Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 5 2010

Turkish-Israeli military alliance grows vulnerable to civilian politics

Tuesday, January 5, 2010
BARÃ?IN YÄ°NANÃ?
TEL AVİV -Hürriyet Daily News

When Israeli Ambassador Gaby Levy was summoned to the Turkish Foreign
Ministry on Valentine’s Day last February, it was not to celebrate
love between Turkey and Israel.

On the contrary. Levy was called in to hear a protest of comments by
an Israeli military official: Gen. Avi Mizrahi, commander of Israel’s
land forces. Mizrahi was quoted as saying Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip ErdoÄ?an should have "looked in the mirror" before slamming
President Shimon Peres during the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland the previous month.

In a memorable outburst, as ErdoÄ?an stormed out of the debate he
accused Israel of `barbarian’ acts and told Peres, who was seated next
to him, `You know well how to kill people.’

Mizrahi said Turkey was not in a position to criticize Israel’s
actions in the Palestinian territories while Turkey had troops
stationed in northern Cyprus. He also accused Turkey of repressing its
Kurdish minority and massacring Armenians during World War I.

The Turkish military condemned the remarks, saying national interests
between the two countries could be damaged.

Meanwhile, Mizrahi’s statements sent shockwaves through Turkey, just
as the spat in Davos and the ensuing anti-Israel demonstrations across
Turkey sent shockwaves through the Jewish state.

Until recently, military cooperation between Israel and Turkey
continued unhindered behind the scenes even as Turkish leaders
occasionally railed against Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians,
according to journalist Utku �akırözer. He said late former Prime
Minister Bülent Ecevit, for one, even labeled Israel’s policies as
genocide.

This time, however, the atmosphere seemed different and the Turkish
military’s critical statement condemning Mizrahi’s remarks illustrated
how military relations might no longer be immune from political
fallout.

Anti-Israeli activities anger the military

The changing relationship of the Turkish military with civilian
politics is an issue puzzling to many Israelis. `What is the situation
of the military? Is its power diminishing in Turkey?’ asked one Tel
Aviv University academic who participated in an exchange of views with
Turkish journalists.

The military’s stance might, indeed, appear puzzling, especially to
those who have watched the forces exert their influence in favor of
relations with Israel in spite of ruling political parties. In 1996
the military made no secret of its preference for maintaining
strategic relations with Israel despite the marked disapproval of the
Islamist-leaning Welfare Party, a ruling coalition partner at the
time.

`At that time, the military went ahead with forging good relations
with Israel, despite the existence of a pro-Islamic party in
government. Important military agreements were signed during that
period and some agreements have the signature of Necmettin Erbakan,
the leader of Welfare Party,’ Ã?akırözer said.

In Sincan, a suburb of Ankara, the town council sponsors an annual
rally to commemorate `Jerusalem Day.’ But on Feb. 2, 1997, the guest
of honor was Iran’s ambassador to Turkey, who used the event as an
opportunity to severely criticize Israel.

The military, in response, used this occasion to express its
dissatisfaction with the ruling government: It sent tanks to the
suburb, two of which conveniently malfunctioned and were forced to
remain parked for several hours in the very square where the meeting
had taken place earlier.

The town’s mayor was arrested and dismissed from office. Iran was
asked to call back its ambassador, a move less humiliating than the
envoy’s outright expulsion.

`A town virtually occupied for celebrating Jerusalem day? A mayor
arrested and pushed out of his job for anti-Israel remarks? A
diplomatic row over an ambassador’s anti-Zionism? In the Middle East
in 1997, this could only take place in Turkey, the one Muslim country
where a powerful institution completely rejects the demonization of
Israel and instead fosters a hard kernel of pro-Israel sentiment,’
wrote Daniel Pipes, an American academic, author and Middle East
specialist, in an article published in the 1997-1998 winter issue of
National Interest.

Israel expelled from military exercise

A decade later, however, the military was unable to counteract the
government’s decision to exclude Israel’s air force from participating
in a routine NATO exercise to be held in the Turkish city of Konya
codenamed `Anatolian Eagle.’

`In the 1990s the military was very dominant in bilateral ties with
Israel. It did not care about the government’s views,’ said Ã?akırözer.
`It is not the case anymore. In the past, exercises were planned by
the military and the government would be informed at a later stage.
Now, however, the government intervened even to stop a military
technical exercise.’

The Turkish military, some of whose officials are currently being
investigated for involvement in a secret organization intent on
toppling the government, was apparently unable to withstand the
pressure from the government to exclude Israel from last summer’s
exercise.

`The Turkish military had good relations with Israel’s armed forces
but Turkey is changing, and the army is weak,’ said Israeli journalist
Udi Segal.

The Turkish armed forces, however, are also believed to be
dissatisfied with their relationship with Israel despite the extensive
cooperation. Between 1996 and 2005, Turkey’s arms purchases from
Israel totaled in the billions of dollars, including a 1996 contract
to modernize Turkey’s older, U.S.-made fighter aircraft signed during
the Welfare Party’s joint rule.

Toward the end of the 2000s, the Israeli-Turkish defense industry
partnership began to falter, said Ã`mit Enginsoy, a leading expert on
military affairs and contributor to the Daily News. Israel is still
trying to complete a program worth roughly $700 million to upgrade 170
of Turkey’s main M60 battle tanks after several years of delays.

In the most recent example, a partnership between Israel Aerospace
Industries, or IAI, and Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems
failed to deliver 10 Heron unmanned aerial vehicles to Turkey after
more than two years of delays. The Turkish military, according to
Enginsoy, is angered by an excessively high number of glitches and
delays with Israel-related defense industry programs.

Moreover, some Turkish military officials have also been reportedly
annoyed by news that Israel has had close cooperation with Iraqi Kurds
in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said Enginsoy.

A few commentators in Israel appear to have misunderstood the real
message behind the change in the military’s stance. Efraim Inbar, an
Israeli academic, said, `I don’t want Israeli military equipment to
end up in the hands of Ahmadinejad,’ as if Turkey were lining up to
complete more arms deals with Israel.

Even with its history of arms purchases, Turkey no longer sees Israel
as its best option. Given the current tense political relationship
that exists between Turkey and Israel, no new large-scale defense
industry deals are expected for the foreseeable future, said Enginsoy.

Part 4: Strategic changes mirror changes of perceptions in Turkey and Israel.