This kind of ignores the betrayal Turkey felt when we initiated a war with Iraq, and the fear they felt that an independent Kurdistan would result. Turkey’s “betrayal” of the US was nothing more than self-interest at that point, and entirely predictable given the politics of the region.
I am saddened however at the downward slide to theocracy. The world owes a lot to Ataturk for creating Turkey as a secular state, and I wish it could last a little longer.
Turks are traditionally hopeful and optimistic. The culture values the risk taking entrepreneur and secular government. Turkey has a history that goes back thousands of years, far beyond the Ottomans who were a relatively recent regime whose legacy is largely in the religion and mosques that are part of Turkish life today. However, Ataturk is celebrated, not the Ottomans nor even religion. Ataturk is genuinely a revered figure and not because he was Muslim, a ruthless warrior, or the bearer of human failings, but because he transformed an entire nation from what you see in poor middle-eastern tribal nations into a modern democratic nation. Recent growth in university education and industrial development parks is amazing. Around Istanbul, I met Israeli businessmen and visited a well-preserved Greek church. I even spoke with a Kurd who worked in Istanbul and who, like many others, was pursuing an education and working. The new, private hospitals were state-of-the-art in technology, facilities, and personnel. I knew little about Turkey before my visit there in 2006 but I was converted into a cheerleader for the hopes of Turks. Turkey may be the key to understanding what is possible in western-middle eastern relations. It would be tragic to ignore Turkey—what other Muslim nation is seeking friendship with Americans?