ANOTHER CONCENTRATED SUNDAY OF WASHINGTON POLITICAL THEATER
Hurriyet
March 22 2010
Turkey
Sundays are usually to relax and take it easy for the majority of
people. It is a day for one to dedicate oneself to family or friends.
However, many times the same Sunday becomes quite a thrilling
experience, if one is closely linked to the main political theater
of the United States and its center stage, Washington.
Last Sunday was no different than the type of Sunday that I just
described. After a year of discussions and sharp fights on the health
care bill, the time for voting for the ultimate passage finally
arrived. The historic $940 billion Senate bill was passed very late
Sunday by a seven vote margin, 219 to 212.
The success made the White House suddenly the winner of the year by
demonstrating some tangible success to its supporters. The Democratic
fans of the bill have been comparing the successful passage similar
to the establishment of Medicare and Social Security in the past.
Now it is time for the Senate to vote on a separate package of fixes,
known as a reconciliation bill, which is to be taken up later this
week. However, after the successful passage at the House, the result
of the passage will put enormous pressure on the Senate to act on it.
On the same Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was
also flying into Washington, mainly to speak at the American Israel
Public Affairs, or AIPAC’s, yearly policy conference. However, the
visit especially attracted much attention because of the latest rift
between the U.S. and Israel administrations, and whether Netanyahu’s
presence and meetings in the capital would help to ease the jittery
relationship.
I participated in the AIPAC’s annual conference and observed first
hand how tense are the thousands of supporters and dozens of panelists
of the strong, right-wing AIPAC.
Many attendees that I talked to during the conference did not see any
reason to hide their irritation with the Barack Obama administration,
for "it does not do enough to watch over its one and only true friend
in the region."
The panelists also constantly blamed the current White House team, by
rarely stating openly, but mostly implying politely how little love
the White House has shown in recent times for its strongest ally in
the Middle East. The panelists were very delicate while criticizing
the administration, knowing that many of the participants of the
conference are supporters of the Democratic Party, therefore its
president at the same time.
Very few administration officials have shown up at the conference so
far, and this lack of interest is also proving once more that the most
powerful Jewish lobby is far from receiving the kind of attention it
used to from previous administrations.
Just before leaving for Washington, Netanyahu once again rejected the
idea of the full or even partial freeze of east Jerusalem settlements.
The U.S. administration, on the other hand, has wedded itself with the
idea of this total freeze, and it could lose much credibility if it
has to step back once more, like it did during last summer meetings,
before the United Nations Summit in New York.
Israel so far has been disappointed by how the U.S. has been dealing
with Iran as well. So far, the White House has neither been able
to put together an international coalition to bring meaningful and
"crippling" sanctions, nor has it given any kind of support for the
military actions on Iranian nuclear capability. In addition, the
highest ranking members of the U.S. military have recently voiced
their deep concerns over the "special" relationship between the U.S.
and Israel, for it endangers American lives throughout the region.
America’s relationships with Turkey are also going through a rough
patch. Over the weekend, the American-Turkish Council, or ATC,
postponed its annual conference which has been held regularly for
the last several decades. The ATC openly stated that the reason of
the cancellation was the approval of the resolution "by a one-vote
margin, a non-binding resolution directing the president to recognize
the Armenian ‘genocide.’"
The U.S. administration does not lose sleep over the angry reactions
it has been receiving from the Turkish administration. According to
a Washington source, who is closely involved with the U.S.
administration, "the U.S. Administration is really and still angry
this time with the Turks," because they feel they have been cheated by
Turkey because it has not moved forward with ratifying the protocols.
I asked this question to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
last week at the White House Press Conference, and reminded him
that Turkish Ambassador to Washington Mr. Namık Tan is still absent
from Washington. I asked Gibbs whether this occurrence is a matter
of concern for the U.S. administration and if his administration
is considering taking any expressive steps to assure the Turkish
administration.
Gibbs was not ready for such a question and was not able to give me any
articulate answer over what the U.S. administration has been thinking
over the matter. Accordingly, Philip Gordon, the assistant secretary
of state for Europe and Eurasian affairs, during a speech last week
at the Brookings Institute, a Washington think tank, was very relaxed
while stating that the U.S. administration wishes to see the Turkish
ambassador back in Washington, and emphasized the independence of the
legislation body, so implying that the White House might not be able
to do much to prevent the bill, if it comes to it.
Many use Sundays to loosen up and try to forget about the stressful
week that is looming ahead. Many Sundays of the Washington political
theater, instead, offer just a concentrated and intensive package of
what the looming week is about to bring.