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Category: USA

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

  • Turkey walks tightrope over Iran ties

    Turkey walks tightrope over Iran ties


    By Paul de Bendern
    Reuters
    Tuesday, August 12, 2008; 9:13 AM

     

    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Turkey on Thursday reflects a desire by the NATO member to remain on good terms with an unpredictable neighbor and secure future energy needs.

    President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan have come under criticism at home and abroad for inviting Ahmadinejad, a visit that marks a diplomatic coup for the firebrand leader who has been shunned by European countries.

    Ankara has said his visit was necessary given the standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran’s disputed nuclear enrichment program, and offered to help resolve the dispute.

    But analysts said the trip was more about ensuring centuries-old ties during a period of global tensions.

    “Although Turkey doesn’t like the present regime it has always tried to keep Iranians both at bay and collaborate with them. It is an extremely delicate balancing act and it will continue to be so,” said Cengiz Aktar, a political scientist at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University.

    “The visit is all about controlled risks and the most important aspect is a gas deal with Iran, not the nuclear program because Turkey has little influence on that,” he said.

    Turkey and Iran share a border dating to a 1639 peace treaty.

    Ahmadinejad has been courting Turkey in the past few years as the United States has stepped up efforts to isolate Iran for failing to halt its disputed nuclear enrichment program. Washington sees the president’s visit as undermining such moves. Israel, another ally of Turkey, has also criticized the visit.

    Gul and Erdogan — both founders of the Islamist-rooted ruling AK Party — have pushed to boost Turkey’s position in the Middle East region, building greater ties with neighboring countries than previous governments.

    TRADE TIES

    Though Iran and Turkey are close geographically, historically and culturally, they have remained distant in policy and direction since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

    Turkey, which is seeking European Union membership, is also concerned at the repercussions were the United States or Israel to strike the Islamic Republic.

    “Ankara definitely does not sympathize with the ‘theodemocracy’ (theocracy-partial democracy) of Iran. … But not having a hostile attitude against Iran is important for Turkey’s domestic stability as well as its energy needs,” said Sahin Alpay, a columnist for conservative daily Zaman.

    Turkey is entirely dependent on energy imports to quench its increasing thirst for oil and gas as its industry expands. Iran is currently its second biggest supplier of gas after Russia.

    Bilateral trade reached $5 billion in the first half of 2008 and Turkey has pledged to invest $3.5 billion in Iranian gas production. Ankara and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding but are yet to sign a comprehensive agreement to invest in Iran’s South Pars gas field project.

    Part of that deal agreement may be signed on Thursday.

    Turkey is also a major transit route for goods between the European Union and Iran.

    Turkey, an officially secular but predominantly Sunni Muslim country, has long been wary over Shi’ite Tehran’s effort to export its style of Islamic Republic, its meddling in the region and its true intentions regarding its nuclear program.

    Iran has on the other hand resented Turkey’s Western orientation and reluctance to back Tehran against U.S. and EU pressure, now in the form of economic sanctions.

    News reports that Ahmadinejad did not wish to visit the tomb of Turkey’s revered founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara have caused a stir. Protocol requires foreign leaders to visit the mausoleum and Turkish media said Gul had subsequently moved the trip to Istanbul to avoid a potential embarrassing moment.

    While tensions have simmered from time to time each country clearly recognizes they have mutual interests.

    Tehran’s help in tackling Kurdish separatists based in northern Iraq has also boosted bilateral ties with Turkey, to the dismay of Washington, which until recently offered little help in moving against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases.

    “Will the visit really help Turkey? I doubt it. It’s more beneficial for Ahmadinejad. He’ll get another 15 minutes in the spotlight when he unleashes his trademark attacks against Israel and the United States,” said a senior EU diplomat.

    (Editing by Mary Gabriel)

  • Olympics Expose the Total Hypocrisy of U.S. Immigration Laws

    Olympics Expose the Total Hypocrisy of U.S. Immigration Laws

    By Sally Kohn, Movement Vision Lab
    Posted on August 11, 2008, Printed on August 12, 2008

    I have to confess I’ve never really cared about the Olympics. Since I’m not much for sports or raw nationalism, the fusion of the two doesn’t really get me up in the morning. But I will tune in tonight to watch Lopez Lomong — Sudanese “Lost Boy” turned U.S. track star — carry the American flag in the opening ceremonies. I’m sure I’ll have a tear in my eye, but also a twinge in my stomach for the profound irony of the moment. Some might even call it hypocrisy.

