Ankara remains an important ally

Submitted by GWK (United States), Apr 6, 2009 at 13:11

Dr. Pipes -- Some very harsh accusations were in your piece above (e.g., "Ankara has repeatedly sided with the former – hosting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, advocating for Iran's nuclear program, developing an Iranian oil field, transferring Iranian arms to Hezbollah, openly supporting Hamas, viciously condemning Israel, and turning Turkish public opinion against the United States.")

Perhaps you are onto something -- especially when it comes to weapons transfers. And that issue and Ankara's support of Hizbollah and Hamas needs to be addressed, too. But do remember Lincoln's adage -- you catch more flies with honey that you do with vinegar. And we need Ankara to remain our ally.

The Bush Cheney administration bungled Turkey relations to our detriment and to the benefit of islamist hardliners. And with Iran standing to be the beneficiary of the USA's international misadventures and therefore a new power in the region, it seems natural that Ankara would hedge its bets toward a strengthening Iran -- particularly with thorny Kurdish threats emerging and with a rift between Riyadh (long Ankara's rival) and Tehran getting more visible all the time. Unfortunately, the militant and militaristic advisors of the Bush Cheney era drew a line in the sand that others found too provocative. When one strategy fails to get the desired results, perhaps it's time to try something new?

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