Tag: American Ambassador to Turkey

  • Turkey’s Wrong Turn

    Turkey’s Wrong Turn

    By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

    Goturrr

    Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was in Brussels last week seeking to repair relations with Europe, but the first place to look for a solution is within himself. Once hailed as the leader of a model Muslim democracy, he has created a political disaster at home, transforming Turkey into an authoritarian state that poses dangers not just for itself but for its allies in NATO, including the United States.

    The latest turmoil has its roots in a political war between Mr. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party and his former close allies who follow Fethullah Gulen, a moderate Islamic scholar who lives in Pennsylvania. The tensions erupted into the open last month with a corruption probe that led to the resignation of four government ministers and threatened to ensnare Mr. Erdogan’s family. The prime minister called the probe a “coup attempt” and blamed a “secret organization” within the judiciary and police directed by the Gulen movement and serving “foreign powers” like the United States and Israel. The government has since purged hundreds of police officials and prosecutors and sought to assert control over the judiciary. It also drafted legislation expanding the government’s power to appoint judges and prosecutors, further breaching judicial independence, and has prevented journalists from reporting freely. All the while, Mr. Erdogan has spewed endless conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric, even hinting at American treachery and suggesting that the American ambassador might be expelled.

    The probe and Mr. Erdogan’s reaction may well be politically motivated. There are important local elections in March. But Mr. Erdogan should be insisting that the probe be fair and transparent, not trying to derail it. His ruthless ways and his attempt to crush dissent are not new, as the crackdown against demonstrators during protests last June showed. Such actions trample on democratic reforms demanded by the European Union as part of Turkey’s bid for union membership, which may be more in peril than ever, and are increasingly at odds with the ground rules for NATO members.

    Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was right when he said in Brussels that the Europeans must demand that Turkey return to the rule of law. The Obama administration also needs to send a strong message about the damaging course Mr. Erdogan is pursuing. Whether Turkey nurtures its hard-won democracy, which has contributed to its impressive economic growth, or turns authoritarian is as critical to regional stability and to its NATO allies as it is to Turks.

    A VERSION OF THIS EDITORIAL APPEARS IN PRINT ON JANUARY 28, 2014, IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES.
  • BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S AMBASSADORIAL NOMINEE FOR TURKEY TO FACE SENATE

    BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S AMBASSADORIAL NOMINEE FOR TURKEY TO FACE SENATE

    Deputy national security adviser James F. Jeffrey is getting his
    reward for long hours of service at the White House: President Bush
    nominated him last week to be U.S. ambassador to Turkey.

    Jeffrey has been the deputy chief of mission in Baghdad and the ambassador to
    Albania, among a long list of assignments. No word as to when he will
    be heading out, but Senate confirmation is not expected to be a
    problem since he is a career official.”

    Jeffrey previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary of
    state for near eastern affairs, where he held the State Department’s
    non-nuclear Iran brief and co-chaired the now defunct Iran-Syria
    Policy and Operation Group. I interviewed him for a National Journal
    story last year before he moved to the NSC, but the piece is
    subscription only and not online.

    Update: A Hill contact writes of the Jeffrey nomination for US
    ambassador to Turkey: “Not surprising. Prior to this Administration,
    he was viewed as a Turkey specialist. Served as DCM in Ankara in the
    late 1990s.”

    ——————–

    September 18, 2008, 7:01 pm

    BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S AMBASSADORIAL NOMINEE FOR TURKEY TO FACE SENATE
    FOREIGN RELATIONS PANEL

    Ending Denial through Affirmation of the Armenian Genocide, Ending the
    Blockade are Key Issues to be Addressed

     

    Washington, DC -The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has
    scheduled the nomination hearing of Bush’s Ambassadorial Nominee for
    Turkey, James F. Jeffrey, for Wednesday, September 24, 2008, reported
    the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

    “We are hopeful the nomination hearing is not a question and answer
    session, which in the past has resulted in equivocating on the
    historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and America’s proud record of
    humanitarian intervention,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan
    Ardouny. “This represents a critical opportunity for the U.S.
    Ambassador to Turkey to go further than Ambassador Yovanovitch and
    this time to squarely affirm the Armenian Genocide. The U.S. record of
    affirmation is clear as evidenced by the 1951 U.S. filing before the
    International Court of Justice. The Armenian Genocide is an historical
    fact and Mr. Jeffrey would be well served to follow in the tradition
    of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau,” continued Ardouny.

    In addition to its campaign of denial and application of article 301
    of its penal code, which punishes discussion of the Armenian Genocide,
    for more than a decade, Turkey, in coordination with Azerbaijan, has
    blockaded Armenia. The Turkish blockade not only costs Armenia
    hundreds of millions of dollars, but also undermines the stated U.S.
    policy goals of regional cooperation and economic integration in the
    South Caucasus Region.

    While Turkey’s President Gul did accept the bold invitation by
    Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan to visit Armenia on the occasion of
    a soccer game between the two countries earlier this month, more
    concrete steps are needed, including establishing working diplomatic
    relations and a process of normalization that removes blockades, opens
    borders, restores economic relations, and strives toward the peaceful
    resolution of differences and disputes in the region. In fact, the
    U.S. Administration has repeatedly called upon Turkey “to restore
    economic, political and cultural links with Armenia.”

    Jeffrey, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently
    serves as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security
    Advisor at the White House. Prior to this, he served as Principal
    Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
    Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in
    Baghdad, United States Ambassador to Albania, and three other
    assignments in Turkey. Ambassador Jeffrey received his bachelor’s
    degree from Northeastern University and his master’s degree from
    Boston University.

    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.
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    NR#2008-065