    For here we are in the United States, where though the price of gas is skyrocketing, there seems to be endless fuel to feed the fires of anti-immigrant sentiment. But the Olympics are different, I guess. Is it the same with professional sports? Or the governorship of California? We don’t like immigrants in low-wage jobs that none of us citizens want to do, but we don’t mind immigrants in the exceptionally high-paying jobs that American-born citizens can only dream of?

    What’s the point complaining about an undocumented Mexican making $5 an hour in a chicken processing plant, who lost two of his fingers because of unsafe conditions and labor violations? Shouldn’t we be more upset about Yao Ming making $15 million a year, plus endorsements?

    Ah, but in America, we have a long and proud tradition of picking on the little guy. We also have a proud tradition of taking half-hearted moral stands. (Remember the Southern Compromise, anyone? Our continuing tolerance of segregation after abolition? Or the Bush Administration’s rejection of nation-building … ?) Why bother standing up for what’s right when we can just talk about what we know is right but then just keep doing what we’ve always done.

    Of course I don’t want the anti-immigrant hate spewers to wizen up to their inconsistencies and expel the 33 immigrants on the U.S. Olympic team this year, let alone a vast number of our nation’s doctors, nurses, engineers — and one governor. But on the other hand, it would be refreshing if the anti-immigrant fanatics would just level with us — and chant “Run home immigrant” at Lopez Lomong during his 1500 meter dash, as opposed to just chanting at the far less fortunate and far more desperate undocumented migrants who are just trying to get to work to make a day’s pay. After all, factory workers and maids and farmworkers are easy targets. Let’s see the anti-immigrant folks really test their theories and tirades by attacking people Americans really care about.

    Because while Lou Dobbs and others will say it’s just undocumented immigrants they mean to attack, it’s not true. Accusations against undocumented immigrants also stick to legal immigrants and naturalized citizens, especially those from Latin America — because we don’t make much distinction between undocumented Latino immigrants working crappy jobs for crappy wages and permanent resident or naturalized Latino immigrants working crappy jobs for crappy wages. When Pat Buchanan says on Fox News, “You’ve got a wholesale invasion, the greatest invasion in human history, coming across your southern border, changing the composition and character of your country,” he’s not exactly distinguishing, is he?

    And attacks against undocumented immigrants promote attacks against all immigrants. Recall after September 11th how Bush Administration rhetoric against “Muslim terrorists” led to a rise in hate crimes against Muslim and Arab gas station attendants, taxi cab drivers and other law-abiding immigrants and citizens. Lopez Lomong and Yao Ming had better stay alert.

    In our two-tiered America — with a persistent and wide gulf between the rich and the poor, those with power and those who are struggling, those who have every opportunity in life and those who have none — is it any wonder we have a two-tiered take on immigration? In an America where we forgive Lindsay Lohan for repeated cocaine abuse but throw the book at poor African American men for even the most minor offenses, in an America where we give huge tax breaks to Wal-Mart and Exxon but refuse to raise funding for food stamps, is it any wonder we attack low-wage undocumented workers at the bottom of our society while celebrating immigrant athletes at the top?

    You might be thinking, “But Lopez Lomong had a talent. He was a gifted runner and because of that our country rescued him from the violence and poverty of the Sudan.” That’s right. We’re America. We give everyone a chance. Tonight we’ll be celebrating what Lomong made of his opportunity. But let’s not forget all the immigrants that we’re denying an opportunity to.

    Sally Kohn is the director of the Movement Vision Project of the Center for Community Change, which is interviewing hundreds of activists across the country to determine the progressive vision for the future of the United States.

    © 2008 Movement Vision Lab All rights reserved.
    View this story online at:
  • DALOGLU: Turkey’s regional influence

    DALOGLU: Turkey’s regional influence

    Perhaps too much to handle

    Tulin Daloglu
    Tuesday, August 12, 2008

     
    OP-ED:
     
    Nearly two weeks after Iran refused to yield to the demand by Germany, France, Britain, Russia, China and the United States that it stop developing nuclear technology that can lead to a nuclear weapon, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to a NATO country for the first time. Turkish President Abdullah Gul will meet the Iranian leader on Thursday in Istanbul. While Iran’s influence as a regional power has undeniably been enhanced by standing against the threats of new sanctions and continuing its nuclear program, Mr. Ahmadinejad’s visit to Turkey will further that image.
     
