Los Angeles Times, CA
June 8 2005
The Turkey- U.S. Divide
Lack of understanding strains a vital relationship.
By Ekrem Dumanli, Ekrem Dumanli is executive editor of Zaman, a
national newspaper headquartered in Istanbul.
What’s gone wrong between the U.S. and Turkey? Plagued by
misinformation and misperception, the two countries have seen
significant deterioration in their relations over the last few years.
Rising wrath against Turkey in Washington, especially at the
Pentagon, is threatening what has long been a strong, important
relationship. It seems to be a response, in turn, to a perceived rise
in anti-Americanism in Turkey. But this is a mistake. The roots of
the problem lay, for the most part, in misunderstanding.
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Just as the Iraq war was beginning in early 2003, Turkey rejected a
U.S. effort to open a northern front. For many U.S. officials, this
was an indication of growing anti-Americanism. Although it is true
that the Turkish parliament rejected the motion, the context has been
badly misunderstood.
On that day – March 1, 2003 – 533 lawmakers voted on the motion. Of
those, 264 were in favor, 250 rejected it and 19 abstained. The
motion required a simple majority, 267 votes; it was rejected for
want of three votes. The vote was so close that for a few minutes
after the voting it was believed that the motion had been approved.
In short, much of the wrath against Turkey in Washington, especially
in Pentagon circles, is based on just three votes.
In October 2003, the parliament agreed to send as many as 10,000
troops to Iraq to help in reconstruction and peacekeeping. This time
the vote was 358 to 183 in favor of deployment. But Turkey got little
credit for its willingness to help because the plan fell apart when
the Iraqi Governing Council announced that it did not want Turkish
troops. In yet another effort to cooperate with Washington, Turkey
subsequently agreed to send troops to Afghanistan, and the Turkish
army has twice taken command of the International Security Assistance
Force there.
I’m not denying that the last two years have been a tense period for
the two countries. There’s no doubt that the Turkish people, in line
with global public opinion, were worried about the occupation of
Iraq. Although Turks hated Saddam Hussein and wished for an end to
his rule, they were also concerned about a war in the region. Not
just because it was becoming clear that there were no weapons of mass
destruction and no link between Hussein and Al Qaeda, but because
they were afraid the war would spread to neighboring countries such
as Syria and Iran.
And it is certainly true that the horrible images from Fallouja and
Abu Ghraib shocked Turkish society, as they shocked the people of
many nations. When one also considers that Iraqis are Muslims and
that many mosques were in the war zone, the Turkish public’s concern
may be better understood.
But Turkish reservations about Bush administration policies in the
Middle East do not make us “anti-American.” Yes, there was one
Turkish member of parliament who said last year that the U.S. was
conducting “genocide” in Fallouja – but it must be remembered that
routine pressure is put on Turkey regarding Armenian allegations of
“genocide” after World War II. For many Turks, this is annually
discussed, debated and forgotten – they see the so-called genocide as
a false accusation, and the word itself is viewed as an exaggeration.
So when one parliamentarian accuses the U.S. of “genocide” in Iraq,
it does not carry the harsh meaning that Americans have reacted to.
After Sept. 11, many Muslims in the U.S. returned to their countries,
Turks among them. This trend accelerated after the invasion of Iraq.
But despite post-Sept. 11 anxiety and difficulty in obtaining visas,
statistics indicate that Turkish families and their children still
opt for a U.S. education when possible.
The Turkish people believe that the U.S. helped Muslims in Bosnia and
Kosovo. They haven’t forgotten that the leader of the terrorist
Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, was caught with U.S.
assistance. Nor have they overlooked U.S. support for Turkey’s
membership in the European Union.
Despite years of “strategic partnership,” the policymakers of the two
countries don’t fully understand each other. Turkey asks the U.S. to
take concrete action against the PKK militants in Iraq, but this is
not a high priority for the Americans. Armenian genocide allegations
are raised like clockwork in the U.S. Congress, but so far the
Turkish government has not formally recognized that such a thing
occurred. If that changes, the Turkish public will not react calmly.
Each party tries to evaluate the other side within the framework of
its own political culture and experience. This can cause confusion
and ill will. But these two countries need each other. At a time when
potential global conflicts exist in abundance along cultural and
religious lines, Turkey can play a major role as an “example” of a
nation that is modern, democratic and Muslim all at the same time.