MILLIYET- Columnist Yasemin Congar comments on Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish-US relations and the recent US elections which culminated in a historic victory for the Republicans, President Bush’s party. A summary of her column is as follows:
I’m writing this editorial just after delivering a speech at a panel entitled ‘How Does the World See the United States?’ at the Chicago Festival. My speech basically focused on the first two years of the Bush administration and last week’s US congressional elections. Although the panel had nothing to do with Turkish-US relations, I did touch upon the issue when discussing the Iraq problem. Most of the questions I was asked at the panel revolved around the possible future actions of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is seen by many as an Islamist party.
One of the most interesting questions I was asked came from a US judge. ‘I’m not afraid that the AKP is Islamist or that it has designs against the secular regime,’ he began. ‘What concerns me is the chance that it will pursue populist policies or be an incapable ruler. The question that must be asked is whether the AKP government will cause Turkey to backtrack to the populist policies of the ‘90s, which would inevitably make the economy completely dependent on politics.’ This is the most popular question within US circles, which know Turkey’s political and economic dynamics very well. Let’s first focus on the statement of a US official who is intimately responsible for Turkish-US relations: ‘The US shouldn’t be suspicious of the AKP’s policies or intentions. We have to help the AKP, which has clearly stated that it is ready to support the IMF- backed economic program and to improve Turkish-EU as well as Turkish-US relations.’ Although there are still certain unanswered questions on people’s minds, the Bush administration has already decided to fully cooperate with the new AKP-led Turkish government.
Another issue on the minds of Washington circles is AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unclear political situation as a leader currently unable to officially take part in the new AKP government. The Bush administration believes that Erdogan is a charismatic, successful leader who played a major role in attracting votes to the AKP. Therefore, Washington thinks that the laws must be changed as soon as possible in order to eliminate the obstacles to Erdogan’s becoming prime minister. US officials also believe that if this isn’t done, there would effectively be two prime ministers in Turkey, one holding the post and Erdogan acting as a highly influential behind-the-scenes PM. The Bush administration wants to see an elected prime minister rather than some other figure appointed due to the AKP leader’s political ban.
As we all know, the Republicans recaptured control of the Senate earlier last week, giving President Bush dominance over both houses of Congress and their legislative agendas. During the election campaign, Bush pounded home his agenda -- tax cuts, homeland security, and a strong military -- and accused the Democrats of having no agenda besides obstructionism. We can evaluate his victory as indicating that US voters trusted the Republicans more than the Democrats, or we can say that the Democrats failed to develop alternative strategies to Bush’s peculiar policies such as tax cuts. Now, Bush is a truly elected president. There are two important points here regarding Turkish-US relations: The Bush administration now seems to be omnipotent in dealing with almost every issue, including the Iraq problem. In addition, it will be easier for the Bush administration, which now has a majority of seats in both houses, to pass though Congress an aid package for Turkey in return for its full support for the US Army during a possible Iraq military intervention.
The UN Security Council last week unanimously approved a new disarmament resolution for Iraq, warning its leader Saddam Hussein that he must scrap his weapons programs or face ‘serious consequences,’ such as a US-led war. The 15-0 vote represented a significant achievement for the Bush administration. The Security Council decided ‘to afford Iraq a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations under relevant resolutions of the council; and accordingly decides to set up an enhanced inspection regime with the aim of bringing to full and verified completion the disarmament process established by subsequent resolutions of the council.’ However, we should also see that this resolution is a clear sign that Saddam Hussein is facing his last days as the leader of his government. Ankara has to play this game very carefully, taking into consideration all the possible consequences of an imminent war.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION