by Mehmet Ali Birand
Those following Turkish American relations should know one thing well.
Israel is very important for the United States.
Turkish-American relations are based on Turkish-Israeli relations. If you get in trouble with Israel, then they might conclude you are in trouble with the U.S.
Maybe some will be astonished or react badly, but like it or not that’s the truth. This reality better be accepted and politics followed accordingly.
The Israeli lobby seems to be an extension of Israel and the country. It controls Washington’s relations with Turkey and dominates politics. They dominate in almost every area. A country on bad terms with Israel always encounters the Israeli lobby.
So far so good, let’s get down to our subject.
Turkey follows politics that it deems right but these politics are viewed differently on the Washington-Tel Aviv axis.
And the Israeli lobby has a big influence on things getting this far.
It is enough for the Israeli lobby to label Turkey as an “unwanted country” due to Ankara getting close with a country that tries to extinguish Israel.
Turkey can’t pass Congress any more
One of the institutions in which the Israeli lobby is strong and most effective is the U.S. Congress.
Turkey is able to get across some politics to the White House, State Department or Pentagon even if there is a difference in opinion. And to some extent it receives sympathy, but with Congress it is different.
All representatives of the House and Senate (535 people in total) worry about domestic politics. They don’t care about Turkey’s strategic or regional importance. What’s important is making voters happy and say what the media wants to hear.
For the majority of Congress members everything is either black or white.
Either you are friends or enemies with the United States and Israel.
Iran is an enemy. Ahmadinejad is evil. And those who embrace the leader of this country are also perceived as evil by those in Congress. You may try and make yourself clear as much as you want. It doesn’t change a thing.
Congress is a playground for the Israeli lobby.
Until now the Israeli lobby would protect Turkey against evil.
Regarding Cyprus it wouldn’t spoil Greek Cypriots and Greeks but watch out for Turkey, turn a blind eye on human rights and the torture issue, prevent voting on the Armenian genocide, not support the Kurdish issue but help Ankara in the pipeline issue and accept whatever Turkey asks for in respect to weapons.
Now it’s all done with.
The Israeli lobby has closed the doors of Congress for Turkey.
Not only Congress, but it also started influencing those who make up politics. Their slogans are very effective:
- Turkey betrays the U.S.
- Turkey has become an unreliable country.
- Turkey has become friends with America’s enemies.
Media, NGOs, funds under the lobby’s influence
I might count other institutions like the U.S. media, academic institutions and nongovernmental organizations that are among those equally influenced by the Israeli lobby.
Big media and TV organizations are in the hands of Israeli supporters. Those touching Israel burn their fingers badly. Those sources formerly extremely praised Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Turkey as being the closest ally Americas.
Today the same source heads a smear campaign. They say Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu try to pull Turkey in a different direction.
The academic world and famous NGOs are under the influence of Israeli supporters. They too have no longer the same perspective. Reports and conferences in respect to Turkey are full of negativity.
And then there are also funds.
Investments of hundreds of billions of dollars managed by institutions like the International Monetary Fund are also under the influence of the lobby. The lobby may not as of yet become active in these fields, but if the situation becomes tenser in the future, then we might face a surprise.
The target is Islam and Davutoglu
An increase in the influence of the Republicans in American political reality brings bad news for Ankara. Especially Eric Edelman, a former U.S. ambassador to Ankara who is valued by the conservatives and the Israeli lobby pronouncing openly things like “Stop spoiling the [Justice and Development Party] AKP,” which he formerly used to say behind closed doors, is a typical example of alarm bells ringing in Washington. This is a development not to be underestimated.
Conservatives who used to support Turkey in the past now despise the country just like Edelman. And their target is Davutoğlu. They believe he changed the course of Turkey and injected the Islamic ideology in foreign affairs.
In case this campaign continues we may expect Davutoglu to become an obvious target.
Will Turkey be remembered as being Islamic?
During conversations there was one more thing that stunned me. In certain segments people started to remember Turkey’s Islam negatively.
The greatest milestone for the U.S. was the Sept. 11 Al-Qaeda attacks. After this attack America perceived Islam as a dangerous religion. They started perceiving Muslim countries differently. Formerly Turkey could not be placed among them. This time, I noticed that Turkey has been put in the same picture with Iran.
I feel that in case no precautions are taken, then Ankara and Washington’s roads will split in such a way that they will not be merged easily again.
And that has me scared.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php? ... 2010-11-24
