BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- For most of this week we’ve been trying to explain the atmosphere in Washington towards Turkish-American relations, because it’s important that we know what the US officials’ take on the issue is. Turkey’s response to the US must be based on the facts. Now let’s see what Ankara thinks about Washington’s concerns:
Turkey’s reliability: Turkish officials think it’s unfair for the US to question Turkey’s reliability as an ally. As one Turkish official put it: ‘Instead, we should question America’s reliability. Does the US care about our concerns on the PKK? Does the Bush administration take into account our opinion on Iraq? Turkey has always been loyal to the alliance. If the dialogue between our countries is in a sorry state, it’s America’s fault.
US reaction to anti-Americanism: American officials and analysts still relate the chill wind in bilateral relations to the rise of ‘anti-Americanism’ in Turkey. But they don’t want to admit that the true motive behind anti-Americanism in Turkey is Bush administration policy on Iraq. As one analyst said, ‘Unlike a large number of countries, neither the Turkish government nor the public feels hostile towards the US. Those in Washington must come to see that.’
The Syria issue: Another objective of America’s Middle East policy is to soften up and eventually knock down Syria. The recent events in Lebanon were just what the US needed to make another move against Syria. And this time Washington got active support from Europe and other nations.
Such a display of support was anticipated from Turkey as well. Instead, Ankara announced that President Ahmet Necdet Sezer would visit Syria. That clearly upset the US. Thus the Syria issue was also added to the list of disagreements between Turkey and the US.
It’s a new experience for the Bush administration to see Turkey act according to a foreign policy independent from that of Washington. But it’s time the US became tolerant of Turkey and got used to Turkey’s new policy.