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FRIEND OR FOE? EXPLOITING CONFLICT IN PURSUIT OF POWER
By Theodore J. Cohen Calkins Media, Inc.
phillyBurbs.com
Oct 14 2011
For decades, Turkey has been a bastion of stability in the
Middle East. A member of NATO since 1952, it was considered a
loyal and supportive ally of the United States. In fact, the Obama
Administration, upon taking office, envisioned Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the man who would be our partner in Obama's
grand plan to embrace a host of our country's transformational Middle
East initiatives. Included in Obama's "Turkish strategy" - which
melds our foreign policy with Turkey's strategy of "zero problems with
neighbors" - was the use of Turkey to improve relations with Iran and
Syria as well as to assist with mediating the Arab-Israeli peace talks.
Well, how is that working out?
Not well, of course! Following a May 31, 2010, incident involving
Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, during which eight Turks and one
Turkish-American were killed, more than 20 passengers were injured,
and 10 Israeli commandos were injured, tensions between the two
former allies escalated to the breaking point. Despite a UN panel
stating that the Gaza blockade was legal (though the use of force
by Israel was "excessive and unreasonable"), Turkey expelled the
Israeli ambassador and early in September 2011, prepared to challenge
Israel's blockade on Gaza at the International Court of Justice. More
disconcerting is the Turkish navy's plan to dispatch three frigates to
the Eastern Mediterranean, which, according to a Turkish news report,
were prepared to "ensure freedom of navigation and to confront Israeli
warships, if necessary."
Not that Turkey is one to cast stones when it comes to situations such
as this. If memory serves, the Turks are the very same people who were
responsible for the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th
century. This genocide, which lasted from 1915 to 1923, and which was
instigated and carried out by Muslim Turks, resulted in 1.5 million
Armenian deaths ... deaths that to this day have gone unanswered.
Further sticking a thumb in Uncle Sam's eye is that, yes, it
was U.S.-supplied Turkish F-16 warplanes that recently launched
cross-border air raids against suspected Kurdish separatist fighters
in northern Iraq in late August. (Isn't this a "no fly" zone?)
Specifically, according to the Turkish military, 130 airstrikes
and nearly 350 artillery strikes were used in an offensive against
fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in neighboring Iraq.
Around 80 people have been wounded in the push. According to CNN,
Turkish authorities have not responded to reports from Iraq's
Kurdish authorities that a family of seven civilians was killed in
one air strike.
Are all of these signs of a degenerative, self-induced state of
national insanity on the part of the Turks? Hardly! This is nothing
more and nothing less than a cold, hard, calculated attempt on the
part of Mr. Erdogan to position his country as the new superpower in
the Middle East - one to whom the United States must come for help.
Remember, Erdogan was the man who called for Egyptian president's
Housni Mubarak's resignation, and now, he is playing to the Arab
"street" by embracing Hamas and forcing the isolation of Israel. The
more conflict he can create in the region, the more need for his help
he can generate.
Look at this another way. If Turkey actually worked to reduce tensions
in the region, its help no longer would be needed. Clearly, Mr.
Erdovan wants to exploit, not solve, the Middle East's conflicts. In
the process, he is thwarting peace efforts in the region by the
United States and its allies, pushing the Middle East toward yet
another war - one Turkey, itself, might trigger - and potentially
destroying his country's credibility in the process. As Haluk Demirbag
of the Turkish Forum said, "Ankara's 'zero-problems-with-neighbors'
policy is crumbling, fast - with Syria, Cyprus, Armenia, Israel and
with the Kurds."
With a "friend" like Turkey, who needs enemies?
Theodore J. Cohen, Ph.D., Middletown, is a research scientist and
novelist.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/opinion/guest/friend-or-foe-exploiting-conflict-in-pursuit-of-power/article_b6ebf86d-b7fc-5aa3-bdf4-99f3a0506041.html
From: A. Papazian
By Theodore J. Cohen Calkins Media, Inc.
phillyBurbs.com
Oct 14 2011
For decades, Turkey has been a bastion of stability in the
Middle East. A member of NATO since 1952, it was considered a
loyal and supportive ally of the United States. In fact, the Obama
Administration, upon taking office, envisioned Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the man who would be our partner in Obama's
grand plan to embrace a host of our country's transformational Middle
East initiatives. Included in Obama's "Turkish strategy" - which
melds our foreign policy with Turkey's strategy of "zero problems with
neighbors" - was the use of Turkey to improve relations with Iran and
Syria as well as to assist with mediating the Arab-Israeli peace talks.
Well, how is that working out?
Not well, of course! Following a May 31, 2010, incident involving
Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, during which eight Turks and one
Turkish-American were killed, more than 20 passengers were injured,
and 10 Israeli commandos were injured, tensions between the two
former allies escalated to the breaking point. Despite a UN panel
stating that the Gaza blockade was legal (though the use of force
by Israel was "excessive and unreasonable"), Turkey expelled the
Israeli ambassador and early in September 2011, prepared to challenge
Israel's blockade on Gaza at the International Court of Justice. More
disconcerting is the Turkish navy's plan to dispatch three frigates to
the Eastern Mediterranean, which, according to a Turkish news report,
were prepared to "ensure freedom of navigation and to confront Israeli
warships, if necessary."
Not that Turkey is one to cast stones when it comes to situations such
as this. If memory serves, the Turks are the very same people who were
responsible for the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th
century. This genocide, which lasted from 1915 to 1923, and which was
instigated and carried out by Muslim Turks, resulted in 1.5 million
Armenian deaths ... deaths that to this day have gone unanswered.
Further sticking a thumb in Uncle Sam's eye is that, yes, it
was U.S.-supplied Turkish F-16 warplanes that recently launched
cross-border air raids against suspected Kurdish separatist fighters
in northern Iraq in late August. (Isn't this a "no fly" zone?)
Specifically, according to the Turkish military, 130 airstrikes
and nearly 350 artillery strikes were used in an offensive against
fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in neighboring Iraq.
Around 80 people have been wounded in the push. According to CNN,
Turkish authorities have not responded to reports from Iraq's
Kurdish authorities that a family of seven civilians was killed in
one air strike.
Are all of these signs of a degenerative, self-induced state of
national insanity on the part of the Turks? Hardly! This is nothing
more and nothing less than a cold, hard, calculated attempt on the
part of Mr. Erdogan to position his country as the new superpower in
the Middle East - one to whom the United States must come for help.
Remember, Erdogan was the man who called for Egyptian president's
Housni Mubarak's resignation, and now, he is playing to the Arab
"street" by embracing Hamas and forcing the isolation of Israel. The
more conflict he can create in the region, the more need for his help
he can generate.
Look at this another way. If Turkey actually worked to reduce tensions
in the region, its help no longer would be needed. Clearly, Mr.
Erdovan wants to exploit, not solve, the Middle East's conflicts. In
the process, he is thwarting peace efforts in the region by the
United States and its allies, pushing the Middle East toward yet
another war - one Turkey, itself, might trigger - and potentially
destroying his country's credibility in the process. As Haluk Demirbag
of the Turkish Forum said, "Ankara's 'zero-problems-with-neighbors'
policy is crumbling, fast - with Syria, Cyprus, Armenia, Israel and
with the Kurds."
With a "friend" like Turkey, who needs enemies?
Theodore J. Cohen, Ph.D., Middletown, is a research scientist and
novelist.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/opinion/guest/friend-or-foe-exploiting-conflict-in-pursuit-of-power/article_b6ebf86d-b7fc-5aa3-bdf4-99f3a0506041.html
From: A. Papazian