BY YAVUZ BAYDAR
TODAY'S ZAMAN - This article is particularly for the attention of members of the US Congress. The reason is as simple as the following postulate: Dangers that face a nation multiply if or when its elected, ruling political class falls victim to its inability to read the global realities of the day. In other words, the insistence of living in the past endangers a safe, predictable future.
In many ways the coincidence of the publication of US diplomatic cables with the visit by Ahmet Davutoğlu to Washington, D.C., had positive aspects. It was, nevertheless, overshadowed by his meeting with some congressmen and women, during which their apparent misreading of the global shifts and brand new challenges became vocal, as I am told by colleagues in the US capital.
The Turkish foreign minister had to face severe, arrogant criticism of Ankara's Israel and Iran policies and on its failure to deliver results on normalization with Armenia. It is normal that elected representatives in both countries openly and frankly discuss issues of common interest, but when it signals a monologue rather than a dialogue, there is something wrong.
It has to do with the fact that some members of Congress -- as well as other figures from the political elite -- still refuse to acknowledge the fact that the days of the Cold War are over. It means that the language, attitudes, viewpoints, etc., have to be altered. Turks are to a great deal happy with the way things are in their land, particularly on the basis of what a stable economy has had to offer them in the past eight to nine years.
Turkey is no longer a country where the old, selfish elite rule society as if were an illiterate flock, abusing the conditions of the Cold War under a military tutelage, at gunpoint and with fear and widespread poverty.
Recently, when I met some representatives of Congress in Ankara, I tried to explain the changes here to them, using the exhaustive but successful civil rights struggle in the US as an analogy.
It has become clear that some US ambassadors in the past seven to eight years had similar difficulties interpreting the changes in Turkey (simply because they let themselves be surrounded and besieged by the very representatives of the old, repressive Turkish elite from media, academia and business, ignoring the views of large liberal segments) and that the view of Turkish foreign policy are too simplified in the eyes of American politicians.
There is reason to be nuanced in this issue. While the critique of Ankara in its failing policy regarding Armenia may justify the disappointment (and it is surely confirmed by the double talk of Ilham Aliyev, who plays Russia against joint American-Turkish interests in the Caucasus), the clichés dominating the minds of American politicians on Israel and Iran deserve sharp dissent.
Davutoğlu was certainly right on one point: Israel, which has messed things up for itself in terms of international law on the flotilla incident off Gaza, has to stop running to manipulate the US Congress every time it is in trouble. It may be successful, but in the long run it only adds further strain and impasses in the region.
If the protection of Israel means excusing its failing, damaging policies on the Palestinians and the deep mistrust it creates for its allies like Turkey, there will be few credible arguments for accusing regional players like Turkey of growing anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism.
The people in Congress must help Israel by pushing it to choose and be faithful to its "friends" in the region. Ehud Olmert destroyed Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's trust by not informing him of his intentions to attack Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu is also on the wrong path by refusing to apologize for the flotilla attack. It is Israel that has to face reality and resolve its issues directly and honestly with Turkey.
The Carmel blaze has been helpful in opening a new possibility for this. When Erdoğan sent planes to help fight the fire, there was almost no objection in the Turkish media; indeed the opposite happened and it was welcomed enthusiastically.
The Haaretz daily wrote yesterday, "Netanyahu's expression of thanks to the Turkish people could create an opportunity to express sorrow for the loss of lives during events over the past year." This is a reminder that aggressive, neocon generated thinking must be left behind.
When it comes to Iran, I explained in an earlier article that Turkey, as a sole progressive, democratic, (predominantly) Sunni country in the region, distinguishes itself from repressive Arab regimes by pushing for peace, not war. American politicians must engage in a deeper reading into this risky policy (for Turkey) and attempt to understand the endgame.
I recommend they also read an American colleague of mine, Stephen Kinzer, who served as a correspondent for The New York Times for many years in this geography. His lucid column in The Guardian on Saturday is a devastating critique of Arab "allies," which ends in the following call: "From deep in the vast archive of these leaked documents, a voice cries out to America: Look more closely at your allies. Those who served your purpose at one time may now be dangerous enemies."