Posted on 03/29/2005 6:46:00 PM PST by pkpjamestown
I have just returned from a weeklong visit to the United States. I spoke with many people. The situation is very bad. Anti-Turkish sentiment in the United States is very strong. The rejection of US troop deployment two years ago has once again started to create trouble.
Mehmet Ali BIRAND I am sure you heard about the things I will write below from various commentators with varying opinions. It was Sami Kohen who reported on the matter most recently.
Well, this time, you will hear it from me.
The situation is now bad. It's beyond that.
We are facing an anti-Turkish sentiment in the United States that is getting worse every day.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is aware of this. Foreign Ministry officials also note it in their reports, as do our officials in Washington.
Still, either Ankara does not know how serious the situation is or it is not taking it seriously enough.
I'm afraid this is the most dangerous part of the problem: Not taking the developments seriously enough.
If I am not mistaken, the attitude of the government is: “Yes, there is a problem, but all these can be resolved through mutual goodwill. There is no crisis.”
Yes, there is no crisis yet. However, if we don't take immediate steps to remedy the situation and make some constructive gestures, the situation will turn into an incredibly serious crisis.
Americans are not as impatient as we are. Tension slowly increases and one day the rope will break.
The rejection of the bill that would have allowed a U.S. troop deployment in Turkey two years ago is now making itself felt among those groups who are influential in crafting policies in Washington. We may think their anger is belated, but there is a fact we must note. There is something very disturbing going on.
In the 1980s, former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou had based his policies on anti-Americanism. He never minced his words and would always blast the United States because the people liked it. After a while Washington reacted, and Papandreou, together with Greece, paid a very high price.
We should not dismiss U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz citing the bill's rejection, saying: “If Turkey had allowed our troops in, the situation in Iraq would have been far better today and our losses would have been less.”
Such statements have an influence on ordinary people. Academics start talking about them at universities and then think tanks cite them in reports. And then commentators start to write about them as established facts.
One day we will wake up and realize the whole world believes we are the ones responsible for the way things turned out in Iraq.
We should take the matter seriously and do something:
First of all, the matter should be analyzed in detail and the government should admit things are headed towards a crisis. They should decide to do something to turn things around.
We may feel better by criticizing President George W. Bush and his entourage, but this won't resolve our problem. In other words, this cancer, which is giving signs of spreading to other parts of the body, cannot be treated by removing the cancerous ulcer.
Ankara should do everything in its power to open a dialogue with Washington. This dialogue will not work if it is held at a diplomatic level. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan should be involved. If not, it will be too late.
I am personally aware that Turkey has no intention of following an anti-U.S. policy. The top media executives know that the AKP government does not want to damage bilateral relations with the White House.
However, being aware of this doesn't solve the problem.
The fact is our counterparts are making assessments based on misperceptions, and they are getting angrier by the day.
The cancer is spreading.
The AKP government should take this seriously.
If it doesn't and waits for the prime minister to get involved, the day will come when all of us will be forced to pay the price.
Turkey, which will soon start its European Union accession negotiations and which has a very fragile economy, should not fall into the trap of anti-Americanism.
None of us can afford such clumsiness.
The fact is most America could not find Turkey on the map and couldn't care less. Sorry, Turkey just doesn't occupy much bandwidth in the American zeitgeist.
Turkey and Greece are so close, so why is Turkey a problem and Greece not a problem.
Hmmm, let's compare and contrast. Greece is to Christian and Turkey is to _____________. Anyone care to fill in the blank.
We may feel better by criticizing President George W. Bush and his entourage, but this won't resolve our problem. In other words, this cancer, which is giving signs of spreading to other parts of the body, cannot be treated by removing the cancerous ulcer.
True!
Anti Turkish sentiment?
I'll care about Turkey next November.
An interesting perspective- and quite clear-headed. The fact is- IF Turkey had done as Rummy said- the entire face of the war would have been different. Being able to come in from the north at the same time as we roared up from the south would have produced a different set of dynamics- favorable to us.
Thay may have been true before the invasion, but it's certainly not true now. Americans are very aware that Turky has been mouthing a lot of anti-American sentiment.
Don't like it? Tough $h!t.
turkeys bum rush on the United States will be a burr under my saddle bigger than the burr F***ing france left when they refused our planes air space on our hit on quid daffy.
i hope there economy colapses.
Ignorance is nothing to be proud of.
Is it possible that this is aimed at steeling Turkey's resolve to swallow whatever BS the EU may demand for admittance? Hmmm.... now where did I put that foil wrap?
People in America don’t hate Turkey – it’s just that we went out of our way to support them in every way possible, and in-turn Turkey held mass anti-American street parties on the eve of war.
Frankly Turkey isn’t worth hating and that is their crisis; THEY DON’T MATTER. Before they were our only Muslim ally in the mid-east, times have changed. Now it seems that all the special favors we gave them went to waste and we don’t want to make that mistake again.
My advice to Turkey is to find another friend who will spend their riches to help your people, and try not to stab them in the back. Good riddance.
Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com
Hmm. See #13
Are you kidding? Turkey is one of the only places left on Earth where they still have time to make shotguns by hand. We must protect that.
Yeah, of all the countries we're angry with right now, Turkey is pretty far down the list. They've got a long way to go to match France. Canada is in second place I think, and they're pretty secure in their position also.
They will be asking for our support when the EU starts with their demands, and I hope we tell them that they are on their own. We have supported Turkey in the face of Europe for years, and look what we got - nothing; in fact we our out billions of dollars.
It's been a pleasure doing business with Turkey, but now it's time for their asses to find the door.
Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com
I lived in Turkey as a kid. Nice place, but horribly backwards.
Maybe 1 in 10,000 Americans know of Turkey and would giggle at the mention of the name, 'Turkey'.
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