Comments on: Turkey http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/2009/01/23/turkey-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=turkey-2 n. the principle of good order<br /><br /> "Observe the strange inversion of all order and sense! Dignity debased; how vilely is the function of a consul prostituted!" ~The Craftsman Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:25:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: tcowan http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/2009/01/23/turkey-2/comment-page-1/#comment-29899 tcowan Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:28:28 +0000 http://www.amconmag.com/larison/?p=8185#comment-29899 Having traveled to Turkey 5 times since 2003, I can sum up their disenchantment with the U.S in one word: Iraq. It is as if someone needlessly and stupidly--and against your advice and pleadings--started a brush fire on the lot next to your house, and then, as you foreknew, the fire spreads onto your property. From our perspective, Turkish concerns about Kurdish separatism can seem overwrought. But a glance at a map of what is claimed for "Greater Kurdistan" puts their concern in high relief (basically all of eastern Turkey, including Diyarbakir as capital; ironically the area once inhabited by Armenians, and after their "removal," filled by Kurds.) You make a good point about Israel. The Turks and Israelis have been doing business for decades, and I suspect Tel Aviv may have taken the relationship somewhat for granted. I also believe that Israel has more to lose, as Turkey distances itself following the invasion of Gaza. And as you say, why should we act with incredulity when a nation seeks to have good relations and trade with its own neighbors; in this case, Russia and Iran? Turkey still has a long way to go in regard to its treatment of religious minorities; whether it be their Armenian genocide denial (or equivocation), or their ham-handed and bullying treatment of the few remaining native Orthodox Christians. (In this area, the exasperating Turko-centric take on most everything is quite a match for our own American exceptionalism.) But what progress has been made--and there has been--has occurred on AKP's watch. Simply put, they are the party of Turkey's rising middle class. As the nation gains self-confidence, it will continue to pursue its own interests--as it should. Having traveled to Turkey 5 times since 2003, I can sum up their disenchantment with the U.S in one word: Iraq. It is as if someone needlessly and stupidly–and against your advice and pleadings–started a brush fire on the lot next to your house, and then, as you foreknew, the fire spreads onto your property. From our perspective, Turkish concerns about Kurdish separatism can seem overwrought. But a glance at a map of what is claimed for “Greater Kurdistan” puts their concern in high relief (basically all of eastern Turkey, including Diyarbakir as capital; ironically the area once inhabited by Armenians, and after their “removal,” filled by Kurds.)

You make a good point about Israel. The Turks and Israelis have been doing business for decades, and I suspect Tel Aviv may have taken the relationship somewhat for granted. I also believe that Israel has more to lose, as Turkey distances itself following the invasion of Gaza.

And as you say, why should we act with incredulity when a nation seeks to have good relations and trade with its own neighbors; in this case, Russia and Iran?

Turkey still has a long way to go in regard to its treatment of religious minorities; whether it be their Armenian genocide denial (or equivocation), or their ham-handed and bullying treatment of the few remaining native Orthodox Christians. (In this area, the exasperating Turko-centric take on most everything is quite a match for our own American exceptionalism.) But what progress has been made–and there has been–has occurred on AKP’s watch. Simply put, they are the party of Turkey’s rising middle class. As the nation gains self-confidence, it will continue to pursue its own interests–as it should.

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