29 September 2001, Copyright © Turkish Daily News
Opinion by Mehmet Ali Birand
Turkey gave America full support
- Not even during the Korean and Gulf Wars was such a bonding seen: Ismail Cem gave America the message they wanted and had been expecting: Full support. Ankara has shown that it is a friend indeed.
Ismail Cem's talks on Thursday turned into a hitherto unseen display of Turkish-American relations.
Nothing like this had even been seen during even the Korean and Gulf Wars. The effect of being struck on its own soil has seen America practically bond with Turkey.
Through his attitude and words, Cem showed that Turkey was "a friend indeed" and would not confine its support to empty words but concrete action and that it would stick to its word.
This is the first time Turkey has made its presence felt in the 17-day crisis. It is waving the flag.
Cem was received by the highest ranking executives; he spoke on television and said things the American people wanted to hear and that they were already accustomed to hearing:
"The Turkish people felt the pain of the American people in their hearts as if they had been struck too. Turkey will support the United States in this fight until the end and as much as means allow. Our government is resolved on this matter and will do whatever is necessary. Terrorism has no excuse, no religion and no territory. We should combat terrorism everywhere. Even the European Union should actively take part in this fight and retune its attitude in accordance with today's circumstances. However, if you do not want to unite Islamic countries against you then you have to resolve the Palestinian problem. Only you can do this. If no moves for peace are paid, it will be hard to keep the Islamic world on your side.
Ismail Cem also touched on the following points in his talks: Turkey's contribution in Afghanistan, the situation in Pakistan, Iraq, Cyprus, the European Army, the Middle East Peace Process.
One of the common issues cited in this respect was efforts by Turkey and Jordan to influence moderates in the Islamic world; another was preserving stability in Georgia.
The most interesting point here was when Turkey's special envoy to Afghanistan Aydemir Erman joined talks with Vice President Cheney and with Rice, briefed them on his experiences and told them what to watch out for.
Turkey will present the bill later
Ismail Cem's words made the Bush administration extremely happy and they showed this most clearly.
Powell in particular praised Turkey for moving into action almost from day one, of voicing its support within NATO and at the UN, and with accepting every request over Afghanistan.
The talks here were not of the kind where Ankara or Washington would issue a bill to be paid. Turkey, like all the other countries in the coalition, will issue this bill later.
When it came to subjects to be included in the bill from the outset, Cem was content just to show paragraph headings.
Economic support, Cyprus, the European Army, Caucasus policies...
Naturally, this list will change as things go on and could increase in parallel with new demands placed by the United States.
However, at this stage there is no intention to go further.
The talks with the UN Secretary General over Cyprus yesterday could well change the color and the cost of the bill!
Mehmet Ali Birand's article is translated by TDN staff
mailto:mbirand@ibm.net
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