BY MEHMET BARLAS
SABAH- Some people are saying that US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman submitted his resignation because he’s not a good diplomat. Would he have resigned otherwise? they argue.
We should always remember that the success or failure of ambassadors can usually be assessed by looking at relations between their home country and the one they work in, rather than their own personal performances. Except for a number of extreme cases, relations between countries are far beyond the scope of an ambassador’s personal problems and performance.
As a matter of fact, Edelman’s recent statements on Turkish foreign policy, which were rebuffed by our diplomats, reflect the Bush administration’s bona fide views on the issue. Now, he is leaving our country. I guess there is a much more important job waiting for him in Washington than being ambassador to Ankara. According to sources, Edelman is expected to be appointed as a national security aide to Bush.
Here, the problem is a lack of self-knowledge. The Republic of Turkey has extensive diplomatic experience dating back to Ottoman times. We’re the citizens of a country which was once a superpower. Therefore, we must recognize that channeling our anger about daily ups and downs upon other countries’ diplomats is a wrongheaded attitude, even if we believe these countries responsible for our anger and disappointment. We shouldn’t act as if we were living in a third world country which just gained its independence.
We need to see that there is a covert tension between Washington and Ankara, one going beyond the personal capabilities of Edelman and our Ambassador to the US Faruk Logoglu. Our reactions to the US’ Iraq policy won’t change anything at all. By acting as if they could, all we can do is to make life more difficult for the new ambassador as well, as we did for Edelman.
Foreign policy refers to a complex web of relations which need to be carefully protected and monitored. There’s no use either in taking to the streets or allowing these relations to deteriorate. If we approach Turkish-US relations from such a pragmatic perspective, this would no doubt yield us future benefits.