GORDON DUFF: WIKILEAKS, A TOUCH OF ASSANGE AND THE STENCH OF AIPAC
“Recent admissions that the Israeli lobby, AIPAC, routinely receives masses of classified information makes them suspect #1 for being the source of Wikileaks”
EDITORIAL NOTE: THIS IS OUR “PRE-RELEASE” PREDICTION. HOW DID WE DO?
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor
Wikileaks is like a TV show that never gets off the ground. We started with a “shoot ‘em up” in Iraq, the helicopter slaughter soon forgotten and move on to, well, what? We got a deluge of material from Afghanistan, carefully gleaned to point fingers at Pakistan. When it came down to backing any of it up, it went nowhere.
Considering the massive corruption and drug scandals, even the revelations that President Karzai has been in negotiations with pranksters pretending to be the Talbian, all the really juicy stuff from Afghanistan must have been in another drawer. Then we got Iraq. Ah, Iraq. There, we could check. We know the people who wrote the leaked material. They told us Wikileaks edited it, altered it, redacted it more than the Pentagon.
The “Iraq War Log” was, well…phony. There is one thing that has been consistent about Wikileaks and our prediction is that this next batch, reputed to be millions of highly sensitive documents, will prove our point. Wikileaks is Israel.
Wikileaks is an intelligence operation to weaken and undermine the American government, orchestrated from Tel Aviv, using dozens of operatives, dual citizens, some at the highest authority levels, spies for Israel. Through leaking carefully selected intelligence along with proven falsified documents, all fed to a controlled press, fully complicit, Wikileaks is, in fact, an act of war against the United States.
HOW CAN ISRAEL SIFT THROUGH DEFENSE DOCUMENTS?
This last week, in a lawsuit over an AIPAC, (Israel’s lobby) employee reputedly fired for being caught spying against the US, news stories across the United States reported that, as part of that $20 million civil case, evidence will be presented that masses of classified material come to AIPAC and Israel continually. Is AIPAC Wikileaks?The only evidence of any massive leak discovered in the Pentagon is AIPAC. Last week’s Washington Post story was buried quicker than a carp in a playground: Jeff Stein, at the Washinton Post, reports the following:
Rosen says his actions were common practice at the organization. He said his next move is to show that AIPAC, Washington’s major pro-Israeli lobbying group by far, regularly traffics in sensitive U.S. government information, especially material related to the Middle East. “I will introduce documentary evidence that AIPAC approved of the receipt of classified information,”he said by e-mail. “Most instances of actual receipt are hard to document, because orally received information rarely comes with classified stamps on it nor record’s alerts that the information is classified.”
But Rosen said he would produce “statements of AIPAC employees to the FBI, internal documents, deposition statements, public statements and other evidence showing that [the] receipt of classified information by employees other than [himself] … was condoned … for months prior to being condemned in March 2005 after threats from the prosecutors.”
How does this apply to Wikileaks? The answer, if we bother to put the pieces together, is staring us in the face. The proof, the ultimate proof, however, will be in the current batch of documents that have already been prepared, weeks of work by dozens with access to classified documents, and only one group has that access and can operate with impunity, as was shown in a recent story in Veterans Today:
AIPAC is a sham. The group has, over the years, destroyed anyone who has tried to have it named what it really is, a dangerous foreign lobby and nest of spies. AIPAC is the most feared organization in Washington and most powerful, above any law. A former employee of AIPAC, Steve Rosen, who AIPAC claims was a spy, more appropriately a “caught” spy, now claims his former employer does nothing but spy. Rosen stands to get $20 million in his defamation lawsuit against AIPAC.
He isn’t without motive but we have also learned that Rosen has considerable documentation of AIPAC receiving and disseminating classified information, received from, well, we have to call them traitors, inside the US government. We know that a vast spy ring operates in Washington and that Israel is the center of it.
We also know that Israel, Turkey, India, Pakistan, China and Russia trade American secrets back and forth like baseball cards. We know that AIPAC is deeply involved in this spying. We know that AIPAC claims to hold signed letters of unconditional support from 80% of the members of congress, all of whom received campaign contributions arranged by AIPAC, with many elections financed almost entirely by AIPAC, a group involved, according to the Washington Post and Steve Rosen, in spying on the United States with seeming complicity by the FBI itself.
WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR, HOW CAN WE PROVE ISRAEL OR AIPAC MAY BE BEHIND WIKILEAKS?