    But what will Turks gain from it? At best, nothing. Furthermore, this visit is likely to cause trouble for Turkey.
     
    Technically, the U.N. Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany unanimously agree that Iran should not have nuclear weapons. They differ in their tactics, but they agree that it is absolutely vital that Iran sees no positive side to trying to further its nuclear aims. Turkey’s political leaders, however, have chosen to see these high-level “talks” as a show of “good will” in the name of peace. Mr. Gul has also hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ordered genocide in Darfur, for the same reason. But a Turkish proverb suggests that talking is not always a virtue. Knowing when and how to stay “silent” is.
     
    It’s one thing for Turkey to nurture relationships with its neighbors. No one, be they friend or foe of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) or any other Turkish political party, would deny that, at minimum, a civil relationship with other countries in the region can only be good for Turkey. But this current situation with Iran and the threat of it obtaining nuclear weapons is serious. And Turkey’s leaders, simply, may well be in over their heads.
     
    Curiously, though, AKP is strongly supported by the Bush administration. The U.S. certainly did not remain silent about a Constitutional Court case that decided the future of the AKP. Now that the court has decided not to shutter the AKP, the Bush administration has complimented the strength of Turkish democracy. In fact, there is speculation in Turkey that the AKP must have been in contact with Washington about Mr. Ahmadinejad’s visit – though no evidence of such a communication exists. Turkey seems to be acting completely independent. While the White House is likely unhappy about the visit, U.S. officials continue to praise AKP leadership for its pro-active engagement with its neighbors.
     
    In another scenario, it’s also possible that Turkey could sign a natural gas deal with Iran, violating America’s Iran Sanctions Act. If that happens, one can only wonder how Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would react. Alas, she has been an exceptionally strong defender of AKP policies. Yet if Turkey signs that energy deal with Iran, the U.S. could end the November 2007 agreement that opened a new chapter of cooperation and intelligence sharing in the fight against PKK terrorism.
     
    Furthermore, Mr. Gul often boasts that Turkey and Iran have not fought a war since the early 17th century. The facts of the Turkish history, however, suggest differently, like Turkey’s invasion of Tabriz during World War I. Yet Mr. Ahmadinejad has made it clear that unlike every other visiting dignitary, he will not visit the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder, who created a secular republic in a Muslim nation. So Mr. Gul capitulated and instead invited him to Istanbul. So while these two leaders represent different forms of governments, they in fact seem to have much in common.
     
    Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan says that Turkey cannot stay silent on matters related to Iran, especially when fighting could be possible. Turkey refused to be used as a way into Iraq for the United States, and it certainly won’t be used to attack Iran either, Mr. Babacan says. However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be indicating a different circumstance. Mr. Erdogan admitted during a visit to Washington that he wished Turkey had cooperated with the U.S., because it would have made it easier for Turkey to defend its national security interests.Also, he blamed the opposition Republican People’s Party, CHP, for defeating the measure that proposed cooperation with the United States.
     
    Surely, politicians tend to gravitate toward populist demagogy. We cannot know whether Mr. Erdogan really meant that Turkey should have cooperated on the invasion of Iraq. It is unclear whether he really opposes Iran having nuclear weapons. Those same leaders who argue against the West pressuring Iran say that it’s no different than Israel or Pakistan having nuclear weapons.
     
    Turkey is blundering its way in this complicated relationship, unsure which side it wants to take or how big a threat it sees Iran to be. Turkey’s political leadership believes they can dance with Iran and simultaneously become a major regional player. Let’s hope they’re right. Otherwise, the Turkish people will be merely a casualty of a reckless policy.
     
    Tulin Daloglu is a free-lance writer.
  • CFP- Armenia and Armenians in International Treaties, U of Mich, Mar 18-21, ’09

    CFP- Armenia and Armenians in International Treaties, U of Mich, Mar 18-21, ’09

    Posted by: Gloria Caudill <gcaudill@umich.edu>

    Armenian Studies Program
    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

    Call For Papers
    International Conference on Armenia and Armenians in International Treaties

    The Armenian Studies Program (ASP) at the University of Michigan, Ann
    Arbor    , will be convening an international conference on the theme
    Armenia and Armenians in International Treaties. The conference will
    be held on the campus of the University of Michigan, March 18-21, 2009.

