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Turkey could be America’s most important regional ally, above Iraq, even above Israel, if both sides manage the relationship correctly.

  • TurkishPAC announces that it is not supporting the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket

    TurkishPAC announces that it is not supporting the Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket

    Written by President

    Saturday, 06 September 2008 14:16

    We have witnessed with great sorrow Senator Barack Obama’s selection of Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate. Joe Biden has a clear bias against Turkey and Turkish people as proven by his actions in the past.

    As a U.S senator and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Biden has given support to all Armenian “genocide” claims since his work with Senator Bob Dole to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.J.Res.212) in 1990. He co-sponsored the 2003 resolution that commemorated the 15th anniversary of the USA genocide act that falsely cited Armenian “genocide” as an example of past genocides. Senator Biden was one of the senators who urged President Bush in April, 2006 to use the word genocide in his Armenian “Genocide” proclamations, and  was a joint sponsor of the Senate Armenian Genocide resolution proposals No. 329 in 2006 and No 106 in 2007. Senator Biden was the originator of the March 2007 Senate Resolution No. 65 that falsely claimed that the tragic murder of Armenian Turkish Journalist Hrant Dink was brought about because he had spoken out on alleged Armenian genocide.


    Senator Biden was also the architect of the     U.S. arms embargo against Turkey after the 1974 Turkish intervention in Cyprus to protect Turkish Cypriots from the joint Greek Cypriot – Mainland Junta armed campaign of extermination. He has continuously insulted Turks. During a press conference on Cyprus in 2000, he stated that “Turks have such a thick skin that one can never adequately insult them.”

    Early during the Iraq war, when ethnic violence was intense, Senator Biden called for the partition of Iraq into three autonomous regions under a loose federation, which is diametrically opposite to the Turkish and USA Government’s positions. We also know that Senator Biden is cooperating with the Oldaker, Biden & Belair, a D.C. lobbying company hired by the Kurdish administration of Iraq.

    Equally, Senator Obama is a supporter of Armenian “genocide” claims, as evidenced by his own declarations, by presentations made by his ex-campaign adviser Samantha Powers on the ANCA website, and by his remarks made during Senate confirmation hearings in 2007 of U.S. Ambassador Designate to Armenia Richard Hoagland.

    At the same time, we believe the Republican Presidential candidate Senator McCain is far more respectful of Turks and the Turkish Government. He has refused to endorse Armenian Genocide claims, and appreciates the strategic relationship between Turkey and the U.S.

    With all the evidence in hand, TurkishPAC does not believe that we will be able to change the anti-Turkish positions of Senators Obama and Biden.  If elected, their actions are expected to result in further deterioration of the already-fragile friendship and cooperation between Turkey and the U.S. Turkey is a very important U.S. ally whose importance has increased even more with  our presence in Iraq and the increasing Russian aggression in the Caucasus.

    TurkishPAC Board of Directors, therefore, has decided not to support the Obama-Biden ticket in the forthcoming U.S. presidential elections. We will, however, continue providing support to other local and national candidates from both parties that favor Turkish positions.

    TurkishPAC Board of Directors

    Promote Turkey in politics.
    Your help needed.
    www.turkishpac.org

    —–Original Message—–
    From: ATAA-US@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ATAA-US@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Atilla Bektore
    Sent:     Thursday, October 30, 2008 8:10 AM
    To: ATAA-US@yahoogroups.com
    Subject: [ATAA-US] TDN Article

    Ekim 30, 2008 tarihli TDN’den bir alinti,

    Rejoice! Rejoice! Obama is coming!

    Thursday, October 30, 2008

    MUSTAFA AKYOL

    WASHINGTON – It has been a little more than an hour since I turned on the TV in my hotel room, but I have come across Barack Obama almost a dozen times. American channels are full of ads that are in favor of, or against, the Democratic presidential candidate. The ones that his party put out talk about his vision for America and how great it will be. The ads given by his rival, John McCain, counter by saying he is inexperienced and will get confused in the first crisis he faces.