Were we to ask author Jeff Gates, he would point to the “storytelling” aspect of Wikileaks, Assange and his “on again-off again” rape charges or that someone that manages to make it to continual television interviews can’t be found by police or security services. We call this “storytelling” and Jeff Gates tells us that Israel, the power behind Hollywood and the American press, is the “storyteller” of all time.
There are better ways to “prove,” a word as subjective as any of the storytelling around the Wikileaks myth itself. The proof, always depending on who accepts the proof, and as is almost always the case, dependent on whether the press itself chooses to report it, which if Israel is involved, is more than a bit predictable itself. Lack of reporting potential Israeli complicity in Wikileaks, knowing AIPAC and Israel have the longest history of accessing classified information and, by far, the strongest agenda for leaking information, could be seen as conclusive proof itself.
WHAT WILL BE IN WIKILEAKS?
If dual citizens who make up much of the Pentagon’s leadership are working with Israel or AIPAC to formulate Wikileaks, as seems to be the case, then the upcoming leak will serve a pro-Israeli agenda, even if it damages the United States, as other Wikileaks have. These are Israeli agenda items:
Discrediting Obama foreign policy in order to weaken the president’s influence with congress to push for a halt on new settlements in Palestine and the forced removal of Islamic property owners.
Accusations involving Turkey, now feuding with Israel over the killing of Turkish citizens on the Mavi Marmara, now recognized as a purely humanitarian mission. These accusations against Turkey may include weapons being supplied to terrorists in Iraq, a fanciful abuse of reality. What will not be reported, if this story is “leaked” either through Wikileaks or the other Israeli sources, “Debka” .. ”Stratfor” .. ”FamilySecurityMatters.org” .. or the infamous “IsraelNationalNews.com” is Israel’s 40 years of complicity in the very acts they now accuse Turkey of.
More importantly, is the issue of blaming Turkey for the actions of the terrorist group, PKK, long funded by Israel and now claimed to be allied to Al Qaeda, is vital to Israel’s strategy against Turkey.
Expect Pakistan to be hit, as usual. An Islamic nuclear power with a top rate million man army that outclasses Israel hands down, Pakistan, primary competitor for US aid dollars, a country that actually has agreements with the United States and real troops fighting alongside Americans, will get their usual Wikileaks bashing.
WIKILEAKS IS CHICKENFEED MEANT TO COVER ISRAEL’S TAIL
Is it a coincidence that documents regarding Israel, their spying, influence peddling, suspicions of complicity in terrorism, Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, across Europe and even the Detroit bombing, those reports are there, they are classified but you will never see one on Wikileaks. In fact, they are the only classified information that never gets out to the news. Is that because, as we have learned, the borders of Israel extend well into Washington DC, well into the Pentagon? What won’t we see in Wikileaks:
Nothing in Wikileaks will accuse anyone, even Pakistan or Afghanistan, or complicity in narcotics trafficking nor mention the huge new narcotics industry operating in Iraq. Ask yourself why.
One of the biggest areas of complaint in the Pentagon, more classified White Papers have been written on this than anything else: “How Israel is Endangering the United States“
In fact, the biggest “classified” debate in America is what supporting Israel, a nation with incredible wealth and utterly obnoxious leaders costs the United States. Rumors of such issues aren’t rumors at all. When General Petraeus presented his now famous power-point presentation to Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlining how Israel is undermining American foreign policy, he wasn’t operating without tens of thousands of pages of intelligence behind him. Not one page, not one word of these studies will be in Wikileaks.
When Vice President Joe Biden said the following to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu:
“This is starting to get dangerous for us, what you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.”
Are we to believe these statements were taken out of thin air? In fact, Petraeus, Mullen and Biden are only the tip of the iceberg. Admiral Mullen, America’s top military leader under the Commander in Chief, has repeatedly cited Israel and America’s relationship, as, not only a liability but something far worse, so much worse that:
As public statements by Admiral Mullen, Vice President Biden, General Petraeus and others, citing America’s relationship with Israel as a military disaster, are obviously “watered down” for public consumption, can you imagine what classified reports are saying?
