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TURNING POINT IN ISRAELI-TURKISH RELATIONS
Mideast Mirror
November 1, 2010 Monday
Turkey's new national security Red Book' designates Israel as a threat
for the first time, reports Ernest Khouri in Lebanese al-Akhbar
Turkey waited for five months after the Israeli attack on the
Gaza-bound 'Freedom Flotilla' before announcing the future course
of its relations with Israel: That the Jewish state poses a threat
to Turkey, writes Ernest Khouri in the left-leaning Beirut daily
al-Akhbar.
LANDMARK IN RELATIONS: In fact, the Turkish cabinet made this
decision months ago, but it remained a secret until a few days ago
when the Turkish National Security Council enshrined it in its 'secret
constitution.' Thursday was a landmark in relations between Turkey
and Israel, one that could prove more serious than the crime committed
by Israel when it attacked the 'Freedom Flotilla' on May 31th.
The Turkish National Security Council, a body that brings together the
country's civilian and military leaderships under the chairmanship of
the President, endorsed the latest iteration of the so-called 'secret
constitution (or Red Book),' the blueprint for Turkish domestic and
external strategies for the next five years.
There were many amendments in the latest version of the Red Book,
but by far the most important was the redefinition of Israel as
'a major threat to Turkey.'
The Chapter on 'Turkey's Foreign Relations and External Threats,'
asserts the following: It should be pointed out that instability in the
region is due to Israeli actions and policies, which, by encouraging
an arms race in the region, threaten Turkey.'
This 'historic' development was scrutinized in detail by the Turkish
press; after all, it was the first time since relations between the
two countries were established in 1949 that Israel was described as
posing a threat.
What was interesting was that this new designation was not linked to
the 'Freedom Flotilla' incident, but to something far more serious:
Israel's destabilizing policies in the Middle East that are leading
to a new arms race in the region.
This development gains added importance when we realize that the latest
iteration of the top-secret Red Book eliminated Syria, Iran, Greece
(albeit partially), Bulgaria, Georgia, and Armenia from the list of
threats although it retained the phrase 'the Middle East should be
a nuclear-free zone,' in a reference to Iran, while not mentioning
the Islamic Republic by name.
In the 2005 version of the Red Book, Iran was seen as the 'main threat'
facing Turkey because of its theocratic regime and nuclear ambitions.
It cannot be stressed strongly enough that replacing Syria and Iran
with Israel as the primary threat facing Turkey is a major strategic
shift as far as Ankara is concerned. It is a development that will
have serious repercussions throughout the region. While Turkey insists
that it is not part of any axis in the region (that it is neither
part of the moderate nor the rejectionist camps), it has taken a
step away from its earlier position of normalizing ties with Israel
if the latter apologizes for the attack on the 'Freedom Flotilla'
and pays compensation.
Practically, the implications are these: Kemalist Turkey, which until
2002 was seen as part of the U.S.-led West, has, with the advent of
the Islamist AKP government, shifted to a more neutral and centrist
position. The Red Book took this shift one step further, aligning
Turkey more closely with the Syrian-Iranian axis.
It is therefore almost inevitable that relations with Tel Aviv will
become more tense in the future, with security, intelligence, trade,
and military cooperation between the two countries suffering as a
result. In exchange, the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan
will draw even closer to Damascus, Tehran, and their allies in Lebanon
and Palestine. It is still unclear what effects this new alignment
will have on Turkish military doctrine.
The most important question is what potential effect this policy
shift will have on Ankara's ties with Washington, ties that were not
seriously affected despite recent tensions between Turkey and Israel.
And what does this shift mean for domestic Turkish policy?
The new version of the Red Book, which was endorsed verbatim by
the National Security Council last week, was written by the Erdogan
government. This was the first time ever that the civilian government
rather than the military has undertaken this task.
The Red Book, an invention of the military during the Cold War
years after Turkey became a NATO member, used to be compiled by the
generals. Its purpose was to reassure the Atlantic Alliance that
Turkey would never change sides and defect to the Soviet bloc.
Another interesting change involves Greece. In the new Red Book, the
Greek threat was downgraded merely to Athens' attempts to expand its
maritime borders in the Aegean Sea at Turkey's expense. Greece was
eliminated as an external threat; the only reference to it was the
phrase: Any attempt by Greece to expand its maritime borders beyond
12 nautical miles in the Aegean will be a reason for war.'
The Greeks were quick to respond. In a statement to the Turkish
Zaman newspaper, an official Greek source said that, Athens will
never relinquish its sovereign right to expand its maritime borders
beyond 12 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea.' The Greek source denied
the existence of a secret deal between the two countries to settle
the border dispute.
As for domestic threats, the new edition of the Red Book substitutes
the term 'radical groups that exploit religion' for the earlier
'danger of fundamentalism'.
The new designation is covered by the Turkish penal code, which defines
such groups as 'those that use violence and exploit religious beliefs
to carry out subversive and secessionist activities.'
