Columnist Semih Idiz of ''Milliyet'' comments on the role of Syria in attacks in Iraq.
Florida Congressman Robert Wexler is a key name in the Turkish Friendship Group in the U.S. Congress. I had a chance to talk with him at the dinner organized to celebrate the opening of the German Marshall Foundation in Ankara. We have participated in several panel discussions together, at the same time.
During our discussion, I tried to convince Wexler that Turkey's close relations with Syria would help the United States. Wexler indicated that he disagrees with me on this point.
''Bashar al-Asad continues to work with the same team of government officials from the senior Asad's term. Bashar al-Asad has not changed the status quo in Syria,'' said Wexler. Wexler commented that the ordinary citizen in the United States does not understand Turkey's stance on the matter of Syria.
After my discussion with Wexler, I asked one of the high ranking U.S. diplomats in Ankara the question ''Do the American administration officials share the same notions as the congressmen?'' The answer was ''absolutely''. The U.S. diplomat told that Damascus continues to support the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon. ''Furthermore, the Hezbollah is behind attacks in Israel and Iraq,'' noted the U.S. diplomat in Ankara.
To summarize, the Americans are blaming Syria for the recent increase in the number of terrorist attacks in Iraq. When I asked if the United States has any proof or evidence making Syria liable for the attacks, I received the reply that ''just as once Turkey had no doubts about Syria's support to the PKK, we have no doubt today that the Syrians are behind the attacks in Iraq.''
According to U.S. diplomats in Ankara, Turkey is causing difficulty for the U.S. government in its relations with Syria by ''encouraging the Syrians''.
Apparently, Turkish-U.S. relations have not been normalized yet.
(SOL-MS)
2005-06-02