Turkey: Democracy in action

Unless the parliament reverses its decision this week, the U.S. will have to scramble to reroute troops to Kuwait or move troops into northern Iraq using cargo planes. Military experts say those alternatives are more cumbersome and less effective than using Turkey.
Asked about the decision, some Turkish leaders offered a simple, yet compelling, explanation: ”A completely democratic result” was how Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the narrow vote to bar U.S. troops. In fact, many of the ”no” votes cast by the parliament, as in any functioning democracy, reflected public opinion; in this case, its opposition to war with Iraq, which is as high as 94%, according to recent polls.
As the only predominantly Muslim nation in the Middle East with a democratic form of government, Turkey presents an important, if highly inconvenient, civics lesson for the administration: Democracy can be unruly and unpredictable. Yet, as the world’s best form of government — and one the U.S. wants to see emulated in other Muslim nations — democracy in action in the Turkish parliament is worth respecting.
No such inconveniences block U.S. policy in many other Middle East nations precisely because they aren’t democracies. The administration has gotten its way, at least in part, because it is dealing with authoritarian regimes, not elected governments, in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, for instance.
That fact presents a second reason why the weekend vote poses a diplomatic challenge for the administration. President Bush (news – web sites) has said one war aim is to smooth the way for a democratic government in Iraq that could prompt other neighbors to follow suit.
The extent to which the administration shows its respect for Turkey’s adherence to democratic principles — difficult as that is proving for U.S. war plans — will say much about its commitment to a democratized Middle East.