There is no question that Turkey must acknowledge its responsibility for the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1917.  However, it is essential for leaders in the United States to appreciate the vital importance of the U.S.-Turkish relationship.  Because of the Bush Administration’s failed Iraq policy and its refusal to address the escalation of attacks by the PKK from Northern Iraq, this crucial alliance is not as strong as it once was.  Now is not the time to further complicate a difficult situation.

Turkey, a country that straddles the divide between Europe and the Middle East, is one of the United States’ most important strategic partners.  As a NATO member, Turkey was a key American ally during the Cold War, but also during more recent engagements in the Middle East.  Today 70 percent of American air cargo going into Iraq goes through Turkey.  Not only has it become the best, though still evolving, model of how democracy and secular government can coexist with a Muslim population, it is also one of the largest and wealthiest countries in the Middle East. Turkey borders Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, as well as the Mediterranean and Black seas, making it a vital diplomatic and strategic partner to the United States.  

The invasion of Iraq greatly harmed U.S.-Turkish relations. The Bush Administration’s ill-advised decision to invade Iraq, was opposed by Turkey. Despite being offered $6 billion in grants and $20 billion in loan guarantees by the United States, the Turkish Parliament voted to refuse the United States use of its military bases to stage the invasion of Iraq.  Since then, Turkish public opinion of the United States has declined rapidly, with the latest Pew Global Attitudes Project finding that only 9 percent of Turks had a positive view of the United States down from 52 percent at the end of the Clinton Administration. The deterioration of relations has come at a time when the United States is in dire need of an ally in the Middle East. [CFR, 7/14/07.  Pew Global Attitudes Project, 6/27/07. Reuters, 2/20/03]

The Bush Administration has ignored Turkish concerns over cross-border attacks by the PKK. Turkey has struggled to combat the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group based primarily in Eastern Turkey. The invasion of Iraq has reinvigorated the PKK, which has found a safe haven from which to launch attacks into Turkey and has received support from the Kurds across the border in northern Iraq. U.S. and Turkish officials have “met several times between last fall and March this year in an effort to develop an anti-PKK strategy of tripartite cooperation among Turkey, Iraq and the United States, but this mechanism has never become effective, causing frustration in Ankara.”  The failure to take substantive action over the past year has caused domestic political pressure in Turkey to mount, causing the Turkish government to take a more militant stance.  [Turkish Daily News, 10/11/07]

Turkey is threatening to make incursions into northern Iraq. The Turkish Parliament is expected to approve a motion this week authorizing cross-border incursions over the next year in an attempt to crack down on separatist PKK rebels who operate in the region. The U.S. has urged Turkey not to enter Iraq on fears that Turkish military action could destabilize the relatively stable Kurdish north. Turkey is frustrated with the perceived lack of U.S. support in the fight against the PKK, who have demanded autonomy in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast since 1984. [AP, 10/16/07]

Turkey Remains a Vital Strategic Ally

Turkey is vital contributor to U.S. efforts in Iraq. About 70 percent of U.S. air cargo, and one-third of the fuel for U.S. forces moves through Turkey, and Turkish truckers supply U.S. bases with water and other goods. Turkey has a strategic justification for preserving the inviolability of Iraq’s borders, and it is heavily invested in northern Iraq, despite its opposition to the Worker’s Party of Kurdistan (PKK), Turkey had also planned to hold a meeting for countries surrounding Iraq, the UN Security Council, and the G8 to engage in a dialogue over Iraq’s security crisis. [Democracy, 09/07. AP, 10/16/07. The New Anatolian, 10/16/07]

Turkey will be a crucial player in any political settlement in Iraq.  Engaging Iraq’s neighbors is absolutely crucial to finding a political solution for Iraq.  Bordering countries such as Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will have to be brought into the process so that they do not act as spoilers to a political agreement.  While, this process will likely require Turkey to make some difficult compromises regarding the current status of Kurdish dominated northern Iraq, it should be able to play a constructive role in moving a settlement forward.  [Center for American Progress, 6/25/07]

Turkey will be vital to future U.S. diplomatic efforts in the region.  The role of Turkey will be instrumental to any future regional diplomatic efforts.  Just last year, Prime Minister Erdogan embarked on a whirlwind tour in which he visited Damascus, Iran, and Lebanon in a matter of days to express Turkey’s commitment to diplomacy.  Turkish Foreign Minister Babacan has recently followed up on these visits, and it is also expected that senior representatives from Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon will all visit Turkey in the near future to discuss Iraq and other challenges. Turkey maintains ties to both Syria and Iran, relationships which may yet prove useful for U.S. diplomatic efforts. [Turkish Daily News, 12/07/06. The Daily Star, 10/07/07.  Journal of Turkish Weekly, 10/04/07. United Nations, 9/28/07. Turkish Daily News, 12/08/07. Journal of Turkish Weekly, 10/09/07]

Ankara functions as the nexus for relations between the West and the Middle-East. Turkey’s strategic relationships with Western powers are complimented by its equally strong connections to the Middle-East. As the Daily Star notes, “Turkey is on good terms with both the United States and Israel; and, although its bid to join the European Union is an uncertain prospect, its relations with several key European countries are solid. In addition, Ankara has strengthened ties in recent years with both Damascus and another of Washington’s favorite whipping boys, Tehran.”  Turkey is one of three countries in the Greater Middle East to recognize the legitimacy of Israel, but it also wields considerable clout within the region as a member of the Organization for Islamic Conferences.  Its long-time participation in NATO makes it a vital strategic partner as well. [The Daily Star, 10/07/07]

The Middle-East Peace Process has benefited from Turkey’s involvement. Since Turkey is one of few Middle Eastern countries to recognize Israel, it has played an important mediating role. Egemen Baggis, a foreign policy adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, noted “that both Beirut and Jerusalem pleaded with Turkey to send troops to Lebanon to participate in the multinational force there because a moderate Muslim country is acceptable to Lebanese as well as Israelis.” Turkey has also funneled much-needed aid to Palestine, efforts which have been supported by Israel. Ankara recently announced that it would send $1.1 million of foodstuffs to the West-Bank, and it also offered further medical and educational assistance. Additionally, Turkish and Israeli trade representatives have entered negotiations over the construction of a “multi-million-dollar energy and water project that will transport water, electricity, natural gas and oil by pipelines to Israel…” Turkish economic investment is not only significant, but it is heedless of the ethnic and religious fault lines that traverse the Middle East. [International Herald Tribune, 12/15/07. Journal of Turkish Weekly, 10/09/07. AP, 10/08/07, 10/16/07. Jerusalem Post, 3/11/06.]