Can America rely on Turkey?
(source: The Hill)
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Turkey has been getting a lot of attention recently. American foreign
policymakers, among others, are beginning to realize that the United
States cannot count on its ally Turkey in a pinch. But American surprise
and dismay at Turkey's increasing petulance on the world stage and
among its NATO peers reflects just how naive the U.S. has been in its
interpretation of Turkish behavior over many decades. Turkey's
unreliability as a NATO ally and its incompatibility with Western
democratic values is well understood by those who have long suffered
Turkish aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey's failure to genuinely uphold the shared values of NATO makes it a
weak link in the alliance. By design, NATO originated as a defensive
political and military alliance for those countries engaged in the
hostilities of WWII. Turkey, the largest NATO member not to have fought
in WWII, was enlisted to reinforce defenses against the Soviet Union.
Yet, in the summer of 1974, NATO member Turkey invaded and occupied more
than one third of the island Republic of Cyprus. Coming at the height
of the Cold War, and at a time of delicate relations between Greece,
Cyprus, Turkey, and the NATO alliance, Turkey's invasion of Cyprus
risked war with NATO member Greece and a resultant rupturing of the NATO
alliance.
Adding insult to injury, the weapons used by the
Turkish military to invade Cyprus were those of its NATO benefactors,
principally the United States. In 1975, the Congress imposed an arms
embargo on Turkey for its offensive use of American weapons. Rather than
fulfill its NATO obligations, or follow its legal obligations as
demanded by Congress, Turkey retaliated by closing all American military
installations on Turkish soil, and by severely restricting American
access at two NATO bases. At that time, military installations in Turkey
were deemed essential surveillance posts in the Cold War fight against
the Soviet Union. Turkey refused to reopen these facilities until the
U.S. lifted the arms embargo, signaling that its relationship with the
United States was never more than a transactional one, rather than one
rooted in a shared commitment to the rule of law, individual liberties,
democracy, and collective Western security.
July 20th marks 36
years that the Turkish military has occupied Cyprus. In that time,
neither the Republic of Cyprus nor its people have directed any
aggression towards Turkey. In stark contrast, Turkey maintains an active
colonization program where it is illegally resettling some 180,000
Anatolian Turks into the homes and possessions of the 200,000 Greek
Cypriots it evicted from the occupied territories. The Turkish military
is also systematically eradicating the Hellenic and Christian heritage
from the occupied territories. All but five of the 500 Greek Orthodox
Churches in the occupied territories have been looted, desecrated, or
destroyed. To no avail, the international community, including the
United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the European
Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice have all called
on Turkey to honor its international obligations and cease and desist
from these hostilities against the people of Cyprus.
The Republic
of Cyprus is a full-fledged member of the European Union. Turkey seeks
that status as well, but as a NATO member illegally occupying European
Union soil, Turkey puts NATO and the EU at loggerheads. The result is
that the EU and NATO are unable to cooperate in the consolidation of
their economic and strategic interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey's
ongoing occupation of Cyprus is compelling evidence that it has little
interest in meeting the standards of individual liberties, human rights
and religious tolerance shared by America and other democratic nations.
Lacking the ties that bind, Turkey is apparently quite willing to
jeopardize relations with its long-time allies. Witness its 2003 denial
of the deployment of US forces along the Northern Iraq border and its
recent vote in the U.N. against Iran sanctions.
The United States
and its allies must call upon Turkey to abide by international law and
meet its responsibilities as a dependable NATO partner. And on this, the
36th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Cyprus, the United
States should demand an immediate withdrawal of the 45,000 Turkish
soldiers now occupying northern Cyprus. Until that occurs, policymakers
in the White House and in the Congress must press the issue in every
conversation with their Turkish counterparts. In this way, the United
States can work towards establishing a strong, enduring, and
values-based alliance with Turkey that will serve to bring justice to
the people of Cyprus, strengthen NATO, and reinforce collective Western
security.
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