Turkey Is No Longer a Reliable Ally


Date posted: October 12, 2016

Steven A. Cook and Michael J. Koplow

The failed coup was a clarifying moment. Ankara and Washington don’t share values or interests.

The meeting this week between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin and their vow to expand bilateral relations is the latest sign of deteriorating U.S.-Turkish relations since Turkey’s failed coup last month.

The U.S. and Turkey have faced difficult days before, such as after Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, yet American and Turkish leaders managed to find their way back. This time will be different.

Since Turkey joined NATO in 1952, the U.S. and Turkey have contributed to each other’s security and interests, and ties were cemented based on shared values as Turkey became more democratic. U.S. forces and tactical nuclear weapons at Turkey’s Incirlik air base represented the American commitment to Turkish security and Ankara’s support to a Washington-led global order.

These days, however, the U.S. and Turkey see eye to eye on very little. The two countries are at odds over Syria and the urgency of removing Syrian President Bashar Assad; over support for Syrian Kurds who, in contrast to the Turks, have proved to be reliable U.S. partners in the fight against Islamic State; over the territorial sovereignty of Iraq; and over continuing sanctions on Iran.

Though American officials privately acknowledge that Mr. Erdogan is “erratic,” they have given the Turkish leader extraordinary leverage over U.S. policy. The U.S. fear is that public pressure will result in even less cooperation from Ankara—especially on Syria.

No issue demonstrates the divergence better than the drama over Incirlik air base. This facility, a little more than 200 miles from Raqqa in Iraq and twice that from Mosul, is important to the coalition against Islamic State. But the Turks forced the U.S. into a yearlong negotiation to use the base to strike the would-be caliphate.

When Ankara finally joined the coalition, it still prioritized its war against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdish nationalism. Turkey has become more focused on Islamic State in the past six months, but only after deadly terrorist attacks in Ankara, Istanbul and other Turkish cities.

The failed coup has caused unprecedented anger in Turkey about Washington that reinforces the bilateral crisis. Hours after the start of the coup attempt, the White House released a statement declaring President Obama’s support for “the democratically elected Government of Turkey.” The next day Mr. Obama reiterated U.S. support for the “democratically elected, civilian Government of Turkey.”

This should have been more than sufficient for Turkish leaders to tamp down the conspiracy theories circulating in the Turkish press and social media accusing the U.S. of complicity in the coup. A disturbingly large number of Turks think Washington is culpable because the U.S., in keeping with the requirements of its extradition treaty with Turkey, has not handed over Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish cleric who lives in Pennsylvania and who Ankara claims masterminded the coup.

Rather than defend Turkey’s relations with the U.S., Mr. Erdogan accused U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel of supporting the coup plotters. Pro-government newspapers have accused American generals of smuggling coup plotters out of Turkey. The Turkish press has gone full tilt, asserting that former State Department official Henri Barkey was behind the coup. Now with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mr. Barkey happened to be attending an academic conference in Istanbul as the coup unfolded.

The U.S. response to this has been timorous, with nary a word of public protest. It would be one thing to overlook the way the Turks have behaved if Ankara were indispensable to U.S. efforts in the Middle East and Central Asia. It is not.

Incirlik’s runways are important. The bombing of Islamic State is an American priority, as is funneling weapons to the Syrian rebels. But both missions could be carried out from elsewhere. The baseless allegations leveled at the U.S. suggest that Mr. Erdogan might rescind American access to the base merely to demonstrate that he can. It would be prudent for the U.S. to develop a plan to redeploy forces outside Turkey, making arrangements to use airstrips in Cyprus, Jordan and the Kurdish Region in Iraq, for example.

All of this should be a clarifying moment for American policy makers, demonstrating that Turkey and the U.S. no longer share values or interests. Rather than overlook Turkish excesses while hoping Mr. Erdogan will come around, it is time to search for more reliable allies.

Mr. Cook is a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Koplow is the policy director at the Israel Policy Forum.

Source: Wall Street Journal , August 10, 2016


Related News

Tables Have Turned for Some Media in Turkish Crackdown

Mr. Kenes says he should have been more outspoken in defense of fellow journalists when the government started targeting its critics more than a decade ago. “Frankly, we did not realize Mr. Erdogan’s real intentions,” said Mr. Kenes, who was convicted last year of insulting the president on Twitter and given a 21-month suspended prison sentence. “When I look at my history, I criticize myself for not showing more sympathy for their cases.”

CPJ report: Turkey world’s 10th most dangerous country for journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Wednesday released a special report for 2014 designating Turkey is the world’s 10 worst country for journalists, once again underlining the country’s deteriorating situation for freedom of expression and free media.

When Iconic Islamic scholar wins prestigious peace award

The Gulen movement has spread to over 160 countries across the globe and has a vast network of schools, charity organisations, health institutions and cultural dialogue centres.

Governor’s office rejects Kimse Yok Mu’s application for aid campaign

The İstanbul Governor’s Office has rejected an application by the Kimse Yok Mu charity to conduct an aid campaign to help the families of victims killed in terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attacks.

Did Erdogan stage the coup?

Erdogan called the coup attempt and the excuse to crush his opponents “a gift from God.” But was the coup really “a gift from God” or was it Erdogan’s gift to himself? Was it Turkey’s equivalent of the Reichstag Fire?

Turkish authorities purge regulators, state TV employees in backlash against graft probe

Turkey has extended a purge of official organizations to the banking and telecommunications regulators and state television, firing dozens of executives in moves that appear to broaden Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s push back against a corruption investigation.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Men accused of attempting to rape 6 teachers: We thought they were Gulenists

Eid al-Adha in Rio

Turkey Concedes: No Evidence Linking Gulen to Coup Sent to Washington

Counterterrorism judge found to be PM’s strong supporter

From al-Qaeda to Amsterdam, from İstanbul to Pennsylvania

Abant participants: Turkey needs EU support to improve its democracy

Fethullah Gulen: ISIL Actions, Disgrace to Faith

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News