WHY PRESIDENT OBAMA IS AFRAID AND WHY AMERICA IS PARALYZED
The greatest fear any president has, even more than impeachment, is the fate of Jimmie Carter.Carter, now pegged as an “Antisemite” and “enemy of the state” in Israel, is still being sold to Americans as something quite the opposite of reality. Friends in Israel, if they want to start a row, something not too difficult in Israel as you might guess, will walk around carrying one of Jimmie Carter’s books under their arm. A Yasser Arafat t-shirt and suicide vest are considered only marginally worse. Carter left office under mysterious circumstances. Several disasters, high interest rates, the hostage crisis and the failed rescue attempt showed signs of conspiratorial meddling. His real crimes were:
Pushing Israel for a durable and lasting Middle East peace
Monetary policies that kept America out of debt…
Support of Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid
Unwillingness to engage in military adventure
When the defense and oil lobby joined with Israel and Wall Street to crush the Carter presidency, the writing was on the wall. Interest rates, the “October surprise” and the military sabotaging the hostage rescue attempt, these things destroyed President Carter who might, otherwise, have suffered an “accident” like the Kennedy brothers. Today, millions of Americans who should be praying to return to Carters foreign policy and fiscal conservatism, are taught to look on him as a failure. However, more and more, historians are seeing Carter as the last American president. Every leader since has been dictated to by Israel.
JEFF GATES : WIKILEAKS AND ESPIONAGE – ISRAELI STYLE
To whom should this release be attributed? Who benefitted?
WikiLeaks Disinformation Campaign
The U.S. is under attack by an enemy within. Skilled at game theory warfare, this foe targets the most sensitive realm of U.S. national security: its relations with other nations.
The online publication of a quarter-million documents chronicling diplomatic exchanges is notable both for what’s omitted and what’s included. To determine whether this latest release was a form of espionage, analysts need only examine how this treasure trove of trivia was peppered with documents certain to damage U.S. relations.
To identify its origins, analysts must answer a key question:
Cui Bono? To whose benefit?
One clue: the release of degrading and insulting language about Turkish leaders soon after they insisted in late October that the U.S. no longer share Turkish intelligence with Tel Aviv.
That request from a valued ally marks a critical step in isolating Israel by requiring that the U.S. shut down Israeli operations inside its 16 intelligence agencies, the White House and the Intelligence Committees in both the House and Senate. Tel Aviv was not pleased.
Turks remain outraged at the lack of accountability for the execution-style killing by Israel Defense Forces of nine Turkish citizens aboard a humanitarian ship that was boarded in international waters while sailing to Gaza with provisions to relieve an Israeli siege.
Was this release a tit-for-tat, Tel Aviv style? Is WikiLeaks
the visible face of an Israeli disinformation campaign? Whose
interests were served by disrupting U.S.-Turkish relations?
Intent is Determinative
A leak on this scale is only a leak if it is a random data dump. If items were purposely included or excluded based on their intended effect, it’s an intelligence operation. Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski points out how this release is “seeded” with information that is “surprisingly pointed.”
Take for example the cables indicating that Chinese leaders are inclined to cooperate with the U.S. in reunifying North and South Korea under the leadership of the south. That information was guaranteed to embarrass China’s leaders, damage U.S. relations with Beijing and make reunification more difficult.
From a game theory perspective, that damaging result was fully
foreseeable. With the U.S. economy teetering on a meltdown, the
creation of a rift with America’s largest trading partner was
also an assault on the economic strength required for the U.S.
to sustain a viable defense.
Similarly, the pointed references to Arab leaders were destined
to weaken their political credibility at home while complicating
relations abroad. By exposing Arab displeasure with Iran, this
operation also sharpened the divide between Sunni and Shiite
Muslims, a source of ongoing tensions and a key barrier to
forming a viable government in Iraq.
The effect was certain to complicate U.S. disengagement and raise America’s costs in both blood and treasure.
The cables involving Saudi leaders were released soon after Washington agreed to allow Riyadh to purchase $60 billion in U.S. aircraft and armaments over a multi-year period. Tel Aviv was not pleased.
By targeting the credibility of both Saudi Arabia and the U.S., this operation targeted the two nations pressing hardest for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Transparency is the Biggest Threat
Has Tel Aviv panicked? After more than six decades of nonstop provocations while routinely portraying itself as the perennial victim, has Israel’s storyline lost traction?
Zionism faces an existential threat though not from Iran or those Tel Aviv portrays as “Islamo-fascists.” The threat lurks in the fast-emerging transparency that confirms pro-Israelis as the source of the intelligence that took the U.S. to war on false premises.
