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ANKARA: Ambassador Tan: The Right Choice For Washington

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  • ANKARA: Ambassador Tan: The Right Choice For Washington

    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.
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