Turkish-US relations

Turkey is making the most important preparations in her history to attract direct foreign investment, which is very low at the moment.

After 41 years of dreaming, she has finally received a negotiation date for EU membership for the end of the year.

She has taken large steps in Northern Cyprus in the April 24 referendum, by favoring an international recommendation for the first time since 1974, i.e. the occupation of Cyprus by Turkish forces.

In my eyes, among these very positive developments, Turkey has somehow lost control of a very delicate and historically important issue: Her historically positive and dynamic relations with the U.S.

I believe that both Turkey and the U.S. drastically damaged their positive relations in 2004 as strong allies. I do not think that either side made mistakes independently and/or individually but both sides made serious mistakes mutually, pushing each other for new mistakes.

It was wrong for Turkey to refuse permission for the U.S. to use Turkish soil to launch an attack on Iraq, especially after Turkey had given promises to the U.S. to the contrary. It is wrong for Turkey to behave as if international relations are one-dimensional, i.e. as if rapprochement to the EU means cooling all other relations.

It is a serious mistake for Turkey to behave as if she has forgotten the help the U.S. has given for the Turkish EU bid.

However, there is also the other side of the picture. The U.S. is behaving in a one-sided way as well. It is the least empathic government I have ever seen in America. It is a simple-minded government that cannot differentiate between being a �benevolent power� and a �sheer imperialist power.�

The first type of �ruling the world� represents the U.S. governments we are more used to, i.e. governments that obviously seek the benefits of her homeland but also are aware of the needs of her allies and the needy. The Bush government is obviously not one of them! Some representatives of the Bush government are also as ignorant as the AKP members in Turkey.

If the Bush team is following their recommendations; may God help the world! After the famous �March 1 vote�, America was right to be upset and I can understand that they were pushed towards the Iraqi Kurds by Turkey and I am also one of the those minorities in Turkey that believes that a federal Kurdish government in northern Iraq is to the benefit of Turkey.

However, the U.S. has carried her dismay at Turkey to an extreme level! She has started behaving in such a way that Turkey does not have any stake, or as if her stakes can be totally ignored in the Middle East, especially in Iraq. The U.S. has acted overall in 2004 as if she can do without Turkey in the Middle East. I hope that in 2005 Turkey realizes once again that she needs the U.S. more than ever at the door of the EU and the U.S. realizes once again that she cannot establish a new order in the Middle East without Turkey.