TIME Magazine
April 5 2009
Turkey Is Ready to Welcome Obama
By Pelin Turgut / Istanbul Sunday, Apr. 05, 2009
American presidents have visited Turkey before but never this soon
into their presidency. That’s just one reason why Barack Obama’s
arrival this Sunday evening has all of Turkey aflutter. Turks see
Obama’s visit as proof of his commitment to building bridges with the
Muslim world, as well as a reflection of the new administration’s
desire to have Turkey ‘ with a Muslim majority but officially secular,
democratic and a candidate for E.U. entry ‘ play a much bigger role in
the wider region.
Before his election Obama promised to visit a Muslim country within
his first few months as president ‘ and he has chosen one that had
fraught relations with his predecessor in the White House. In 2003,
Ankara broke with its traditional ally by refusing U.S. troops passage
through Turkish territory to neighboring Iraq, an act of defiance from
which ties never fully recovered. Public support for the U.S. in
Turkey fell to historic lows as the war progressed. Washington was
further aggravated by the Turkish government’s pursuit of greater
engagement with the Islamic world, including an energy deal with Iran
and talks with leaders from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (See
pictures of Obama’s travels in Europe.)
Both Washington and Ankara seem ready to start over. Both see Turkey
playing an important role in regional issues, from Syrian-Israeli
peace talks to oil and gas security in the Caucasus and the withdrawal
of U.S. troops from Iraq. "Under Bush, Ankara and Washington were
divided on many fronts," says Sahin Alpay, politics professor at
Bahcesehir University in Istanbul. "With Obama, they are moving closer
together on all of these."
It helps that Turks are already warming to the new president. One
recent poll found that 39% of Turks said they trusted Obama; fewer
than 10% said the same of Bush. Obama is so popular that a leading
Turkish bank is running an ad campaign based on an Obama look-alike.
During his stay, Obama is expected to seek Turkish support for his
Afghanistan and Pakistan plans, a cornerstone of his foreign
policy. Turkey currently maintains about 900 soldiers in Afghanistan
as part of the NATO contingent there, and, as the only Muslim country
involved, its presence is crucial to securing support on the
ground. Obama is expected to push for an increase in Turkish forces
and to ask for Ankara’s help in facilitating a smooth withdrawal from
Iraq.
Obama’s influence has already been telling. On Saturday he convinced
Turkey to drop its objections to Dane Anders Fogh Rasmussen becoming
the next head of NATO. Turkey had threatened to veto Rasmussen because
of his handling of a 2006 crisis over controversial Danish cartoons
depicting the Prophet Mohammad. According to White House officials,
Obama promised Turkey that one of Rasmussen’s deputies would be a Turk
and that Turkish commanders would be present at the alliance’s
command.
It won’t all be roses though. Dividing his time between the capital
Ankara, where he will address Turkish MPs, and Istanbul, where he is
to meet with religious leaders and youths, Obama is also expected to
deliver a message urging Turkey to embrace further democratic reforms
and to refocus on its long-term goal of joining the European
Union. Movement towards membership of the E.U. has stalled, both
because of European leaders’ unwillingness to contemplate a future
with Turkey, and the current government’s Islamic leanings, which have
led it to turn eastwards and greater involvement with the Middle
East. "The United States must remain an iron clad supporter of Turkish
membership in the E.U.," 29 Democratic and Republican Congressmen
wrote in a letter to the president prior to his departure.
In Ankara, Obama will also hear from opposition leaders, including the
country’s only legal Kurdish party, whom the government refuses to
engage with to address the grievances of the large and restive Kurdish
minority based mostly in the southeast. Kurdish lawmakers say they
will speak to the president about ending the conflict with the
militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which spills over into Iraq
and is potentially destabilizing for the region, and more regional
autonomy.
Another contentious point on the agenda is the continuing effort in
the U.S. Congress to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman Turkish forces as a genocide, a term Turkey rejects. While
campaigning, Obama said he would recognize the killings as genocide
but has given no sign that he will raise the issue while here. He may
be helped by the fact that Ankara is quietly working to normalize
relations with Armenia and is expected to re-open its border
shortly. That announcement could be made during the Obama visit.
But despite the likelihood of some disagreements, Turkish officials
see the trip as a chance to strengthen ties with an old ally and an
opportunity to put the past eight years behind them. "Obama is turning
away from previous confrontational policies to dialogue," says
Alpay. "And Turkey represents the possibility of a solution through
dialogue on many problems which are important to him."
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