2008 Woodie Awards
Turkey's foray into Iraq risks needed stability
Jonathan Gair
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: OpEd Page
If the Iraq War was not exciting enough, the pseudo-Islamic/pseudo-secular state of Turkey has decided to move towards being a full-fledged participant in what a former U.S. coalition commander has called "a nightmare with no end in sight:" Iraqi politics and conflict. Turkey, riding high off its threats to attempt a veto of future North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) action (which would effectively paralyze NATO globally), the state which has recently elected an openly Islamic leader (after years of staunch secularism enforced by their military), has now decided to not only tear themselves away from friendship with the United States, but also to examine possible military action into the northern, Kurdish controlled region of Iraq.
Turkey's problems, and almost constant perception of international persecution, began years before when their membership to the European Union was denied. While there exist special trading provisions between the EU and Turkey, the Europeans refused to allow Turkey to enter the union for several reasons: fear of a common border with a volatile Middle East, fear of internal instability (political and economic) and for Turkey simply not being European enough. Adding insult to injury, the 2004 expansion of the EU included the small, controversial island of Cyprus that has been a historic point of tension and open conflict between Greece and Turkey. While both Greece and Turkey exist in relative harmony within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Greece's EU membership (and now that of Cyprus), coupled with a growing realization that the Europeans simply do not want Turkey in their Union, has caused the country's political leaders to become desperate and threaten to blockade future NATO action.
Recently, this feeling of persecution has exploded as our House of Representatives passed-against White House pressures-a resolution that condemned Turkish action against the Armenians in 1915 as genocide. If Turkish politics were not hurt enough by constant European rejection, this resolution struck right at the heart of the secular military leadership in Turkey-seemingly alienating the only friend that the West has in the increasingly Islamic nation. While this genocide recognition is crucially important for the global society, it could not have come at a worse time as Turkey is facing unprecedented levels of terrorist activity that have been directly linked to the Kurdish majority in northern Iraq.
Turkey's problems, and almost constant perception of international persecution, began years before when their membership to the European Union was denied. While there exist special trading provisions between the EU and Turkey, the Europeans refused to allow Turkey to enter the union for several reasons: fear of a common border with a volatile Middle East, fear of internal instability (political and economic) and for Turkey simply not being European enough. Adding insult to injury, the 2004 expansion of the EU included the small, controversial island of Cyprus that has been a historic point of tension and open conflict between Greece and Turkey. While both Greece and Turkey exist in relative harmony within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Greece's EU membership (and now that of Cyprus), coupled with a growing realization that the Europeans simply do not want Turkey in their Union, has caused the country's political leaders to become desperate and threaten to blockade future NATO action.
Recently, this feeling of persecution has exploded as our House of Representatives passed-against White House pressures-a resolution that condemned Turkish action against the Armenians in 1915 as genocide. If Turkish politics were not hurt enough by constant European rejection, this resolution struck right at the heart of the secular military leadership in Turkey-seemingly alienating the only friend that the West has in the increasingly Islamic nation. While this genocide recognition is crucially important for the global society, it could not have come at a worse time as Turkey is facing unprecedented levels of terrorist activity that have been directly linked to the Kurdish majority in northern Iraq.
Be the first to comment on this story