    In other words, the whole focus is on Obama. Indeed, the election that Americans will hold next week will be basically a vote on Obama. Everybody has seen what the Republicans have done in the past eight years and ultimately few have liked it. Sen. McCain, despite all his effort to the contrary, cannot compel most people to think that he does not share the main premises of the Bush Administration. But Sen. Obama is obviously offering something new and raising new hopes. The only question is whether he is capable of turning them into reality.

    Change that I do believe in:

    There are five more days until the elections. As former Turkish president and political guru, Süleyman Demirel, once said, “Twenty-four hours is a very long period of time in politics.” So, nobody can tell right now who the next president of the United States will be. Yet the polls hint that Obama will have a clear, possibly landslide victory and if that turns out to be the case, most non-Americans in the world, including my humble self, will be happy.

    I have many Republican friends and I understand and respect their reservations toward a Democratic candidate. They have issues, such as abortion or gay marriage, which have made them committed Republicans. But what is at stake right now in the world is arguably more important than all of these issues. For decades, the United States has been the leader of the free and democratic world, and the world still needs that source of trust and inspiration. The alternative powers are China and Russia, which are both bastions of autocracy. Yet since the beginning of the Iraq War, the United States has increasingly been perceived as an arrogant and aggressive force. The American dream of “freedom for all” was smashed by images of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, water boarding and rendition. In just five years “America the beautiful” has turned into America the ugly.

    In fact, President Bush had the sense to get things right, “If we are an arrogant nation, they will resent us,” he said as early as 2000. “If we are a humble nation, but strong, they will welcome us.” But, for a variety of complicated reasons, things did not go that way.

    Now, Obama offers a chance to change all this. It is no accident that he has overwhelming support in the four corners of the world. People want to see a new America and only a new face with a new message can make them believe that this is possible.

    Of course, Obama might come to power and fail to realize his promises. But he is definitely worth trying. As Colin Powell has wisely pointed out, his presidency will be an asset not just to restore America‘s prestige in the word, but also to overcome the new McCarthyism, the Islamophobic hate campaign that a handful of misinformed Americans are trying to sell to their fellow citizens.

    In the minds of Turks:

    In Turkey, many people who are informed about U.S. politics sympathize with Obama for similar reasons. Some pundits, such as veteran journalist and opinion maker, Cengiz Çandar, endorsed him months ago. But the McCain campaign has sympathizers as well and most of those people are, with all due respect, either wicked or close-minded.

    The wicked are those who have been craving to stir a military or judicial coup in Turkey. When they decided to sell their anti-democratic crusade to the world, the only allies they found were the new McCarthyists in the United States just mentioned. They have been able to convince some, but not all, neoconservatives about the “hidden Islamist agenda” of the governing Justice and Development Party and thus gather some metaphorical firepower from some Washington pundits for their war in Ankara. For those secular-fascist Turks, the Republicans, because of the narrow Islamophobic camp among them, are the strategic choice.

    The close-minded fans of McCain on the other hand, are simply concerned about Turkey’s classic foreign policy issues; will the American president use the term “Armenian Genocide” while referring to the events of 1915 and will he support Iraqi Kurds in their aspirations for greater autonomy? In both these issues, these Turks think McCain and his Republicans will be closer to Turkey‘s position as they better understand the “strategic importance” of Turkey.

    But in fact, whoever comes to power in Washington will get the same briefing from their bureaucrats about Turkey‘s importance when these issues come to the fore. It is also not realistic to think that the two candidates will be too different from each other vis-a-vis Turkey. They may well however be different in the way they handle international crises, such as the issue with Iran‘s nuclear program and Turkey has seen enough evidence to conclude that a fundamental change is needed in U.S. foreign policy about such matters.

    That is why it is time to cross fingers for Obama. I do hope he wins this election and brings a fresh start that the world sorely needs.