A critical mass of disinformation persuaded the U.S. to wage war in pursuit of an agenda long sought by Zionist extremists.
Steve Rosen, a former employee of the Israel lobby, has promised to testify on the lobby’s routine receipt of classified U.S. intelligence. Is this massive release of classified materials meant to make the lobby’s intelligence-gathering operation appear routine?
What’s included in the WikiLeaks release is pointed. What’s excluded is even more so: the lack of facts chronicling the role that Israel has long played in undermining U.S. interests.
Israel has escaped accountability for more than six decades. Was the WikiLeaks release “seeded” to discredit the U.S. at this time-critical juncture? The evidence suggests that what we see is not a data dump but a disinformation operation.
Last week, Israeli resistance to a peace plan was front-page news. This week the news is all about war with Iran. The Jerusalem Post immediately crowed that WikiLeaks “vindicated Israel” by citing Arab leaders’ concerns about Iran.
These latest releases even enabled Tel Aviv to suggest that if
U.S. intelligence was flawed on a nuclear-armed North Korea,
how can anyone trust America to contain a nuclear Iran?
To whom should this release be attributed? Who benefitted?
Jeff Gates is author of Guilt By Association – How Deception and Self-Deceit Took America to War.
2010 Copyright – Jeff Gates
Comments
Danton says:
December 2, 2010 at 12:22 pm
The following quote is from today’s (Dec. 2) online Haaretz:
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday defended his disclosure of classified U.S. documents by singling out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an example of a world leader who believes the publications will aid global diplomacy.
What stronger indication does one need of the Israeli origins of WikiLeaks?
[…]
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/12/02/jeff-gates-wikileaks-and-espionage-–-israeli-style/, December 2, 2010
By JOSHUA MITNICK in Tel Aviv, Israel and MARC CHAMPION in Istanbul
Turkey, Greece and others came to Israel’s aid Friday in combating a deadly forest fire outside of Haifa, sending firefighting aircraft over what has become the worst fire disaster in Israel’s history.
The fire, which started Thursday, has claimed at least 42 lives and forced the evacuation of 17,000 Israelis. Israeli officials said the fire wouldn’t be brought under control until Saturday afternoon at the earliest.
A deadly blaze in the Carmel mountains in Israel has claimed at least 41 lives and forced 17,000 Israelis to evacuate. WSJ’s Joshua Mitnick reports from Tel Aviv on efforts to control the fire.
The assistance from Turkish aircraft—which has been locked in a bitter diplomatic clash with Israel—was seen as opening a possible door to better ties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan for the first time since taking office last year, thanking him and expressing hope the aid delivery would be “an opening toward improving relations.”
Mr. Erdogan, however, speaking to reporters Friday, reiterated Turkey’s demand for an Israeli apology for the deaths of Turkish activists in May. The activists, including eight Turks and a Turkish-American, were killed by Isreali naval commandoes when their ship challenged Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, souring relations with Israel.
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European Pressphoto Agency
People examine the bus in which 40 people died during a forest fire in the Carmel Forest close to Haifa.
Turkish TV pundits on Friday recalled the 1999 breakthrough between Turkey and Greece that followed a Greek decision to send help when its neighbor and historic rival suffered a serious earthquake around the industrial town of Izmit, near Istanbul.
It wasn’t clear Friday if any similar rapprochement would follow what Turkish media were already calling “fire diplomacy” with Israel.
Alon Liel, a former Israeli diplomat who served in Turkey, said the gesture was “of great importance” amid otherwise tense relations.
“It’s the first time that something that happened positively between the countries in maybe two years. Maybe it will speed up the process of an Israeli apology,” he said.
Since the fire’s outbreak Thursday, in the Carmel mountains outside Haifa, Israel has been gripped in a sense of national emergency reserved for military operations and terrorist attacks.
The sense that the country’s fire forces were ill-equipped and understaffed to grapple with the giant brush fire has been a blow to a country which regularly holds exercises simulating emergency response in civilian areas in case of a missile attack.
The fire marked the first time that Israel, which prides itself on dispatching emergency aid to disaster areas abroad, has found itself on the receiving end.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Israel Television that he didn’t know when the blaze would be out. “The planes did very important work, but its far from being enough,” he said.
As the firefighting efforts continued on Friday, funerals were held for some of the 41 dead, almost all of whom were killed after the fire trapped a bus on Thursday carrying about 50 prison guards and officer cadets to assist in the evacuation of about several hundred prisoners, many of them Palestinians.
