UPDATE 1020 GMT: Despite the criticism of his behaviour, Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon is not expressing regrets. To the contrary, he is backing away from his formal apology to Turkey: In an interview with Channel 2, he said:
[Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's] policy is proving to be effective. We will not allow a situation where every country will kick us. If there will be an attack on Israel, we will leave all options open, including the expulsion of ambassadors. We do not want to argue with anyone, but we will not sit idly by.
Ayalon took a specific swipe at Turkey in the guise of “clarifying” the incident with Ankara’s ambassador:
The story with the cameras wasn’t planned, I didn’t think it was being recorded, and if it was — I didn’t think it would be aired with sound. My intention wasn’t to humiliate, but to send a visual message. The ambassador didn’t feel humiliated either — only once reporters started calling him. The picture was aimed at the Turks, to send them a message. I think what (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan did to (Israeli President Shimon) Peres in Davos (over the Gaza War) is humiliation, not this.
Haaretz’s Zvi Bar’el questioned today Israel’s humiliation Turkey’s ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, which he called “gangster diplomacy’, and wrote the prescription for a moral Israel to demand morality from others:
Now we have also shown the Turks who we are, because when it comes to the Jewish, Zionist honor of a nation that endured the Holocaust and the Goldstone report, no one will make a movie about us – certainly not the Turks – portraying us as war criminals. If Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks he can reprimand us without a reaction, we’ll show him and all the other countries of the world.
On Monday, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the Oval Office meeting President Barack Obama. The leaders talked about bilateral economic relations, Turkey’s Kurdish opening, Turkish-Armenian relationship, the “energy corridor”, Turkey’s PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) problem, Iran’s nuclear energy programme and Washington’s war in Afghanistan.
Having underlined the concept of “Model Partnership”, in which it was agreed to develop bilateral economic and trade relations, Washington expressed satisfaction with Ankara’s role in the Nabucco energy pipeline project and encouraged Turkey to step forward both in democratization and in advancing relations with Armenia.
As for the PKK problem, after a “terrorist” attack killing 7 Turkish soldiers, Obama reiterated Washington’s “common ground” in the “war on terror” and called PKK aa “terrorist organization”. This, along with Washington’s encouragement for further democratic improvements, is considered by the Turkish pubic as a commitment to disband PKK in northern Iraq.
On the Iranian nuclear energy programme and further sanctions, Washington was again satisfied with placing Ankara’s current role in maintaining relations with Tehran ahead of any discussions on tougher sanctions. Although it is still unclear how Ankara will react to any UN Security Council vote on sanctions, Turkey’s “dialogue first” approach with Tehran is not only indispensable to Ankara’s “zero-problem with neighbours” agenda but is also a very effective bridge between Washington and Tehran.
The second half of this “Model Partnership”, applying it to the “war on terror”, was on military-intelligence cooperation. Ankara is allegedly going to receive three Hebron unmanned aerial vehicles from Washington after Israel held up delivery of the aircraft.
So does this have political implication, with the US siding with Ankara’s harsh statements on Tel Aviv to put more pressure on Israel? After the meeting in Washington, Ankara’s criticism continued in an Erdogan speech at the John Hopkins University. He stated that Israel had killed children with phosphorous bombs and even hit hospitals, and he called Gaza as an open-air prison.
Beyond the Middle East, Ankara has already increased its force in Afghanistan from 900 to 1,700, but it is wary of where they will be posted. Turkish soldiers are not to be used in the fight against Taliban forces but to be used in reconstructing the government and helping Afghan people develop their institutions. Despite the claim that Obama is demanding fighting forces from Turkey, the increase outside the mission area is likely to be acceptable given the symbolism of Turkey as a “Muslim” ally of the US.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I want to extend the warmest of welcomes to Prime Minister Erdogan. I’m glad that I, personally, and the American people have a chance to reciprocate the wonderful hospitality that was extended to me when I visited Turkey in April.
UPDATE 1945 GMT: Take this for what it’s worth from former CIA operative Robert Baer: “I’ve been told that the Bush Administration at one point considered Jundallah as a piece in a covert-action campaign against Iran, but the idea was quickly dropped because Jundallah was judged uncontrollable and too close to al-Qaeda. There was no way to be certain that Jundallah would not throw the bombs we paid for back at us.”
– We followed up Sunday’s bombing in southeastern Iran with a discussion between EA’s Mr Smith and Chris Emery on the likely attackers, the Baluch insurgent group Jundallah. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani were claiming that Jundallah was supported by foreign intelligence services, including US operatives.
