Re: I think you are missing the point. The point being that the US and its allies can intimidate/"persuade" a number of Arab governments from extensive support of terrorism.
Does Turkey fit your point that "the US and its allies can intimidate/"persuade" a number of Arab governments from extensive support of terrorism"?
But then, you'll likely retort that Turkey isn't Arab....
Praise, and chill, in Turkey meeting
By Brian Knowlton International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2005
WASHINGTON President George W. Bush welcomed the Turkish prime minister Wednesday for a conciliatory meeting meant to emphasize a continued strategic relationship with an important ally, but there were signs that wounds inflicted over the Iraq war were not entirely healed.
A joint appearance by Bush and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was unusually brief, verging on the tight-lipped, and the leaders took no questions.
Bush avoided public mention of Iraq. Turkey's refusal to allow the United States to use bases there to invade Iraq in 2003 infuriated some American officials. Meanwhile, the war inflamed anti-American feelings in Turkey.
In their White House appearance, neither leader spoke of the troubled Turkish candidacy for European Union membership, though a U.S. spokesman reconfirmed support for Turkey's bid.
Bush emphasized his hope that Turkey could be a regional model of a stable, secular democracy, saying, "Turkey's democracy is an important example for the people in the broader Middle East."
He said that the two men shared a strong interest in working toward a peaceful and democratic Palestinian state and in helping the Afghan people.
Erdogan, speaking through a translator, said, "We were able to confirm that our strategic relationship will take place in the future as it has in the past."
Still, the Turkish leader expressed some dissatisfaction after the meeting with U.S. cooperation in confronting Kurdish militants sheltering in northern Iraq, and he seemed to resist U.S. entreaties to press Syria to keep insurgents from crossing into Iraq.
If the public face of the visit seemed less than effusive, Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkey program at the Washington Institute for Near Eastern Studies, said the mere fact the meeting took place was significant.
"It's a confidence-building trip, in terms of the two sides saying they are willing to start talking again," Cagaptay said. He called it "a good beginning step."
While the administration had hoped for Turkish help in pressing Syria to tighten its border with Iraq, Erdogan said it was critically important to maintain open relations. "We don't want to push Syria away," he said. "We talked about steps we can take to bring them to our line."
Erdogan also sought greater U.S. support in dealing with the separatists of the Kurdistan Workers Party. Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said the United States was committed to dealing with it. But Erdogan later indicated that he wanted the United States to do more to crack down.
Of cooperation to date, he said, "we don't think it is sufficient."
Rising anti-Americanism in Turkey has become a concern in Washington, and Erdogan in recent months has reaffirmed the importance of U.S.-Turkish ties and approved expanded rights for U.S. planes to ferry cargo through Incirlik Air Base to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"After two years of unusual coolness," Cagaptay said, "the relationship is showing signs of coming back to normal."
Greater signs of cooperation on Cyprus also appear to be emerging.
The United States has strongly supported Turkish EU membership, and McClellan said that "we have not changed our views." But Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick seemed to shift emphasis.
"It's important that our bilateral ties not be too constrained by the effort at EU accession," he said at a conference. "The European Union is clearly important to Turkey's future, but so are the countries of the broader Middle East."
The recent French and Dutch votes against the European constitution were seen as a serious setback to Turkey's hopes. But Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany, in Washington to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said that Turkey's EU accession talks should proceed as scheduled in October. The opposite course, he said, "would carry considerable risk."
iht.com |
