A Very Important Visit

BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be in the world media spotlight over the next four years as both the architect and advocate of Pax Americana. Her visit to Ankara aimed to determine the extent of US cooperation with Turkey over the coming months. Speaking at a press conference following his meeting with Rice at Esenboga Airport, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Washington a strategic ally. This definition means that Turkey will support the US’ Iran and Syria policies, because our bilateral ties are at a turning point.
Rice’s visit was meant to put pressure on Syria and Iran to cease their support of terrorist groups and quest to produce nuclear weapons. If these efforts don’t bear fruit, the US will start concrete action. Will Turkey hold up its end of the strategic alliance? The US will arrange its policy accordingly. If Ankara doesn’t support it, Washington will move closer to northern Iraq’s Kurds as well as Armenia. The US is expecting understanding from such key Arab countries as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Otherwise it will try to bring democracy to them, as they seem unable to do so on their own.