Turkish Press
Jan 3 2010

Ambassador Tan: The Right Choice For Washington

Published: 1/3/2010
BY ALI H. ASLAN

TODAY’S ZAMAN – The government has not let things linger too long
since the resignation of Nabi Sensoy as the Turkish ambassador to
Washington and has quickly found a person to replace him. Currently
serving as the deputy undersecretary of foreign affairs, Ambassador
Namik Tan will become the next Turkish ambassador to the US.
Ambassador Tan was among the most suitable candidates for this
critical assignment. First of all, he knows the setting and players on
the US diplomatic scene well as he was previously assigned to
Washington twice, and he also has experience in Turkish foreign policy
departments that are closely related to the US. He will be able to
make a quick start without needing much preparation or preliminary
training. He has also left behind good memories in Washington from his
previous tours here. Indeed, the news of his appointment has created
excitement in circles that closely monitor Turkey, in particular the
Jewish lobby. His close relations with the Jewish lobby in Washington
served as a good reference for his appointment as ambassador to Tel
Aviv in 2006. I am sure that these ties have been specifically taken
into consideration in deciding on his appointment to Washington.
Despite Ankara’s attempts to create new channels of communication with
groups such the black or Hispanic lobbies, the Jewish lobby is still
the major power to positively or negatively influence Turkish-US
relations. Given the fact that this lobby has been uneasy about the
Turkish government’s policies on Iran and Israel and has also lent
support to the recently increasing campaign against the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AK Party), it is rather appropriate to appoint
a person who has their respect to Washington.

Whoever Ankara sends to Washington would be welcomed by the US
administration because respect for an envoy is not due to his or her
personal qualities, but because of the country he or she represents.
Likewise, the Turkish government quickly approved US Ambassador to
Turkey James Jeffrey. There is no reason why the Obama administration
would not show the same courtesy to Ambassador Tan. Social
communication skills play a major role in modern diplomacy. Being a
dynamic and resolute diplomat, Tan, I believe, will not remain bound
to his office, but will go out and expand his social network in
Washington. His wife, Fügen, too, will take various initiatives.
Americans are a practical and pragmatic people. One of the qualities
they seek most in ambassadors appointed to Washington is their ability
to access their own capitals. Of course, every ambassador is
officially tied to his or her home country and carries a certain
weight there. Still, envoys who have personal ties with top government
officials are preferred. Tan worked closely with former Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gül, who is now the Turkish president. He has also
gained the trust of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. He is capable of
conveying his opinions to those in high positions via direct phone
calls and by convincing them to take a certain course of action. US
officials attach special importance to ambassadors with high access.

This was one of the biggest handicaps of Ambassador Nabi Sensoy,
although he was a high-quality and experienced ambassador. For
instance, he would have difficulty getting appointments with Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Phillip Gordon.
Gordon would not feel the need to seek Sensoy’s mediation because he
could directly phone Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu thanks to his
personal friendship with him. In fact, these breaches of diplomatic
traditions implied that US officials thought that Sensoy did not have
much access to higher government officials in Ankara. I assume and
hope that his American counterparts will treat Tan differently. For
Turkish ambassadors appointed to Washington, relations not only with
Americans, but also with the diverse Turkish community in the US are
important. The Turkish Embassy in Washington has a great
responsibility to eliminate hostilities that may arise among different
factions within the Turkish community and channel their competition
into positive energy and power. In my humble opinion, the essential
principle in this respect is to encourage all factions who work for
the benefit of Turkey and Turkish-US relations and to maintain an
equal distance from, while embracing and showing respect toward them.
During the last 12 years of my work in the US capital, I cannot say
that every ambassador has managed to do so. In particular, there were
Turkish ambassadors who would opt to remain aloof to religious or
conservative circles whose influence is growing in the US in parallel
with a similar increase in their homeland. Some of them would not
visit the successful institutions established by these groups or who
would even backbite and secretly undermine their projects.

Working as the first counselor and spokesperson of the Turkish Embassy
in Washington, Tan was able to establish close relations with the
representatives of diverse media organizations and gain their respect.
He was the ‘Namik Abi’ (Big Brother Namik) of diplomatic
correspondents during his term as the spokesperson of the Turkish
Foreign Ministry in Ankara. I believe that his humble, all-embracing
attitude will continue during his term as ambassador in Washington.
This is the very quality that has ensured his rise to the most
prestigious diplomatic positions at the young age of 53. Tan was also
among the most likely candidates for another critical position being
established in Ankara, and by preferring to appoint him to Washington,
the Turkish government has shown the importance it attaches to
Turkish-US relations. I am particularly glad to see that the Erdogan
administration has refrained from making a political appointment to
Washington and has chosen to make use of the existing resources within
the foreign policy bureaucracy. Otherwise, the functioning of the
bureaucracy would be unnecessarily strained, with every action of the
ambassador in Washington serving as fuel for partisan debates.

A number of able colleagues await Tan’s arrival in Washington. I am
sure that they will undertake projects to boost Turkey’s image in the
US, as well as Turkish Embassy’s prestige in Ankara. I would like to
express my best wishes of good luck to our freshly appointed
ambassador to Washington — aka our Namýk Abi — who will take office
in 2010, a year that may strain Turkish-US relations, particularly
with respect to the Iranian and Armenian issues.