Turkey: Vital ally, crossroads nation

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Terrorist attacks in Turkey have largely been overshadowed in media attention by those in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a result, a vital United States ally is being overlooked -- a very serious mistake.Political tensions in Turkey raise the stakes further. The selection last year of former foreign minister and practicing Muslim Abdullah Gul as the president by the parliament led to fears of Islamic extremism. The president's wife Hayrunnisa publicly wears the religious headscarf, formally banned in public buildings, and has become an icon for the rise of religion in secular modern Turkey.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan led the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) to an equally decisive victory with the voters in elections to parliament last summer. Initial rejection of his foreign minister for the presidency was the principal spur to go to the people. In effect, a referendum was held on Muslim political leadership of the nation.Since the successful revolution in the 1920s led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the government of Turkey has been constitutionally strictly secular. The army serves as watchdog to keep religion at bay. Four times in the past half century, the generals have acted. At times, military intervention has been bloody. Top officers boycotted the installation of the new president. This summer, people have been detained and two retired general arrested for allegedly plotting a coup.Many outside observers, especially in Europe and the U.S., fixate on signs of Islamic extremism in Turkey. Terrorist efforts in Europe since 9/11 have achieved decidedly mixed results but constantly reinforce such anxiety.Turkey's relative isolation within Europe adds to concern. The European Union has turned Turkey's application for membership into seemingly endless agony. No doubt concern about Islamic extremism contributes to caution. However, more general longstanding European prejudice against outside populations undeniably is involved. Condescension combined with inertia is reflected in the very slow motion of Brussels Eurocrats.In fact, developments within Turkey overall have been reassuring. The people remain committed to representative government, an effective counter against al-Qaeda and other extremist movements. To date, terrorist acts in Turkey have boomeranged, with considerable hostility toward those carrying out such criminal acts. There is anxiety about military intervention, but the AKP is politically moderate and so far has operated carefully to preclude a uniformed crackdown.Turkey's primary geostrategic importance, to the U.S. and other nations, is overriding. The government in Ankara has placed priority on good relations with Israel as well as Arab states. Turkey commands vital sea-lanes and trade routes, including the Straits of Bosporus and potential oil and gas lines from the Caucasus.Ankara-Washington cooperation is very strongly rooted. Turkey has been actively engaged in Afghanistan, including major military command responsibilities. During the first Persian Gulf War, U.S. B-52 bombers were deployed on Turkish soil, a potentially risky move by Ankara. Turkey played a vital Allied role during the Korean War; the UN military cemetery at Pusan contains a notably large number of Turkish graves.This background is of great importance in an unstable region where Turkey-U.S. ties currently are badly strained. The U.S. invasion of Iraq was bitterly opposed by Ankara. Attacks by anti-Ankara Kurdish terrorists based in Iraq have led to Turkish military strikes into the northern region of that country.The next U.S. administration should give the highest priority rebuilding frayed relations with the nation which, along with Israel, is our most vital ally in the region. Washington has neglected Ankara for far too long.(Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of 'After the Cold War' (NYU Press and Palgrave/Macmillan). He can be reached at acyr(at)carthage.edu.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)