How Is Obama Goingto Deal with Turkey?

ANKARA- Obama’s election for the United States’ presidency is a matter that doesn’t interest his country only. It rather interests the whole world. The most important thing for us is what changes in America’s foreign policy will be of importance to Turkey.

With the election of the black American, Democratic candidate Barack Obama as president of the USA, many changes are awaited in the foreign policies of the new administration. The list of issues Obama stressed during his campaign, such as Turkey, the number of US troops in Iraq, Cuba, policies toward Iran, energy policies etc., is a long one. Here are the changes we might witness:

Obama’s Politics toward Turkey

In an interview with Turkey’s NTV, Omar Tashpinar, Brookings Institute researcher and an expert on Turkey, said that this election will be good for Turkey. “The experts on Turkey on Obama’s team know Turkey better than those on Bush’s team,” added Tashpinar. “Obama’s administration will resemble that of Clinton,” he concluded.

The Armenian Question

Tashpinar also added that when analyzing Obama, one must not look at him only from the Armenian point of view. He also added that, "what Obama wants is to take away the Armenian issue from the focal point of American politics. This means that what needs to be done is what is happening at this moment, like president Gul’s visit to Yerevan. In other words, Turkey must rely on itself in solving this problem.”

Lobbying the European Union

According to Tashpinar, Obama will lobby for Turkey excessively within the European Union. Tashpinar is of the opinion that Obama will be even more vocal than Clinton in this matter.

Peace will come to the Middle East

“Like Clinton, Obama will work toward establishing peace in the Middle East,” adds Tashpinar. He stressed that Obama knows how important Turkey is in this process and how big of a strategic role the country plays in the Middle East.

“It is important that Turkey understands this and plans its future steps accordingly,” concluded Tashpinar.

Concerning Northern Iraq

Tashpinar had this to say regarding policies toward Northern Iraq: “From Washington’s point of view Turkey is showing a very positive stance toward the issue in Northern Iraq (with respect to the Kurds). This means that Turkey is not waiting for a solution to come from the United States, but rather is taking step in that direction, and, most importantly, Turkey is not harboring any fear about Northern Iraq. According to Obama, the United States is not going to remain in the area forever, and this means that good relations between Turkey and Northern Iraq are welcomed. So, instead of looking only to the issue of the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party), it will be better if Turkey engages Northern Iraq and thus wins [Mesud] Barzani’s friendship. Kirkuk is the mother of all issues...if that issue is solved, Northern Iraq will be on its way to relaxation.”

Tashpinar also stressed that President Obama’s stance toward the PKK is as follows: “Obama also looks at the PKK as a terrorist organization, but he also believes that there is a Kurdish issue in Turkey. The most important issue for the United States under Obama is Turkey's efforts to solve its problems by engaging others with whom it [the U.S.] has problems. Therefore, I believe that before relocating his soldiers away from Northern Iraq, Obama will see to it that some sort of arrangement is reached with Turkey.”