Israel’s national parks authority estimated that nearly 10,000 acres of forest had been destroyed in the fire. The Carmel range covers one of Israel’s largest reserves and is a popular tourist attraction.
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European Pressphoto Agency
A major fire in northern Israel spread through thousands of acres of land and resulted in the deaths of at least 41 people.
The Jewish and Arab towns and villages situated amid the forest were evacuated. One neighborhood in Haifa was evacuated.
The plane sorties were expected to be stopped overnight, when the wind could pick up and give renewed momentum to the fire.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that by Friday a total of eight airplanes, three helicopters, three fire trucks and over 150 firemen had arrived from countries including Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Bulgaria, the U.K. and Russia.
The Haaretz news website said the prime minister had called counterparts from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and Norway for more planes. Israel was also offered aid by Jordan and Egypt.
Turkey’s decision to send two firefighting planes to Israel to assist in battling the Carmel blaze does not attest to improved ties with the Jewish state, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says.
“This step must not be confused with other problems we have with Israel,” the Turkish PM said. “The ties between us will not improve until they officially apologize and compensate us.” (News agencies)
via Turkey: Aid no sign of improved ties – Israel News, Ynetnews.
Both countries have made mistakes, assuming a zero-sum posture that will serve neither’s national interests.
Talkbacks (4)Turkey’s rise to prominence, especially in the past decade, is impressive. Ankara pursued domestic and foreign policy initiatives consistent with the size of its population, geostrategic location, Western orientation and potential for development. One of the factors behind its recent boisterous behavior is its rising position in the post-9/11 world. Turkey has benefited greatly from its status as a NATO member, with the largest standing military and one of the 20 largest global economies.
In a relatively short time, Turkey has significantly expanded its trade with neighboring states. Moreover, its location, as a border country to Europe, Iraq and Iran, and its status as the only major democracy in the region beside Israel have allowed it to pursue an ambitious foreign policy with considerable success.
Since 2002, Turkey has resolved to adopt an independent foreign policy and has been determined to carve its own sphere of influence, even at the risk of defying the US, which explains its refusal to transport American troops and supplies destined for Iraq in 2003, its cozying up to Hamas and Hizbullah and its public condemnation of Israel’s incursion into Gaza. Moreover, Turkey opposed the Security Council resolution imposing a fourth set of sanctions on Iran, while aggressively pursuing political and trade relations with Teheran.
Furthermore, the voice of the ruling AKP government has resonated particularly well on the Arab street. The “Zero Problems with Neighbors” policy, a doctrine developed by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, has been systematically implemented with vigor and considerable skill. Ankara has converted enemies such as Syria into friends, settled its differences with Iraq and forged a closer alliance with Lebanon. It has also reached out to the majority of Arab states, as well as the Balkans and Caucasus, all while trying to enhance its EU membership prospects.
Such ambitious foreign policy initiatives are bound to have some setbacks. Ankara has failed to settle a century-old conflict with Armenia, found no solution to the situation in Cyprus, failed to realistically address the Kurdish issue and strained its relations with the US. None of these shortcomings, however, has been more pronounced than the deterioration of Turkey’s relations with Israel. The doctrine of “Zero Problems with Neighbors” was forsaken in the case of Israel, with whom Turkey has had an important strategic relationship over more than six decades.
ISRAEL TOO has gone through significant developments, but national security has remained central in its strategic calculations. It has become one of the most developed nations with a growing economy, unsurpassed technological advancement and entrepreneurial spirit.
Moreover, Israel’s perceived invincibility stems from its military power. It reportedly possesses the fourth largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, estimated at 150 to 200 warheads.
Turkey was an extremely important ally for Israel, with the relationship considered to be second in importance only to its ties with the US. This explains why Israelis felt so deeply troubled with the turn of events. For most Israelis, the flotilla incident was a major point of departure as Turkey has placed itself among its enemies. Moreover, it made Israel the target of its verbal attacks, especially by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose political onslaughts were designed to raise his country’s popularity in the Arab street. In particular, Israel became extraordinarily alarmed when it was revealed that Turkey’s National Security Council amended its paper outlining foreign and domestic policy for the next five years to define Israel as a central threat, while removing Iran, Russia, Syria and Iraq from the list. Israeli officials insist that Operation Cast Lead and the flotilla incident provide excuses – not the real reasons – for the deteriorating relationship.
