The flotilla incident of last year may have been buried in the depths of the Arab Spring, but for Turkey and Israel, the event is still very much pertinent. Israel has stubbornly refused to apologize for the attack on the grounds that its soldiers were acting out of self-defense. Turkey, in retaliation, downgraded diplomatic relations with Israel by removing its ambassador from the country. The catastrophe, in which Israeli Commandos killed nine Turks aboard a Turkish ship that strayed into Israeli waters, is an example of stubbornness on the parts both political regimes and one of several occurrences that have contributed to the deeper fissuring of Israeli-Turkey relationship.
The National Security Policy Group of the IOP Policy Program had much to say on the approach the U.S. must adopt to calm the situation between Turkey and Israel. The group chair and overseer, sophomore Jean-Philippe Gauthier, outlined a conciliatory approach based on the economic and diplomatic importance of ties to both countries for the U.S. This, however, procrastinates mediating the opposing views of the two countries over the Palestinian state, which threaten to clash so stridently.
Although relations with both countries are important, Turkey is on the rise and distancing itself from the U.S. politically. Action that favors Turkey to prevent the loss of an increasingly crucial ally and punishes Israel for refusing to apologize for the attack is needed. The strongest method of expressing this is to vote for Palestinian statehood.
Now supporters of Israel will protest, and Obama pragmatists will point to the loss of the weighty Jewish interest groups essential to his campaign in 2008. Observers of the Israeli parliament will point to the heavy influence of the Orthodox community in Israeli politics and possible violent backlash from Israel. But, with the disintegration of Egypt, a global majority in favor of Palestine, and Israel’s dependence of the United States, it seems Israel has only been getting heavier to hold up. Additionally, not voting for Palestine portrays Obama as hypocritical given his claimed policy and shows that his foreign policy is built around failing to take a stance.
Then there’s Turkey! Increasingly, it’s becoming important for the United States to solidify ties to take advantage of trade and to save a secular state. Sizeable growth (Tukey’s GDP grew 8 percent in 2010) arose with the emergence of a powerful entrepreneurial class, nicknamed the Anatolian Tigers. Turkey’s state also generates wealth from the oil pipeline it installed in 2006. Sophomore Andrew Seo, the policy group’s specialist on US long-term goals concerning Iran and Turkey, described Turkey’s ambition as a desire to become an “energy hub.”
The economic prosperity has coupled economic instability. Prime Minister Erdogan, a cunning politician, has pandered to rising Islamic groups in Turkey and played up anger at the West. For instance, Erdogan has utilized the “provocative” statements about the flotilla incident “to generate considerable political capital domestically and in the region.” Alpkaan Celik, a Turkish native and freshman, say the Turkish people view the sinking as “unacceptable.” Although Alpkaan also stressed that the Turkish people still want a Turkish state, the continued rise of Islam may prevent Turkey from remaining a “0 problem neighbor” and tilt it towards Iran.
As Turkish politics distances itself, U.S. ties to the military have also undergone substantive shocks. Several of the key generals resigned from their posts. Additional disgruntled feelings over the Iraq and Afghanistan in Turkey have added fuel to the fire that is Turkish anger at the West. While Alpkaan disagreed with the idea that Turks think of the U.S. as a “bad guy,” he concurred that opinion is becoming “more negative.”
A final issue lodged in Turkish anger at the West is the Palestine’s right to statehood. Furthermore, this predicament may put the nail in Turkish-Israeli relations.
America must remove worries of Islam becoming tied to Turkey’s state and cement Turkey as a nation which, “unlike most of the other countries in the Middle East…has actually shown its willingness to take the lead on the region’s most difficult problems in a sensible and responsible way.” While some dissension could break loose over the U.S. “betraying” Israel, the vote by no means rejects Israel as an ally, but merely casts America as a strong arbitrator over an issue it has tried to resolve repeatedly through civilized means. As Alpkaan said, US is “trying to stay in a central area and is avoiding taking action. You have to take definite action.” Voting in an internationally recognized institution still constitutes a “civilized” and decisive approach.
And doing so would help American relations with more than just Turkey, but with the entire Arab Spring. With America on better terms with predominantly Muslim countries, who knows? Perhaps post-spring, it may be better disposed to successfully negotiate in the Middle East…