US in Turkey
Photo Credit: Paul Loebb, New York Times
Despite once-strong ties with Turkey prior to the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, the United States has grown increasingly frustrated with Turkey’s lack of cooperation with its ally’s agenda in the region.
Although Turkey possessed a sometimes questionable record on human rights and other freedoms, Turkey at the time of the first Arab Spring protests in Syria in 2011 was considered a rather close NATO ally to the United States, and more generally, “a bridge between Muslim and Western nations.”
Today, a deepening chasm on policy differences, as well as the increasingly authoritarian nature of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have led to an erosion of the once-strong alliance between Turkey and the US.
The United States has taken a strong ISIS-first approach toward conflict in Syria, but feel they have been doing so without an ally they feel should be their greatest partner in the battle. “Turkey is in a pivotal position. They are a longtime friend of ours, a NATO ally, and we’re strongly in support of them and stand with them. But I think they can do more to fight ISIL,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter in February.
Steven A. Cook of Politico Magazine argues that we in large part “have come to understand that while Ankara can play a constructive role in combatting extremism and resolving the Syrian conflict, it has chosen not to.” In addition to ISIS, Turkey’s borders have been an additional source of friction, as they’ve served as a virtual “open door for extremists, terrorist finance and weapons,” both to ISIS and to extremist rebel groups in Syria.
While the US has grown increasingly irritated with Turkey’s unwillingness to take significant measures to combat ISIS, the greatest source of friction for Turkey has been the US’ policy of continued support for the Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, in fighting ISIS, and their failure to recognize the group as a terrorist group. The YPG have proven to be the United States’ most effective ally in the ground war against ISIS, but are linked also to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency against Turkey for three decades, is recognized by much of the international community as a terrorist organization, and has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks within Turkey.
Turkey, in the interest of its national security, has remained principally focused on stifling the armed resistance of the PKK. Mustafa Akyol of Al-Jazeera explains, “The Syrian branch of the PKK may have emerged as an ally of both the United States and Russia against ISIL, but Turkey has to worry about its own peace and long-term stability, for which the PKK is nothing but an imminent threat - perhaps a threat bigger than ISIL, whose supporters inside Turkey are only minuscule compared with the supporters of the PKK.”
The United States and Turkey are engaged in a bizarre triangle in which they ally themselves with both Turkey and the YPG, while the YPG and Turkey fundamentally see themselves as bitter enemies.
The relationship has not been completely uncooperative, however. In February of 2015, the US and Turkey signed a deal to jointly equip Syrian opposition groups. Despite differing objectives, the US in fighting ISIS and Turkey in fighting the Assad regime, they have been able to find some common ground in this regard. A further breakthrough came in the form of Turkey’s agreement in July to longstanding US’ demand that Turkey allow them to use one of its key air bases, signaling a new commitment from Turkey to work together with the United States.
Ultimately, despite vast differences in their policy objectives, the United States has a strong foreign policy interest in a strong and prosperous Turkey. “US and European leaders have rushed into a policy that posits the Islamic State the principal threat that must be countered at all costs. Isis-first tactics risk losing the much greater prize, a stable, prosperous Turkey,” argues Jean-Marie Guehenno of Al-Jazeera. Turkey has served for many years, and must continue to serve, as an anchor of stability for the United States, and the bridge between a number of geopolitical faultlines. In trying to save Syria and shut down ISIS, the US risks losing Turkey.