PERHAPS TAKEN by their formidable successes, Israel and Turkey have failed to live up to the responsibility of their strategic alliance, which covers by its very nature the entire Middle East. It is not enough to have trade relations and military cooperation without a genuine understanding of each other’s national concerns.
From the Turkish perspective, Israel hardly reached out to it in a comprehensive way on Iran, not just in intelligence sharing, but also in taking into account that Turkey has a vested interest in engagement – especially in oil import – rather than confrontation. While proclaiming its strategic alliance, Israel made little effort to allay Turkish concerns about the stalled peace process and paid little heed to Ankara’s desire to play a constructive role. Israel also insulted Ankara in what is known as the “low sofa affair.” Furthermore, Turkey feels that Israel has deliberately misled it, especially in regard to the negotiations with Syria under its mediation, by failing to share the plans to launch Operation Cast Lead. The flotilla incident was reckless and failed to consider Turkish sensitivity or genuine humanitarian concerns.
From Israel’s perspective, its experience with the Arab states is far more complex than Ankara is willing to recognize. It argues that the withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza, and the subsequent rocket attacks and wars, prove that the concept of land-for-peace is no longer valid. Israel is growing increasingly convinced that Turkey has made a calculated strategic shift to gain influence in the region at its expense. It argues that Turkey may have given up on EU membership in favor of casting its lot with the East and insists that it must come to grips with the real threat emanating from Iran and that the recent improvement in Ankara-Teheran relations will be short-lived.
CURRENT EFFORTS to mend relations are not likely to work if Ankara has made a strategic shift to the East. This, however, is not a likely scenario because Ankara knows that without Israel’s cooperation, regional peace and stability will remain elusive. Turkey need not abandon bilateral relations to become a leading regional player. The opposite is true. The Arab states have come to accept Israel’s reality, they understand that Turkey can play a significant role in advancing peace, which can only further enhance its regional leadership.
Turkey and Israel have made many mistakes and assumed a zero-sum posture that will serve neither’s national interests. They must both clearly demonstrate that their professed desire to restore friendly relations is translated into action. Erdogan will not be able to fully retreat from his demands that Israel apologize for the flotilla incident and offer compensation for the bereaved families. If he did, he would be subject to intense criticism by the opposition parties in the national election next year. But, he is in a position to exhibit leadership by settling for what Israel can deliver.
Similarly, Binyamin Netanyahu cannot apologize, not only because this would be tantamount to an admission of guilt but also because he too is under political pressure to show resolve. From his perspective, the flotilla incident was an outright Turkish provocation, and no apology is due.
TO MOVE forward, both sides must agree to deal constructively with the UN panel of inquiry and avoid acrimonious charges and countercharges once its findings are made public. In the interim, they must commit themselves to constructive dialogue to reduce tension through a combination of private and official channels. To begin the process of reconciliation Israel should agree to pay compensation as a humanitarian gesture to the families of those who were killed on the Mavi Marmara. This would meet part of the Turkish demand without an admission of wrongdoing.
Turkey, in return, should allow its officials in major Western capitals to talk informally to their Israeli counterparts. Such dialogues will have a marked impact on removing the growing misperception about each other’s intentions. Israel needs to be disabused of the notion that the Islamist tendency of the AKP is the only driving force behind Turkish policies, and Turkey needs to understand that Israel has legitimate security concerns that cannot be dismissed.
In addition, since the US is an ally of both and has vested interest in improved relations between them, an active role could be extremely beneficial.
Ankara and Jerusalem must realize that their relations were dictated by the geostrategic conditions which have not fundamentally changed. The emergence of Iran as a regional power, potentially equipped with nuclear weapons, is a threat to both countries’ long-term strategic interests. It would be an illusion for either to think it can reach its national objectives without the full cooperation of the other.
The writer is professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.
Turkey is transforming. Ankara is developing economic and diplomatic relations with its neighbours, prompting many in the global community to talk of “axis shift”. Turkish President Abdullah Gül has given a candid interview to euronews mapping out where his country might be heading next.
Euronews: Turkey is developing and extending its relations in the region and this has led a flurry of debate in the West. Where is the country heading? Is Turkey turning away from the West? Is it shifting on its axis?
