Jamestown Foundation
March 9 2009

Turkish-American "Strategic Partnership": On the Way to Rejuvenation?

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 45March 9, 2009
01:42 PM Age: 3 hrsCategory: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Foreign Policy,
Turkey, Home Page, Featured By: Saban Kardas

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Ankara on Saturday,
the highest-level direct contact between the administration of
President Barack Obama and the Turkish government so far, highlighted
the value each side places on sustaining the Turkish-American
partnership. In addition to her meetings with President Abdullah Gul
and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Clinton met with Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan after which the two held a press briefing and
made a joint statement about strengthening the bilateral
relationship. Clinton also visited Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara and
appeared on a popular show on the private NTV channel.

The joint declaration stated that the parties "reaffirmed the strong
bonds of alliance, solidarity, and strategic partnership…as well as
the commitment of both countries to the principles of peace,
democracy, freedom, and prosperity enshrined in the Shared Vision and
Structured Dialogue document agreed to in July 2006"
(, March 7).

Clinton had a chance to discuss a wide range of issues with Turkish
officials including the Middle East peace process, Iraq, Afghanistan,
energy security, the global financial crisis, terrorism, developments
in the Balkans and the Caucasus, Turkey’s EU membership process, and
the Cyprus problem. The continuing discussions on using Turkish
territory as a possible route for US troops leaving Iraq reportedly
occupied the major part of Clinton’s agenda during her private
discussions with Erdogan and other Turkish officials (ANKA, March
8). In response to a question about Turkey’s possible role in the
U.S. withdrawal plans, Clinton noted that the process was still in its
initial phases and Washington would maintain discussions with Turkey
on the subject. Babacan repeated his earlier remarks on the issue,
emphasizing that talks at the technical level were already underway
and that Turkey had a constructive approach to the subject (Anatolian
News Agency, March 7).

Another major item discussed was Turkey’s contributions to resolving
conflicts in the region. Clinton reiterated American appreciation of
Turkey’s role with regard to the Palestine issue and the indirect
talks between Syria and Israel. Both sides said that they would work
together to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable peace in the
region. Likewise, Clinton expressed her country’s support for the
process of reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia that Ankara
initiated. Clinton also noted that Washington found Gul’s visit to
Iran this week important (Sabah, March 8). Although some Turkish
sources speculated that Gul might have carried messages from
Washington to Tehran (Hurriyet, March 9), this has yet to be confirmed
officially.

Overall, statements from both sides stress that the two parties had
useful discussions and found mutual ground on issues of common
concern, which might herald a new era in Turkish-American
relations. Achieving consensus on strategic matters aside, a major
roadblock in Turkish-American relations has been the public animosity
toward the United States and how to reverse the anti-Americanism that
became strongly engrained in the Turkish body politic during the Bush
years. Cognizant of these challenges, the American side did its best
to appeal to the Turkish people, as reflected in Clinton’s appearance
on a TV show targeting female viewers (EDM, March; ,
March 7).

Likewise, Clinton capitalized on Obama’s vision of change to emphasize
that Turkish-American relations were entering a new phase. She
announced that Obama would visit Turkey in a month. A White House
official said that Obama’s trip "will be an important opportunity to
visit a NATO ally and discuss shared challenges," adding, "It will
also provide an opportunity to continue the president’s dialogue with
the Muslim world" (, March 7). It is not yet known,
however, whether the speech Obama had promised to deliver in a Muslim
capital during his first 100 days in office will be given in Ankara or
in the capital of another Muslim country. Given the positive feelings
of the Turkish people toward Obama’s election as president (EDM,
November 7), the visit might indeed help improve the deteriorating
American image in Turkey.

A similar move in public diplomacy concerns attempts to diversify
bilateral relations on the societal level. The joint statement
announced that a new program called "Young Turkey/Young America: A New
Relationship for a New Age" would be launched. It would establish ties
between emerging young leaders from both countries "to develop
initiatives that will positively impact people’s lives and invest in
future ties between the leadership of [the] two countries"
(, March 7).

The Turkish side was apparently satisfied with the trip. Speaking on
the private NTV channel, Babacan said, "Turkish-American relations
have entered a new phase … Our foreign policy priorities are
completely in line with each other. In the new phase, the focus is on
consultation and cooperation." Underlining Turkey’s willingness to
work together with the United States as partners, Babacan added,
"Clinton emphasized Turkey as a strategic partner. She accentuated
this more powerfully than the previous administration, and the new
administration is aware of Turkey’s importance." Nonetheless, Babacan
debunked the overly optimistic expectations that Clinton’s visit
indicated that Obama might not use the word "genocide’ in his Armenian
Memorial Day address in April, This possibility was not completely off
the table, he said (, March 8).

In the 1990s, under the Bill Clinton presidency, the Turkish-American
relationship flourished in many areas and came to be called a
strategic partnership. The Iraq War and ensuing developments turned
"strategic partnership" into an oxymoron to describe Turkish-American
relations. Despite efforts to save the relationship from further
deterioration, disagreements between Ankara and Washington were
difficult to bridge. The 2006 Shared Vision document, which the
Babacan-Clinton joint statement referred to, for example, outlined a
framework of close cooperation and structured dialogue to regulate
bilateral relations. It was not put into practice, however, and
relations hit a low point in 2007, when Washington criticized the
Turkish government for its silence on anti-Americanism in the country
and Ankara censured Washington’s inactivity toward PKK terrorism. This
time, there appears to be a more solid basis for rejuvenating the
partnership: strong references to the 2006 document after a long break
are coupled with both sides’ carefully worded statements, which take
each other’s sensitivities into account, and a determination to
address problems through dialogue without playing blame games. With
political will on both sides, it is not be wrong to assume that
finally they may not only "talk the talk" but also "walk the walk."

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