chatter.