    International treaties represent critical moments in the history of
    Armenia     and of the Armenian people that had serious implications for
    their status and future as well as that of neighboring peoples and
    countries. International treaties also constitute the linchpin of
    diplomatic history, an aspect of Armenian history that has been
    neglected. The purpose of the conference is to determine patterns and
    processes which might shed light on the challenges faced by Armenia
    and Armenians in their long history.

    For the purposes of this conference the term treaties will include
    also international agreements such as the one between the Armenian
    merchants of India and the British East India Company in 1688 or the
    May 1896 agreement regarding the Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire.

    Scholars interested in the subject of Armenian diplomatic history from
    earliest times to the present are invited to submit abstracts for
    their proposed papers on the theme to Ms. Gloria Caudill, ASP
    Administrator, (gcaudill@umich.edu) by Friday, October 3, 2008. ASP
    will notify scholars regarding the acceptance of their proposal by the
    end of October, 2008. Final papers should be submitted two weeks
    before the conference, by February 18, 2009. The papers will be made
    available to all participants in order to limit presentations during
    the conference to 20 minutes per participant and provide time for
    discussion during panels.

    The conference will begin with a reception on the evening of
    Wednesday, March 18, followed by three full days of panels. The
    conference will be webcast live internationally. Professor Gerard
    Libaridian is the main convener of the conference.

    The language of the conference will be English, although presentations
    in Armenian as well as in French, Russian and Spanish will be accepted
    as long as the presenter can provide an English translation of the
    paper two weeks before the conference

    ASP will cover all expenses related to travel, lodging and meals for
    participants.

    For further information, please contact Ms. Gloria Caudill at the ASP office:
    Email: gcaudill@umich.edu
    Telephone: (1) 734-763-0622.

  • Congressman Steve Cohen’a TESEKKUR KAMPANYASI

    Congressman Steve Cohen’a TESEKKUR KAMPANYASI

    ERMENI SOYKIRIMININ YALAN OLDUGUNU BELIRTEN VE BUNU GORSEL MEDYADA ERMENILERI HUCUMU KARSISINDA BILE ACIKLIYAN KONGRE UYESI STEVE COHEN’E TESEKKUR KAMPANYASINA KATILINIZ  .. web sayfasinin adresi http://cohen.house.gov/   GEREKLI BILGILERI ASAGIDA BULACAKSINIZ …  

    EMAIL: JMAREK1@GMAIL.COM

    FACE BOOK GURUBU  VE ADRESI

    Reelect Congressman Steve Cohen in ’08!!! 

    TURKISH FORUM

     NOT: TENESSE DEKI ARKADASLAR  SIZLER COHEN IN SECIM BOLGESINDESINIZ faksla  kisa birer yazi gonderin.

    Fax: (901) 544-4329  Fax: (202) 225-5663

    Email:

    Location:

    Memphis, TN

    ——————————————————————————–

    Ermeni’nin densizligi! Adamin evine zorla giriyor!!!

     

    Asagidaki linkte Ermeni’nin Temsilciler Meclisi uyesini ne sekilde etkilemeye calistigini gorunuz.  Ve ne ile karsi karsiya oldugumuzu anlayin dostlar.

     

    Adam California’dan Tennessee’ye yolculuk yapiyor.  Biz bir telefon konusmasi yapamiyoruz! 

    ptonroads. com/myfox/ pages/News/ Politics/ Detail?contentId =7150474& version=1& locale=EN- US&layoutCode= VSTY&pageId= 3.14.1
     
    Temsilciler Meclisi uyenizi hala tanimiyorsaniz:     www.house.gov adresine zip code girip gorun.  Bakin bakalim kim?  Hirli mi Hirsiz mi?  Denli mi?  Densiz mi?  Renkli mi? Renksiz mi?  Nasil bir yaratik??? Sonrasi kolay:  Aloooo, ben Turkum, karismam haaa!

     

    Bir Ermeni kadar olabilir miyiz?

     

    Haftaniz iyi gecsin…

     

    Vural C.

