The Union Leader, NH
Dec 14 2004
TURKISH ANGER:
Relations fray with U.S. over war
By AMBERIN ZAMAN
Los Angeles Times
The delay was a another sign, many analysts and policymakers here
say, of the deepening rift between Turkey and its most powerful ally.
The split reflects anger among Turks over the war in Iraq and their
growing pressure on their government to stand up to the United
States.
Using exceptionally harsh language, Turkish officials and politicians
in recent weeks have attacked the Bush administration, with much of
their invective reserved for U.S. policy in Iraq.
The opening salvo came from Erdogan, who last month referred to Iraqi
insurgents killed in a U.S.-led assault on the city of Fallujah as
“martyrs” and exhorted the Muslim world to unite behind Turkey
“against powers that are seeking to assert their hegemony.”
Tensions shot up when Mehmet Elkatmis, a lawmaker from Erdogan’s
conservative Justice and Development Party, which has Islamist roots,
likened the U.S. occupation of Iraq to “genocide” and said the U.S.
military might have used atomic weapons against Turkey’s neighbor.
“Never in human history have such genocide and cruelty been
witnessed,” Elkatmis declared. “Such a genocide was never seen in the
time of the pharaoh, nor of Hitler nor of Mussolini.”
Angered by the Turkish government’s halfhearted rebuttal of Elkatmis’
remarks, several U.S. officials have warned that the next time
Congress considers legislation labeling the mass killings of
Armenians by Turkish forces during World War I as genocide, the Bush
administration might not quash the bill.
The latest spat comes before a summit Friday of European Union
leaders, who will decide whether to open talks aimed at admitting
Turkey to the union. The United States has long lobbied for Turkey’s
membership, and Washington’s influence over seven former Soviet Bloc
nations that joined the EU last year so far has bolstered the Turks’
case.
Emerging from a 90-minute meeting with Erdogan on Monday, U.S.
Ambassador Eric S. Edelman sought to downplay the chill, describing
the talks as “constructive, thorough and frank.” Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul called the tensions a misunderstanding.
“Why would we want to weaken ties with a superpower?” he said in an
interview with the daily newspaper Hurriyet.
But for all the upbeat talk, analysts predict further turbulence.
“Despite 50 years (of partnership), it is clear that Turkish-American
relations will remain fragile and replete with mini-crises,” said
Asli Aydintasbas, a longtime observer of ties between the two
nations.
Turkey, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s sole majority-Muslim
member, served as a bulwark against communism during the Cold War.
During the 1990s, the Turks allowed U.S. warplanes to use bases in
their nation to patrol a “no-fly” zone over northern Iraq.
With the threats of communism and Saddam Hussein removed, Turkey’s
support is no longer crucial, Aydintasbas noted. That is one reason,
she said, that the Turks want to join the EU.
U.S. officials acknowledge that the most immediate cause of mounting
anti-American sentiment here is the military occupation of Iraq.
Fierce public opposition to the Iraq war prompted Turkish lawmakers
to reject a resolution in March 2003 that would have allowed
thousands of U.S. troops to use Turkey to open a second front against
Saddam’s forces.
The rebuff came as a surprise to many U.S. officials, long used to
the pro-Western views of Turkey’s military prevailing.
“What the Americans didn’t fully understand then, and perhaps still
don’t today, is that Turkey has matured as a democracy,” said Fehmi
Koru, a columnist for the pro-Islamic daily Yeni Safak. “Politicians
need to take account of the public if they want to be re-elected, and
Erdogan is no exception.”
The prime minister is under intense pressure from his conservative
flank over his government’s quiet support for the U.S. military
presence in Iraq. U.S. warplanes en route to Iraq are refueled by
tanker planes taking off from Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.
In addition, Western officials estimate that as much as 40 percent of
all noncombat supplies for U.S. forces in Iraq are produced in and
shipped from Turkey.
“The U.S. sees us (Turkey) not as a strategic partner, but as a
logistical partner,” said Abdullah Caliskan, a lawmaker from Adana
province, where Incirlik is located. “We must suspend our ties with
the United States. If we remain silent, we will be tainted by
America’s tyranny.”
Some critics charge that the Americans do not provide adequate
protection for the convoys and speculate that this is punishment for
Turkey’s refusal to allow U.S. troops to pass through it last year.