From: A. Papazian
Mideast Mirror
November 1, 2010 Monday
Turkey's new national security Red Book' designates Israel as a threat
for the first time, reports Ernest Khouri in Lebanese al-Akhbar
Turkey waited for five months after the Israeli attack on the
Gaza-bound 'Freedom Flotilla' before announcing the future course
of its relations with Israel: That the Jewish state poses a threat
to Turkey, writes Ernest Khouri in the left-leaning Beirut daily
al-Akhbar.
LANDMARK IN RELATIONS: In fact, the Turkish cabinet made this
decision months ago, but it remained a secret until a few days ago
when the Turkish National Security Council enshrined it in its 'secret
constitution.' Thursday was a landmark in relations between Turkey
and Israel, one that could prove more serious than the crime committed
by Israel when it attacked the 'Freedom Flotilla' on May 31th.
The Turkish National Security Council, a body that brings together the
country's civilian and military leaderships under the chairmanship of
the President, endorsed the latest iteration of the so-called 'secret
constitution (or Red Book),' the blueprint for Turkish domestic and
external strategies for the next five years.
There were many amendments in the latest version of the Red Book,
but by far the most important was the redefinition of Israel as
'a major threat to Turkey.'
The Chapter on 'Turkey's Foreign Relations and External Threats,'
asserts the following: It should be pointed out that instability in the
region is due to Israeli actions and policies, which, by encouraging
an arms race in the region, threaten Turkey.'
This 'historic' development was scrutinized in detail by the Turkish
press; after all, it was the first time since relations between the
two countries were established in 1949 that Israel was described as
posing a threat.
What was interesting was that this new designation was not linked to
the 'Freedom Flotilla' incident, but to something far more serious:
Israel's destabilizing policies in the Middle East that are leading
to a new arms race in the region.
This development gains added importance when we realize that the latest
iteration of the top-secret Red Book eliminated Syria, Iran, Greece
(albeit partially), Bulgaria, Georgia, and Armenia from the list of
threats although it retained the phrase 'the Middle East should be
a nuclear-free zone,' in a reference to Iran, while not mentioning
the Islamic Republic by name.
In the 2005 version of the Red Book, Iran was seen as the 'main threat'
facing Turkey because of its theocratic regime and nuclear ambitions.
It cannot be stressed strongly enough that replacing Syria and Iran
with Israel as the primary threat facing Turkey is a major strategic
shift as far as Ankara is concerned. It is a development that will
have serious repercussions throughout the region. While Turkey insists
that it is not part of any axis in the region (that it is neither
part of the moderate nor the rejectionist camps), it has taken a
step away from its earlier position of normalizing ties with Israel
if the latter apologizes for the attack on the 'Freedom Flotilla'
and pays compensation.
Practically, the implications are these: Kemalist Turkey, which until
2002 was seen as part of the U.S.-led West, has, with the advent of
the Islamist AKP government, shifted to a more neutral and centrist
position. The Red Book took this shift one step further, aligning
Turkey more closely with the Syrian-Iranian axis.
It is therefore almost inevitable that relations with Tel Aviv will
become more tense in the future, with security, intelligence, trade,
and military cooperation between the two countries suffering as a
result. In exchange, the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan
will draw even closer to Damascus, Tehran, and their allies in Lebanon
and Palestine. It is still unclear what effects this new alignment
will have on Turkish military doctrine.
The most important question is what potential effect this policy
shift will have on Ankara's ties with Washington, ties that were not
seriously affected despite recent tensions between Turkey and Israel.
And what does this shift mean for domestic Turkish policy?
The new version of the Red Book, which was endorsed verbatim by
the National Security Council last week, was written by the Erdogan
government. This was the first time ever that the civilian government
rather than the military has undertaken this task.
The Red Book, an invention of the military during the Cold War
years after Turkey became a NATO member, used to be compiled by the
generals. Its purpose was to reassure the Atlantic Alliance that
Turkey would never change sides and defect to the Soviet bloc.
Another interesting change involves Greece. In the new Red Book, the
Greek threat was downgraded merely to Athens' attempts to expand its
maritime borders in the Aegean Sea at Turkey's expense. Greece was
eliminated as an external threat; the only reference to it was the
phrase: Any attempt by Greece to expand its maritime borders beyond
12 nautical miles in the Aegean will be a reason for war.'
The Greeks were quick to respond. In a statement to the Turkish
Zaman newspaper, an official Greek source said that, Athens will
never relinquish its sovereign right to expand its maritime borders
beyond 12 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea.' The Greek source denied
the existence of a secret deal between the two countries to settle
the border dispute.
As for domestic threats, the new edition of the Red Book substitutes
the term 'radical groups that exploit religion' for the earlier
'danger of fundamentalism'.
The new designation is covered by the Turkish penal code, which defines
such groups as 'those that use violence and exploit religious beliefs
to carry out subversive and secessionist activities.'
From: A. Papazian