Hurriyet, Turkey
July 30 2010
Anti-Turkey climate in the US congress
Friday, July 30, 2010
Ä°LHAN TANIR
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs held a
hearing on Wednesday morning titled `Turkey’s New Foreign Policy
Direction: Implication for U.S.-Turkish Relations.’
The chairman of the Committee, Mr. Howard Berman, in his opening
statement described the meeting as `the first full-committee hearing
devoted exclusively to Turkey’ because of questions `about Turkey’s
orientation and its ongoing commitment to strategic partnership with
the United States.’ Therefore, the hearing was in essence to discuss
whether Turkey is changing its direction from west to east, a claim
that the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, has vehemently
opposed.
The hearing was only the latest testimony about how bad the
anti-Turkey or anti-AKP climate in the U.S. Congress is following a
host of issues in recent months. The committee’s leader, Howard
Berman, does not have a good reputation among Turks, especially since
the management style he displayed during the Armenian genocide
resolution vote in early April, at the same committee.
The New York Times’ columnist Thomas Friedman told a group of Turkish
journalists and experts in Washington last week that he also has some
real issues with some of the Turkey’s foreign policies, such as `zero
problems’ following an interview for the Studyo Washington. Friedman
argued that North Korea’s dictator or China’s foreign policy makers,
too, can deliver the zero problem policy. Friedman stated while
elaborating his analysis that, Turkey should promote a set of values
in its neighborhood as a Capitalist Democracy and invite its neighbors
to join Turkey on the same road instead of letting anyone do whatever
it wants and giving away roses.
Along the difference over the Iran nuclear policy, Turkey’s strained
relations with Israel has been the second biggest crack in the
relations between the U.S. and Turkish administrations. Following the
flotilla raid, various protests and condemnations proved that the
Israeli government has been isolated further in Europe and many other
corners in the world, and it felt compelled to ease the blockade on
the Gazan people. And the AKP government has been isolated further in
the halls of the American Congress and snubbed by the leaders of both
parties.
When one looks at the power balance of the current U.S. Congress, it
can be safely noted that the AKP government has lost its PR war
against Israel badly.
President Obama learned his limits when it comes to the tough love
policy against Israel in recent weeks. It remains to be seen whether
the AKP administration will change its Israel policy, following a long
pandering period of the U.S. Congress through signed letters which
have urged Turkey to repair the relations with Israel repeatedly and
given stark statements that Turkey has had to endure.
Since the flotilla crisis, it is the Republican opposition party
leaders and members who have reacted the most fervently against the
Turkish foreign policies, a party that has been traditionally enjoying
more comfortable relations with Turkey. Therefore, it seems that the
problem will not be disappearing anytime soon with the November
elections when one considers it is not only the Democrat Party ranks
that the Turkish administration is going through a sour relationship
episode.
For example, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday that Rep. Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida lawmaker who could become the next chair of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee if Republicans win in November,
quickly issued a press release declaring, `Instead of giving more
undeserved gifts to the PLO, it’s time for us to kick the PLO out of
the U.S. once and for all, and move our embassy in Israel to
Jerusalem, where it belongs,’ as a reaction when the State Department
announced it was upgrading the Palestinian Authority’s Washington
office to a `general delegation’ as a symbolic gesture, a similar
status as in Europe. `The unrepentant, unchanged PLO deserves no U.S.
concessions,’ such as flying `the so-called `Palestinian flag,”
Ros-Lehtinen added. One wonders how would such strong right-wing
rhetoric of her chairwomanship at the committee fare when it comes to
the relations with Turkey in the future.
According to current committee leader Berman’s testimony in the same
hearing, `evidence of a negative foreign-policy shift by the AK Party
government has been clear at least since February 2006, when Turkey
invited Hamas leader Khaled Meshal for a visit. Concerns about Turkey
hit a new peak with the flotilla incident, the apparent ties between
the AK Party and the Hamas-associated nongovernmental organization
Ä°HH, and then the Turkish vote against U.N. Security Council
resolution 1929, the historic sanctions resolution aimed at curbing
Iran’s nuclear program.’
Soner Ã?aÄ?aptay, Director of the Turkish Research Program at the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was one of the four
witnesses for the committee hearing and stated in his testimony to the
committee that, `now with Al Qaeda pursuing a war between the “Muslim
world” and the West, a gray area in which Turkey can position itself
no longer exists; it must become an EU member and part of the West, or
else fold into the Muslim world, as per Al Qaeda’s vision.’
Ã?aÄ?aptay argued that `it is time to signal to the AKP that its
anti-Western policies have a cost. To this end Washington should deny
the AKP political access – this will cost the party prestige that
matters greatly in Turkish politics.’
Amb. Ross Wilson, on the other hand, as another witness, said Turkey,
`stronger than at any time in a couple hundred years, is now inclined
to try to influence events on its periphery in ways that it [has] not
in the past.’ Following a summary of Turkey’s relations with Iran,
Iraq, Middle East and Caucuses that he prepared for his remarks,
Wilson asked `is there another ally that has such a large stake in how
so many problems that are so important to us get addressed?’ Wilson’s
recipe to repair the damaged relations with Turkey to the committee
members is, `no choice but to work with it [Turkey] and work with it
and work with it.’
When asked about the current anti-Turkey climate in the Congress, a
high level Turkish diplomat stated that `Berman’s particular
anti-Turkish stance has been clear since the passage of the Armenian
genocide resolution.”
However, the official stated that there will be a difficult time ahead
for Turkey in the Congress before the November elections, when the
domestic politics and its calculations on the part of the members for
re-elections are flying high.
Though the official accepted that the bad climate for Turkey in the
Congress is negatively affecting the U.S.-Turkish relations, he argued
that there is hope that this hostile climate should disappear once the
November midterm elections are over.
“If not,” the official concluded, the anti climate in the U.S.
Congress would become a serious crisis between the U.S.-Turkey
relations.
We will see if the AKP leadership offers any policy changes to
recalibrate its expectations from U.S. and Israel or if it continues
to unnerve the West and urge the U.S. administration to change some of
its policies regarding Iran, Israel and the wider Middle East.
From: A. Papazian