Panel Discussion On Turkish - American Relations In Washington

WASHINGTON - Participating in a conference in Washington, D.C., Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Murat Mercan has stated on Wednesday that Turkey and the U.S. must look at the bigger picture in their relations. ''We will soon make a decision on the requests of the U.S. vis-a-vis the Incirlik base in Adana, Turkey.''
Mercan attended a panel discussion, titled ''Could Turkish-U.S. relations be saved?'' and sponsored by conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The AEI is considered to be close to the administration of President Bush.
Among the participants at the panel discussion were former deputy secretary of defense Richard Perle, Wall Street Journal's editor Robert Pollock and an AEI expert Michael Rubin.
Mercan indicated that he was not a member of the Turkish government. ''Therefore, I can not give you a definite date on when a decision will be made regarding the Incirlik base.''
Mercan elaborated on a recent comment made by the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that if Turkey had permitted transfer of U.S. troops to north of Iraq from the Turkish south-east the U.S casualties would have been lower and the insurgents would not have been so devastating.
Mercan said that Turkey is being criticized unfairly. ''It's as if Turkey's unwillingness has caused negative developments in Iraq. Yet our stance and support to the U.S. is very clear.''
Mercan indicated that Turkey has opened its air space and took a decision to send troops to Iraq. ''Turkey has always been supportive of the cause of modern, western nations.''
According to Mercan, Turkey and the U.S. must stop looking at trivial little details and rather should look at the big picture. ''There is absolutely no anti-American sentiment in the Turkish government or the political establishment. Yes, we may have differing notions on a few issues, but we have an ethical obligation to look at the broader picture.''
In response to allegations of anti-Semitism in Turkey, Mercan stressed that Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul was the first Muslim Foreign Minister to visit the Auschwitz camp. ''We must look at the speech delivered by the Turkish Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek at the genocide museum to understand Turkey's feelings.''
Mercan expressed that ''we must focus on fundamental topics without letting radicals influence our relations. Otherwise, we may hurt our relations,'' he added.
Mercan commented that Turkish appreciation of the good relations between Turkey and the U.S. was at its peak during the administration of President Bill Clinton. ''It is not late for the Bush administration to take certain steps that will generate warmer feelings toward the U.S. administration throughout Anatolia. Such steps may include opening a second border gate with Iraq and/or a more harsh attitude on the terrorist PKK organization.''
Mercan told that he is deeply saddened by the decision of the U.S. ambassador in Ankara Eric Edelman to leave his post. Ambassador Edelman has always been a good diplomat, he added.
In response to a question on a possible disagreement on Syria and Iran, Mercan replied that he does not believe that there exist a major disagreement between Turkey and the US. ''Turkey has several times requested from the Syrian government to withdraw its troops in Lebanon. A nuclear capacity of Iran would be a serious concern to Turkey. We may have slight differences of opinion, but this should not change the broader picture.''
Mercan pointed out that he has not heard any negative remarks from American dignitaries about Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's upcoming visit to Syria. ''President Sezer's visit to Syria was planned months ago. This visit is a personal decision of Sezer. We must remember that all countries are independent and can take decisions on their own. If I were President Sezer, I would have acted similarly vis-a-vis Syria.''
Replying to questions on sale of Hitler's book Mein Kampf, Mercan said everybody should stop focusing on such issues and asked how many copies of this book are sold in amazon.com.
Richard Perle has remarked that Turkish-American ties are extremely important. We have an obligation to find solutions to our problems, he said.
Perle indicated that he saw anti-American sentiments not merely in Turkey but also in Germany, France and Britain. ''The assertion that the US is in Iraq for oil is nothing, but nonsense.''
According to Perle, U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq will be better understood with time. Noting that in the near future, the number of democracies in the Middle East will likely increase and Turkey no longer will be the only democracy other than Israel, Perle said I have full confidence that the relations between Turkey and the U.S. will continue as good as they have been for decades.
In reference to the incident in Suleymaniyah, Perle said he was in Hampton and received calls from both Turkish and American administrations. Perle remarked that, if it was not the 4th of July holiday, many dignitaries could have been reached. The mistake has been corrected, but it is unfortunate to see that the subject is being kept lingering on, he added.
When reminded by a journalist that the U.S. apologized for the Suleynamiyah incident, Perle expressed that he is very happy about the apology made to the Turks.
Perle stated that the upcoming visit of the Turkish President Sezer to Syria is a government policy. ''Turkey has informed us that it does not support Syria's military presence in Lebanon.''
Asked about his opinion on the recent remarks of Rumsfeld that made Turkey look as if it was the responsible party for the difficulties faced by the U.S. troops in Iraq, Perle stressed that history can not be returned to the past. ''I believe that Rumsfeld's words did not help the situation. Turkey's overall stance has assisted us tactically.''
Meanwhile, editor Pollock has expressed that he is feeling sorry for the heated debates his recent article on Turkey caused.
Regarding incidents in Suleymaniyah, Michael Rubin has indicated that a topic that could have been resolved silently was made public by radicals who wanted to hurt our ties. ''The Bush administration must take tougher steps against the terrorist PKK. The U.S. has been successful in cutting financial support to Hamas. The Bush administration must investigate financial assistance to the PKK from the US. This is high time to end washing dirty clothes on the newspapers.''