Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
March 28 2009
Turkey `hawk’ touted as Obama’s man for Europe
By Stefanos Evripidou
THE US Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave President Barack
Obama’s next `man in Europe’ a grilling over his apparent
`pro-Turkish’ stance during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Obama nominated Philip H. Gordon, a Senior Fellow for US Foreign
Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, to replace Daniel
Fried as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs.
However, during his hearing, Gordon came under fire from Democrat
Senator Robert Menendez for his apparent pro-Turkish views, expressed
during his career as academic and analyst, and his reported
unwillingness to recognise Turkish occupation of a third of Cyprus.
The Senator also raised the issue of Gordon’s opposition to US
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, due to the crisis it would stoke
in Turkey.
According to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), the US Senator held a
private meeting with Gordon before the hearing which failed to
convince the New Jersey senator that his views in office would be
impartial and not affected by the apparent pro-Turkish views expressed
in the past.
Menendez referred to articles written by Gordon against US recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, his reaction to the Greek Cypriot rejection
of the Annan Plan in 2004 and his views on Turkey’s role in the world.
During the hearing, Menendez called on Gordon to say whether he agreed
with the statement in Obama’s pre-election campaign which referred to
a political settlement of the Cyprus issue which will end the Turkish
occupation of northern Cyprus and correct the tragic division of the
island.
Gordon replied that he agreed. However, he claimed that the view
concerning occupation was expressed by the government of Cyprus and
some experts.
He went on to claim that there is a Turkish presence in the northern
part of Cyprus which is not accepted by the Cyprus government. This is
an issue under negotiations for a solution which the US supports, he
said.
According to CNA, when Menendez indicated that the occupation was
included in Obama’s declaration on Cyprus, Gordon said he has not
changed his views on the matter.
Menendez invited Gordon to provide the committee with evidence on the
funds which he and the organisations he worked for as analyst received
and also whether they come from countries which will be under his
jurisdiction as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs.
On the issue of the Armenian Genocide, Gordon talked about `a tragedy’
that occurred to 1.5 million Armenians which must be recognised by
Turkey. In the past, he has written that the US `should stand with
Turkey in opposing efforts to punish modern Turkey for an Ottoman
`genocide’ against Armenians’ while encouraging greater honesty about
Turkey’s past.
In his testimony before the committee, Gordon said the US had to show
leadership in the Balkans. It also `must engage energetically on
enduring conflicts in Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh; support the
negotiations on a settlement in Cyprus; promote Turkey’s EU
aspirations while encouraging it to improve relations with Armenia,
Cyprus and Greece; and vigorously promote the diversification of
European energy supplies.’
Gordon noted his time under Bill Clinton on the National Security
Council staff, where he was tasked with coordinating US policy toward
NATO in the run up to its 50th anniversary. He described NATO as `the
closest, most enduring, and most powerful alliance in history’
In contrast to earlier statements, the former analyst said, if
confirmed, he looked forward to protecting `national sovereignty and
territorial integrity’ across the region and resolving the `enduring
conflicts that cause needless suffering on a daily basis’.
Given Turkey’s high profile NATO membership, its proximity to the some
of the hottest crisis zones in the world, and the key role it plays in
Europe’s plans for energy supply diversification, there is little
doubt as to Turkey’s importance in US foreign policy.
In her introduction to the hearing, presiding committee chairman,
Senator Jeanne Shaheen referred to the `critical relationship’ between
US and Turkey while noting that NATO relations would be high on
Gordon’s agenda.
`Dr. Gordon will also be responsible for managing our relations with
Turkey, a valuable NATO ally with a predominantly Muslim population in
a dangerous and geopolitically strategic location. How we define our
relationship with Turkey over the next decade will have significant
repercussions for our long-term interests abroad,’ she said.
House President Marios Garoyian said yesterday as far as he knew,
Obama’s positions on Cyprus had not changed, suggesting Gordon had
come `unprepared’ to the hearing.
Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, refrained from commenting,
saying he had yet to be briefed on the matter.
Gordon has written extensively on Turkey’s role in the world, most
recently in a co-written book called: `Winning Turkey: How America,
Europe, and Turkey Can Revive a Fading Partnership.’
The book presents a plan to restore the partnership between Turkey and
the West where the authors suggest a series of efforts, including a
political settlement in Cyprus and Turkish EU accession, to `anchor
Turkey in the West’.
In 2007, Gordon published `Winning the Right War: The Path to Security
for America and the World’ where he suggests a paradigm shift in the
`war on terror’.
One way of fighting the `right war’, Gordon writes, is to `win Turkey
back’ which requires `new efforts to repair strained relations with
Turkey, the most advanced democracy in the Muslim world’.
Regarding the need to make and maintain allies in the greater Middle
East, Gordon wrote: `In this regard, no relationship is more
important- or more at risk- than the one with the Republic of Turkey.’
On Cyprus, he wrote: `(The US) can make more of an effort to lessen
the diplomatic and economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, who in
2004 courageously- and with Ankara’s backing- supported a political
settlement on the long-divided island that the Greek side rejected.’
In 2006, he wrote that Turkey was `on the brink’ of a nationalist
backlash, referring to growing nationalist frustration with the US and
Europe.