    © 2005 Dogan Daily News Inc. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr

  • Syria After the U.S. Helicopter Raid

    Syria After the U.S. Helicopter Raid

    By YONAH ALEXANDER

    There is an old Arabic proverb stating that “he who gets fat, will get thin, and he who goes up in the air will come down.” The simple meaning is that nothing is static in the affairs of life and each epoch has its beginning and end.

     

    Can this perception be applied to politics and the current challenge of state sponsored terrorism to the international community? The short answer is definitely yes. Consider the case of Syria.

     

    It seems an unthinkable contradiction to even raise the issue that Syrian President Bashar Assad might cooperate with the United States in combating terrorism following the massive demonstrations in Damascus protesting against a U.S. helicopter raid in Sukariyah village that killed top al-Qaida leader Abu Ghadiyah and members of his cell, and after Syria’s closing of the U.S. cultural center and American school in the capital in protest, and Damascus’s demand of a formal U.S. apology for “terrorist aggression.”

     

    Moreover, Washington’s “account” with Syria relates not only to securing the border with Iraq from infiltration of foreign terrorists but also to Damascus’ support of Hezbollah and Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza and in the West Bank.

     

    Thus, it is extremely unlikely the next U.S. administration will reverse its disposition vis-à-vis Syria and consider removing it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

     

    The new president, however, must bear in mind the validity of former British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston’s dictum that “there are no permanent friends or enemies but only permanent interests.”

     

    That is, there are several identifying factors which indicate that Syria is possibly reconsidering using terrorism as a tool. The first is the existence of legal measures to combat terrorism.

     

    Syria, for instance, is party to the Arab League and the Islamic Conference Organization conventions on the suppression of terrorism and on combating international terrorism.

     

    Furthermore, Syria is a signatory to global treaties dealing with aviation security matters and “prevention and punishment of crimes against internationally protected persons.”

     

    Also, Syria’s penal code complies with various international anti-terrorism efforts such as combating money laundering, confiscating and freezing of funds related to terrorism, and suppressing the recruitment of members of terrorist groups.

     

    Clearly, these steps and other judicial measures indicate a positive trend to be considered in any assessment of Syria’s policies concerning terrorism.

     

    What is of particular significance is the progress made by the recent rounds of indirect talks between Damascus and Jerusalem through Turkey’s “good offices,” and supported by other states such as France.

     

    Obviously, Assad’s apparent strategic intention to undertake a comprehensive peace settlement with Israel will, in accordance with long-standing Syrian policy, focus first and foremost on the return of the occupied Golan Heights captured in the 1967 War.

     

    Other crucial issues must also be resolved, including early warning attack systems, mutual zones of disengagements, water conflicts, and the scope of normalizing relations between the antagonists.

     

    It is clear that further progress on this diplomatic track will depend on political developments in Israel related to the forthcoming elections planned for February 2009 and the formation of a new government in Jerusalem.

     

    In sum, despite the unfolding crisis in U.S.-Syrian relations concerning the “rat lines” in Iraq and other terrorism-related issues, it behooves all concerned parties to recognize that substantial, peacemaking efforts must be developed for long-term stability and prosperity in the Middle East and beyond.

    —

    Yonah Alexander is the Director of the International Center for Terrorism Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Arlington, Va., USA. Research for this article was provided by Michelle Zewin, Julie Tegho, Daniel Curzon, and Kendall McKay.

  • As The Armenian Vote Goes, So Goes The Nation?

    As The Armenian Vote Goes, So Goes The Nation?