EA correspondent Josh Mull dissects the Jundallah-US narrative to put some questions not about the claim but about the significance of the bombing. — WSL
My immediate question is why the blaming of Jundallah head Abdolmalek Rigi automatically makes Tehran’s anti-Western rhetoric more credible. Who else could they have named that would NOT lend credibility to their anti-Western rhetoric? The Kurdish PKK? The Baluchistan Liberation Army? The Mujahedin-e-Khalq? The US is said to have supported all of them against the Tehran regime at one point or another, so what makes Jundallah an extra-credible outlet for US activities? Read the rest of this entry »
Yesterday, as we were focused on events in Iran, news came through of the deadliest attack in Iraq this year, with 80 people dying in a suicide truck bombing in Kirkuk.
That incident may put into perspective the appearance on the US Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher R. Hill, in Washington two days earlier. Hill confirmed the interests of Iran and Syria in Iraq while striking a delicate balance: the two countries contributed to Iraq’s insecurity, but dialogue with them was important to an Iraqi future.
Meanwhile, thanks to the engagement policy of the US, Hill said, the dialogue among different factions in Iraq had played a significant role in the overall downward trend of violence. Hill added, though, “But I don’t want to sound Pollyannish about that because these are trends that are fragile and ones that need to be nurtured every day.”
AMBASSADOR HILL: It’s a pleasure to be here and not talking about North Korea. (Laughter.) That was a preemptive strike. But I’m back for a few days of consultations and some personal travel, and I will be getting back to Baghdad next week. Read the rest of this entry »
Two weeks ago, Turkey and Syria held, for the first time in history, joint military drills. The exercises were a clear sign of the increasingly close ties between the two states as they co-operate on wider agendas. At the same time, they raise the question: what happens to other relationship, notably the long-standing ties between Ankara and Tel Aviv?
When Turkey felt isolated by its neighbors in 1995, the first door it knocked on was Israel’s. The Turks had one eye on recent manoeuvres by Greece: the Greco-Syrian military training agreement in 1995 followed a similar arrangement between Israel and Greece in December 1994. On the economic front, the volume of trade between Israel and Greece reached $350 million, double that of 1989. Meanwhile, Syria was causing problems with the border dispute over Hatay, arguments over water, and Hafez al Assad’s support to the PKK, the Kurdish “terrorist” organization. Read the rest of this entry »
So, after his high-profile participation in the G-20 and NATO summits, after the set-piece excitement of his speech to French and German, President Obama spoke in Turkey yesterday. And, while most of the US media missed the story, his address was just as significant as his statements on the global economy and intervention in Pakistan-Afghanistan.
TURKEY, THE US NEEDS YOU Read the rest of this entry »
C-SPAN has posted the full video of President Obama’s speech today in Ankara: “Turkey and the United States must stand together and work together to overcome the challenges of our time.” Here is an extract from CNN:
OBAMA: Mr. Speaker, Madam Deputy Speaker, distinguished members, I am honored to speak in this chamber, and I am committed to renewing the alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people.
This is my first trip overseas as President of the United States. I have been to the G-20 Summit in London, the NATO Summit in Strasbourg and Kehl, and the European Union Summit in Prague. Some people have asked me if I chose to continue my travels to Ankara and Istanbul to send a message. My answer is simple: Evet. Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together – and work together – to overcome the challenges of our time. Read the rest of this entry »
Brent Scowcroft, the former National Security adviser under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and the former Chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under George W. Bush, gave an interview to the Aksam newspaper as the Chairman of the American Turkish Council in Turkey last week. This interview is important because General Scowcroft’s confessions are shocking!
He stated that the PJAK, the Iranian wing of the PKK operating against Iranian armed forces, was supported and encouraged by the Bush Administration. The 84-year-old former adviser added that the US administration did not want to go after PKK forces during the Iraq War as the Northern part was more quiet than the Southern fronts where they were waging a war; whereas the situation changed with the Obama Administration.
Here is the full transcript of the related part of the interview conducted by the Turkish journalist Nagehan Alci:
UPDATE 1020 GMT: Despite the criticism of his behaviour, Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon is not expressing regrets. To the contrary, he is backing away from his formal apology to Turkey: In an interview with Channel 2, he said:
On Monday, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the Oval Office meeting President Barack Obama. The leaders talked about bilateral economic relations, Turkey’s Kurdish opening, Turkish-Armenian relationship, the “energy corridor”, Turkey’s PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) problem, Iran’s nuclear energy programme and Washington’s war in Afghanistan.
UPDATE 1945 GMT: Take this for what it’s worth 
Two weeks ago, Turkey and Syria held, for the first time in history, joint military drills. The exercises were a clear sign of the increasingly close ties between the two states as they co-operate on wider agendas. At the same time, they raise the question: what happens to other relationship, notably the long-standing ties between Ankara and Tel Aviv?
So, after his high-profile participation in the G-20 and NATO summits, after the set-piece excitement of his speech to French and German, President Obama spoke in Turkey yesterday. And, while most of the US media missed the story, his address was just as significant as his statements on the global economy and intervention in Pakistan-Afghanistan.
Brent Scowcroft, the former National Security adviser under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and the former Chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under George W. Bush, gave an interview to the 
Entries (RSS)