    ==================

    =

    Bence Turk Amerikan toplumu olarak Congressman Steve Cohen’a gonderebildigimiz kadar “support” ve “thank you’ e-postalari gondermeliyiz. Adam hem bizim tezimizi ne guzel savunuyor, hem de Ermenilerin terorist ve tehlikeli olduklarini televizyon kameralari karsisinda herkese soyluyor. Bundan daha guzel ne olabilir bizim icin!

     

    Grupta bu adreslere ulasmayi bilen bir arkadas, bize Steve Cohen’in e-posta adresini gonderebilir mi? Ilk mesaji hic beklemeden bizzat ben gonderecegim. Adamcagiza yalniz olmadigini belirtmeliyiz.

     

    Tesekkur ederim Vural Bey bizi bu olaylardan haberdar ettiginiz icin.

     

    Saygilarimla,

    Hakan Kaya

    =========================
    Steve Kohen’e tesekkur mektubu yazarken, adami tebrik etmeyi
    unutmayim. Primary secimlerin de rakibini acik fakla yendi.Iste ilgili haber baglantisi ve asagida Turkiye hakkinda ne soyledigi:

    Jewish Congressman’s Landslide in Majority-Black Tennessee District
    Follows Divisive Primary

    ********************************************************************
    Cohen has often spoken of his pride in stopping the resolution, saying
    that during a congressional trip to the Middle East, he specifically
    asked Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, about the
    ramifications the resolution would have on U.S.-Turkish cooperation in
    suppressing violence in Iraq.

    “He said, ‘I am glad you brought that up. That would be very
    devastating to our troops.’ The Turks are our friends in NATO, they
    allow 8,000 trucks a day through Turkey into Iraq to serve our troops
    with supplies and needs. Those trucks could be stopped and the Turks
    are very serious about that. They allow us to use their airbase.

    “While I am against the mission of the Iraq war, I am for protecting
    our troops. And to pass that resolution would have been irresponsible
    and the Congress saw that.”


    ================

     

     

    Ayni seyi ben dusundum bugun ve grubumda da duyurdum.. Steve Cohen’in
    web sayfasinin adresi

    Sayfada, “contact me” diye bir adres de var. Ve tum Amerikali
    dostlarima da linki gonderdim.. Vural bey ben de cok tesekkur ederim..

    Ermenilerin, bu saldirganliklarinin ustune gitmemiz lazim.

    Sevgiler,
    Fethiye

  • Iraqi-Kurd MP lashes out at ‘Turkish interference’

    Iraqi-Kurd MP lashes out at ‘Turkish interference’

    A petroleum well at an oil refinery near Kirkuk

    SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — An influential Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament on Saturday accused Turkey of undermining the influence Kurds have gained since the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

    “Turkey has manoeuvred to create an anti-Kurdish (Iraqi) parliament,” Mahmoud Othman told a press conference in Sulaimaniyah, one of the main cities of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

    “It is behind the adoption of article 24 of the electoral law as it is trying by all means to reduce the gains made by the Kurds after the fall of Saddam Hussein,” he said.

    Iraq’s parliament proposed under article 24 of the election bill a deal that will share power equally between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen in the oil-rich Kirkuk region, a move bitterly opposed by the Kurds, given their numerical superiority.

    Othman did not elaborate on how he thought Ankara had managed to influence Iraqi MPs to write a clause in the electoral bill, though Kurds have long complained of Turkish efforts to undermine them through alliance with ethnic Turkmen and Sunni Arabs.

    Saddam placed Kirkuk outside the Kurdish region, which has behaved essentially as an independent entity since 1991.

    But Iraqi Kurds, many of whom see Kirkuk’s oil wealth as vital to the future viability of their region, have called for the city to be placed within the autonomous region.

    Kirkuk has a large population of Sunni and Shiite Arabs, as well as Turkmen, making for a fragile ethnic mix.

    The failure to find a solution to Kirkuk has forced the postponement of local elections in Iraq initially scheduled for October 1.

    Othman also singled out the United States and Britain, claiming they had played negative roles.

    He said the US had “not reacted” to Turkish attempts to push the bill through parliament while Britain had pressured the Kurds to accept the demands of the Arabs and Turkmen.

    Turkey, which once ruled Iraq for 400 years, sees itself as the traditional protector of the Turkmen community who, together with the Arabs, complain of being bullied by the Kurds.

    With its own large Kurdish minority in the south, Turkey has viewed the increasing independence of the Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region with deep misgivings.

    Source: AFP, 10.08.2008