    Posted on November 2nd, 2008
    by The Stiletto in All News, Society and Culture, US Politics

    Crazy as it sounds, losing the Armenian vote just might cost McCain the election.
    How can the votes of this “small tribe of unimportant people,” as Armenian-American writer William Saroyan described them, matter? By various estimates Americans of Armenian descent number 385,500 to 1 million – roughly one half of one percent of the total number of people who voted in the November 2004 election. But Armenians have more clout – particularly in this election – than their miniscule numbers might suggest.
    Once a reliable Republican voting bloc, Armenian-Americans have left the GOP en masse after George W. Bush reneged on his campaign promises of 2000 and 2004 to support the Armenian Genocide Resolution in Congress, which characterizes the systematic slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915 as a genocidal crime against humanity.
    Unlike John McCain, who avoids the topic, Barack Obama has acknowledged the Armenian Genocide as settled history, and anecdotal evidence suggests that he enjoys near-absolute support of the Armenian-American community. Armenians have no idea where McCain stands on passing the Armenian Genocide Resolution, but Obama has made a convincing case to this community that he stands with them in their quest for justice.
    Armenians have clustered in states that are solidly Democrat – particularly, Calif., Mass. and New York – so they will neither help Obama much nor hurt McCain much in those states by abandoning the GOP. But swing states could be another story. The Armenian population in several of the states up for grabs is small, but these votes could be decisive in two of them this year: Fla. Is home to 25,000 Armenians, Mich. to 60,000.

    Armenians consider themselves in a permanent state of Diaspora, and reward candidates who support recognition of the Armenian Genocide with their wallets and their votes. Like Cubans and Evangelicals, Armenians tend to be single-issue voters. In the past, candidates from both parties made sure to pay lip service to supporting the Armenian Genocide Resolution and Armenians tended to vote Republican because of shared conservative economic and social values.
    But when it mattered most last October, Democrats tried to get the Armenian Genocide Resolution passed in the House whereas Republicans repaid the decades-long loyalty of the Armenian community with betrayal after Turkey threatened to complicate Iraq war logistics by cutting off air and ground supply routes. Obama – who successfully pursued a “no vote left behind” strategy in caucus states – wasted no time capitalizing on the opportunity created by Bush to aggressively court Armenian-Americans.
    Neither of the candidates’ campaign Web sites include speeches or position papers by the candidates on the Armenian Genocide. However, an officially-sanctioned coalition group, Armenians for Obama, compares Obama’s positions with McCain’s using statements and speeches from both candidates.
    In contrast, McCain has shunned the term “genocide,” even in his half-hearted attempts to reach out to the Armenian community. And not only McCain does not have a counterpart to Armenians for Obama backing him – there are, however, American Indians for McCain, Bikers for McCain and Racing Fans for McCain – even the Web site of the National Organization of Republican Armenians hasn’t been updated for quite a while.
    Pollster Scott Rasmussen zeros in on seven must-win swing states, which are very much in play, including Fla. Other numbers crunchers include Mich. on their lists of crucial battleground states. While a comfortable five-point margin separated George W. Bush and John Kerry in both states in 2004 (Bush won Fla. 52 percent to 47 percent; the results were flipped in Mich.) the Fla. race is much tighter this year, with most polls showing just one to two points separating McCain and Obama – and McCain has already ceded Mich. to his rival, having stopped campaigning in the state several weeks ago.
    In the 2004 election the Bush campaign used “microtargeting” to find significantly more black votes in Ohio than he got in 2000.

    McCain is using the reverse strategy with the Armenian vote. Rather than teasing out additional votes wherever he can, McCain has inexplicably chosen to leave 44 Electoral College votes on the table by writing off Armenian-American voters in Fla. and Mich. And it’s not like he can afford to lose them – especially in Fla., where Bush has also managed to alienate another important voting bloc, Cuban-Americans.
    As that old rhyme has it, “for the want of a nail … the horse was lost.” By overlooking – indeed, disrespecting – this seemingly insignificant ethnic group, McCain is extending a Bush legacy that will haunt Republicans for years to come.
    Note: The Stiletto writes about politics and other stuff at The Stiletto Blog, chosen an Official Honoree in the Political Blogs category by the judges of the 12th Annual Webby Awards (the Oscars of the online universe) along with CNN Political Ticker, Swampland (Time magazine) and The Caucus (The New York Times).
     

