Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 6 2009

Obama’s ideal partner: Turkey

by JOSHUA W. WALKER*

US President Barack Obama laid out his new Afghanistan strategy on
Tuesday night by ordering an additional 30,000 US forces to the
country.

While the majority of the analysis and discussion in Washington has
centered on the levels of US forces or the president’s reasoning for
it, the president emphasized that the `burden [in Afghanistan] is not
ours alone to bear.’ Declaring that not only is NATO’s credibility on
the line, but that the security of the US and all of its allies are at
stake, the president invoked the international consensus on
Afghanistan that led to a 43-nation coalition that has operated in the
country since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to sell his new strategy.
Yet the reality is that this international coalition is waning, not
surging, and is in desperate need of a regional champion that can
serve as a model partner for the US in Afghanistan. Obama’s ideal
partner is Turkey.

Consider the facts: Turkey boasts the second largest military in NATO
after only the US and the largest in Europe. Turkey has been a close
American bilateral and NATO ally for more than 60 years. In addition
to being a member of almost every European organization, Turkey is a
UN Security Council member, a member of the G-20, has successfully
pushed Ekmeleddin Ä°hsanoÄ?lu as the secretary-general of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and is one of the few
examples of a fully functioning Muslim-majority democracy in the
Middle East. On top of all of this, Ankara has close historic ties
with Afghanistan that date back to the 1920s when the founder of the
modern republic, Atatürk, served as a model for modernization that
collapsed only after great power interference in Kabul carved up the
country. Often referred to as Afghanistan’s `closest neighbor without
borders,’ Turkey also shares considerable cultural, ethnic and
linguistic links that make it an ideal partner for the US to work
with.

The Turks have taken command of the International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) in Kabul for the second time and have doubled their troop
levels to 1,600 troops in the last few months alone. Every place the
Turks, both civilian and military alike, have controlled has benefited
from considerable and consistent improvements in ways that few other
Western allies can claim. Having once contributed the third highest
number of troops in Afghanistan after only the US and Britain, the
Turks today with their 2.5 million soldiers are an under-utilized and
under-appreciated ally that Washington would be wise to actively court
and engage.

Turkey is eager to prove its importance as a rising regional power. As
demonstrated in recent months by Ankara’s moves in Armenia, Syria and
Iraq, Turkey has transformed itself from a static Cold-War bulwark
into a potential catalyst for regional stability. At the same time
Ankara’s rhetoric and moves towards Iran, Israel and Sudan have
confused many in Washington. As a result, Turkey’s new self-confidence
and regional prominence would be best channeled towards Afghanistan,
which would highlight Turkey’s vital transatlantic connection and
newly emerging leadership role in the Muslim world.

In this respect Turkey is both internationally and domestically well
positioned to play a larger role in Afghanistan. There is a broad
consensus within Ankara that is rarely found between the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the military establishment
about the responsibility and potential for Turkish influence in
Afghanistan. The AKP sees Afghanistan as being part of its historic
region and offering a positive example of the constructive role
Turkey’s newly activist post-Cold War foreign policy can play in
producing regional stability. On the other side, the Turkish military
has suffered a series of recent scandals that has tarnished its
reputation at home that would be enhanced by a successful peacekeeping
deployment that re-enforced the importance of Turkey’s military, not
only domestically, but internationally as well. Given the rarity of
such a consensus between the AKP and the Turkish military, there has
never been a better time for the US to look to Turkey for help in
Afghanistan.

If the president wants to succeed in Afghanistan and actively engage
America’s allies, he should begin with a personalized request to
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an when he visits the White
House on Monday, Dec. 7. Highlighting the Turks’ considerable
accomplishments in construction, education and hospital support
throughout central Afghanistan would encourage Turkey to take a more
active leadership role in the region. Asking for more civilian and
military help in Afghanistan given the fact that Turkish diplomats,
politicians, workers and even military personally can travel with a
light footprint without facing many of the security problems that
Western counterparts encounter makes pragmatic and strategic sense. By
playing to the Turks’ newly discovered self-confidence in Afghanistan,
the president can transfer critical responsibility to an ideal partner
that is poised to play an increasingly important regional role for
many years to come. Not only will enhanced US-Turkish cooperation
serve the interests of Afghanistan but it is also a win-win for
America and Turkey.

*Joshua W. Walker is a postdoctoral fellow at the Transatlantic
Academy of the German Marshall Fund and a Truman national security
fellow.

06 December 2009, Sunday