Turkey Plays Hardball
In light of the current Turkish parliamentary authorization to make military incursions into northern Iraq, Egeman Bagis, a Turkish lawmaker and an adviser to Prime Minister Erdogan, has been noted during American-Turkey diplomatic dialogue stating that if the U.S. takes action against Kurdish Rebel making assaults in Turkish sovereign territory and drops the Armenian genocide bill, Turkey won’t invade northern Iraq.
Yeah right. The U.S. is far from desperate and would, by no means, cede to Turkey’s diplomatic demands. But this statement says more than the words themselves reveal. This kind of power politics signifies a change in the historical political relations between Turkey and the U.S. Turkey has resounding declared its willingness to stand up to the United States and assert its own political views, even if they differ significantly from that of the U.S.
As much as I respect self-determination and countries establishing their own political views, this is not a politically sound move for Turkey to make. The reasons this is a bad political move, are two-fold. One, the Turkish government needs to support of the United States government. We have historically been more than generous in our military-industry investment. It is well known that the U.S. uses Turkey for military logistics, 70% of all American air cargo that is transported to the Middle East passes through Turkish territory. Furthermore, if the Turkish military invades northern Iraq, it will be in complete defiance of U.S. wishes. The U.S. calls for a diplomatic or Iraqi-based solution to the Kurdish problem, not a Turkish foreign intervention. The Turkish government cannot afford aggravating U.S.-Turkish relations, it will hurt them in the long run.
The second reason is Turkey’s fervent ambition to join the E.U. As the E.U. has already set as a preliminary requirement that Turkey recognize the “genocide” that occurred in Post-WWI Turkey. As Turkey further involves itself in the Middle East, the further it distances itself from E.U. membership.
Turkey is not in any position to be playing power politics. Not right now at least.
Is it just me or is Turkey becoming progressively more extreme and out of the world mainstream? I really hope they turn around and come back to reconcilliation with the West instead of turning more towards the Middle East.
Put a handle on that moon, and cross it with a hammer, and change all the white to yellow and what do we have? Communist conspiracy theories commence.
You are completely right. They crossed the line with that statement. I don’t believe we should take action against the Kurdish rebels, but there was no reason for the resolution–not right now. It just adds fuel to the fire. Turkey needs to chill out for a minute and recognize they are not in a position to make demands.
The chance of destabalizing northern Iraq carries very serious consequences that are pertinent to America’s current position in Iraq. If Turkey goes rogue into northern Iraq, which seems likely (viz. the parliamentary resolution authorizing incursions), the ramifications of such an action will prove severe to Turkey’s domestic and international politics.