Gül: There has been a lot of talk about this recently and I am following it all closely. My view is, as I’ve always said, that much of it is wrong. Some of these comments have been made intentionally and others out of ignorance. Turkey’s aim is very clear. We working towards the most advanced democratic and economic standards we can, and to improve standards. We have had to change the Constitution but we have also benefited from geopolitical opportunities; we have historical advantages as well. We are looking at a multi-directional policy.
Euronews: You said some comments were made intentionally. What do you mean by that?
Gül: Before, Turkey’s foreign policy was on the wrong foot. Imagine a country that always has problems with its neighbors. Its trade and economic relations with them are barely operational. This should not be the case. Turkey was like a dead-end street; now it is more of a crossroads. Look at the level of trade between France and Germany, Canada and the US, or any other countries who share a border. They are all doing well but Turkey’s trade with its neighbors was very poor. We were on the wrong axis. Turkey is settling on the right axis now.
Euronews: During the most recent NATO summit, thanks to your insistence, no specific country was mentioned as a target for the new missile shield system. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, “call a spade a spade,” clearly referring to Iran. What do you think about that?
Gül: Firstly, looking beyond the actual statement, our decision was made on moral grounds. NATO, as you know, is a defence network. It is not an assault organization and does not target any specific country. This anti-missile system is aimed against any country that has or could develop missile capability. There may be many in the future and so they would also have to be included under the system’s range. That is why our decision was morally driven. A general threat assessment was made. Otherwise, it would be wrong to single out countries one by one. Imagine if the threat originated in another member state?
Euronews: What then do you think about the idea of including countries that are not NATO members, Israel in particular, under this umbrella?
Gül: That is out of the question. It can never happen because this only concerns NATO members. Israel is not a NATO member. It does not even cooperate with NATO. This would be impossible. Lets be clear; I am saying that Israel cannot use NATO facilities.
Euronews: After the Gaza flotilla incident, could Turkey still be described as a friend and an ally of Israel in the Middle East?
Gül: Frankly, many things changed irrevocably after the flotilla incident. The Israeli army attacked a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid while it was in international waters in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and unfortunately several people were killed. It is not possible for us to forget this.
Euronews: Is Israel’s friendship with Turkey over?
Gül: Absolutely. Israel has lost the friendship of Turkey and of Turkish citizens.
Euronews: Mr. President, there seems to have been some differences between Turkey and the West over Iran’s nuclear policy. The emphasis in the West is on concern about capability, while Turkey insists on the value of diplomacy. Is there a fundamental difference in the concept of security between the West and Turkey?
Gül: No. Of course Turkey is likely to be very cautious regarding any issue concerning a neighbour. This is no joke. If there is no diplomacy, the alternative is war. Look what happened in Iraq. Diplomacy failed and that led to war. Who paid the price of that war? The people of Iraq and the country’s neighbours, of course.
Euronews: Let’s talk about the EU. More than half of the negotiation chapters are stymied and support for EU membership in Turkey has plunged from 70 percent to around 30 percent. At this point, do you think EU membership for Turkey is still a realistic aim?
Gül: For us, joining the European Union is a matter of national concern. We are very committed to it. It goes beyond political parties. It is of strategic importance to us.
Moreover, the negotiations started in 2005. Most of the leaders that signed that agreement are still in office, and almost all of them are still alive (!). So they can be held to their promise.
Euronews: If Turkey ends up not joining the EU, is there a Plan B or an alternative project?
Gül: Turkey does not have a plan B. But even we reach the end of our harmonisation process and the Commission says ‘Turkey is ready for membership’, the process will not be over. Some EU members will hold referendums. We don’t know how this will turn out and we also have no idea what the Turkish people will think. Maybe they will act like the Norwegians. But what is we must not do is drag our feet over the negotiations. This would be shortsighted and, there are some who don’t have this kind of strategic vision. They focus more on day-to-day, trivial problems.
Euronews: Turkey has taken important steps towards democratization in recent years, like the recent referendum on the constitution. However, the picture is totally different when it comes to press freedom, which is considered as a fundamental component of a democracy. The situation here is not good. Isn’t this a bit of a discrepancy?
Gül: Of course the freedom of the press is one of the main pillars of a democracy. It makes a country more transparent and acts as a monitor on the government. In that respect, it is a priority for us, and many improvements have been made. Too many journalists have found themselves in court over what they do. This worries me. I have commissioned a government study and, as I understand it, a change in the law is on the cards.