  • MCCAIN, PALIN ISSUE LETTER TO THE ARMENIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

    MCCAIN, PALIN ISSUE LETTER TO THE ARMENIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

    PRESS RELEASE
    For Immediate Release
    October 1, 2008
    Contact: Michael A Zachariades
    Email: mzachariades@aaainc.org
    Phone: (202) 393-3434

    MCCAIN, PALIN ISSUE LETTER TO THE ARMENIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

     

    Washington, DC – The McCain-Palin campaign issued a letter to the Armenian-American community today, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). In the letter, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) wrote that he is “grateful for all of the contributions that Armenian-Americans have made to our wonderful country,” and that he “greatly value[s] the opportunity to stand with the Armenian-American community.”
     
    Regarding U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, the statement refrains from referring to the events of 1915-1923 as genocide, and instead employs a dictionary definition.  McCain said, “It is fair to say that one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, the brutal murder of as many as one and a half million Armenians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, has also been one of the most neglected. The suffering endured by the Armenian people during that period represented the prologue to what has come to be known as humanity’s bloodiest century.” He added that “It is our responsibility to recognize those tragic events and to ensure that our world never experiences the impact of the bloody conflicts that so filled the 20th century.”
     
    McCain also thanked Armenia for her “support of coalition operations in Iraq and NATO peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo.”
     
    The Armenian Assembly of America, as a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan advocacy organization is prohibited by law from endorsing, supporting or opposing candidates for elected office.
     
    Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization

  • TURKEY HIRES FORMER BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TO SHORE UP RIFTS WITH JEWISH AMERICAN GROUPS; FIGHT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

    TURKEY HIRES FORMER BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TO SHORE UP RIFTS WITH JEWISH AMERICAN GROUPS; FIGHT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

    WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) revealed today that the Turkish Government has hired former Bush Administration official, Noam Neusner, to harness Jewish American support for a pro-Turkey agenda in Congress, with defeat of the Armenian Genocide Resolution as his top priority.

    “If Turkey had a credible case to make to the Jewish American community – which has grown weary of Ankara’s pressure to deny the Armenian Genocide – it wouldn’t need to be spending this kind of money in a misguided attempt to manipulate Jewish American opinion,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Sadly, it seems that for $8,500 a month from a foreign government, Neusner Communications is putting at risk the well-deserved reputation of the Jewish American community as a powerful opponent of all genocides and a defender of universal human rights.”

    This revelation came as part of a September 30, 2008, mandatory U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ) Foreign Agent Registration Act filings by Neusner Communications, LLC, a Washington, DC public relations firm that has been on the Turkish Government payroll since September, 2007. The initial registration document submitted by the firm cites “policy goals” including “U.S. Jewish efforts to promote a pro-Turkey agenda in the U.S. Congress.” Neusner Communications LLC is tasked to ensure “regular emails and phone calls to Jewish leaders highlighting Turkey’s relationship with Israel” and facilitating the “creation of working relationships between U.S.-based Jewish and Turkish community groups.”

    Neusner’s filings reveal that the first order of business for the public relations firm was, in September and October of last year, to contact top Jewish-American organizations regarding pending Armenian Genocide legislation, H.Res.106. Beginning with a phone conversation with AIPAC Director of National Affairs and Development Jon Missner on September 17th, Neusner personally contacted groups, including JINSA, the American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith, Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs some 23 times over the next four weeks regarding H.Res.106. The House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution on October 11th by a vote of 27 to 21.

    The U.S. DOJ filings note subsequent emails by Neusner with the ADL’s Director of Government and National Affairs Jess Hordes regarding “ADL action on HR 106,” and ADL Director “Abe Foxman’s visit to Turkey” in May, 2008. Neusner continued to hold meetings with AIPAC’s Jon Missner and National Political Director Rob Bassin regarding the Armenian Genocide Resolution, including one on November 29th. Seven months later, Neusner held a follow up meeting with Missner and AIPAC Director of Research and Information Rafi Danziger to discuss “Turkish concerns about Armenian issue; lack of support on the Hill from Jewish orgs.” The meeting came just one day after the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a two- hour hearing on the South Caucasus region, with specific focus on Turkey’s ongoing blockade of Armenia. In total, in the span of one year, Neusner Communications contacted or met with Jewish American groups at least 100 times – 32 times specifically to
     discuss Armenian Genocide legislation or Armenian American concerns.

    Neusner is well-known to Jewish American leaders, having served as President Bush’s liaison to the U.S. Jewish community from 2002 through 2005, in addition to his capacity as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Speechwriting. Neusner’s DOJ filings indicate that he was hired by the “Embassy of the Republic of Turkey through DiNovo Strategies and Fleishman Hilliard.” DiNovo Strategies partner Jay Footlik served as Clinton Administration liaison to Jewish Americans and to European and Mediterranean groups, including the Armenian American community.

    According to the Foreign Agent Registration Act, a firm must register within ten days of agreeing to become an agent and before performing any activities for the foreign entity. It is unclear why Neusner Communications’ filings were submitted over one-year after it began lobbying for Turkey, a lapse that may represent a violation of U.S. DOJ registration guidelines. FARA also mandates that all communications from public relations firms must conspicuously cite any connection to a foreign government. Copies of email communications submitted by Neusner Communications to the U.S. DOJ make no reference to his firm’s representation of the Turkish Government.

    Neusner Communications, Inc. is one of four public relations firms currently representing the Government of Turkey, including DLA Piper, Fleishman Hilliard, and the Gephardt Group, who together receive over $3 million a year for their services. Neusner Communications is currently paid $8,500 a month by the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey. Leading the campaign to clean up Turkey’s image in the United States are former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt and House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston ended his eight- year, $13 million lobbying stint with Turkey earlier this year, after which he picked up a lucrative $2.4 million contract with Libya.

  • OBAMA REAFFIRMS PLEDGE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    OBAMA REAFFIRMS PLEDGE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

    ANCA Welcomes latest Obama-Biden Statement Calling for Strong U.S.-Armenia Relationship

     

    WASHINGTON, DC – With just days left to the crucial November 4th presidential elections, the Obama-Biden campaign reaffirmed its commitment to Armenian Genocide recognition and a strong U.S.-Armenia relationship, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

    A statement titled “Barack Obama: Supporting U.S.-Armenia Relations,” relayed to Armenians for Obama Chairman Areen Ibranossian earlier today as well as the ANCA, affirms that “The Armenian Genocide, carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulted in the deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, and approximately 1.5 million of those deported were killed. Barack Obama believes we must recognize this tragic reality and strongly supports a U.S.-Armenian relationship that advances our common security and strengthens Armenian democracy.” The statement goes on to note “Barack Obama strongly supports passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106) and will recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

    “The ANCA welcomes further reaffirmation of Barack Obama’s strong commitment to issues of concern to the Armenian American community, including proper recognition of the Armenian Genocide and fostering a strong U.S.-Armenia relationship,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “ANCA chapters and activists across the U.S. will continue, in these last days, to work hard for the Obama-Biden ticket and the candidacies of the large number of Senators and Representatives who have supported Armenian American concerns.”

    The Obama-Biden statement comes amid a flurry of reports in the Turkish press regarding a meeting that supposedly took place over the last several days between a senior Turkish official, Ahmet Davutoðlu, and a representative of the Obama-Biden Campaign, after which Davutoglu called into question Obama’s commitment to this core human rights issue.

    Last week, the ANCA formalized its longstanding support for Barack Obama with an official endorsement of the Obama-Biden campaign for the Presidency of the United States. The ANCA had first endorsed Sen. Obama in January, 2008, leading up to the critical super-Tuesday primary elections.