Getting to Know Joe Biden

The American historian Stephen Ambrose said that “The person doesn’t make the office, the office makes the person.”* What he meant was, you can say you would like a politician who acts according to his ideals, but politicians are forced to act according to the facts visible from that vantage point of responsibility. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, whose visit tomorrow is eagerly awaited in Turkey, is a leading example of this axiom. Until he was selected as Obama’s running mate, there was never a more fervent opponent of Turkey in the powerful Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which he chaired.

During Biden’s 35-year tenure in the senate, there was not one proposal against Turkey that Biden did not support. Whether it be the Armenian Genocide, the Cyprus issue or the Kurdish problem, Biden never shied away from leveling harsh criticisms at Turkey.

The Turkish press labeled Biden “a Greek puppet” after his treatment of then-Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit during a 1999 visit to Washington. Our “ally” said this to Turkey’s Prime Minister: “You need the U.S., but the U.S. doesn’t need Turkey. I know that you are in need of credit. Solve the Cyprus problem, do what’s been asked and we will help you. Otherwise, you’re going nowhere.”*

Memories are still fresh of the time before his vice presidency when Joe Biden consistently opposed arms sales to Turkey. I was in Washington at the time, and I asked Anthony Blinken, Biden’s senior adviser, “What’s this guy’s problem with Turkey?”

I had expected some canned response, like, “he’s representing his constituency,” but instead he said, “I think this is about things that he feels deeply inside.” He didn’t go into details.

On the other hand, Biden, who is claimed to “know a lot about foreign policy,” was the one to propose dividing Iraq in three parts with centers in Baghdad, Erbil and Basra. The point being, undoubtedly, to create an “U.S.-friendly” Kurdish administration in Northern Iraq.

With Turkey’s refusal to allow American troops to enter Northern Iraq through its territory in 2003, the United States became frustrated. Joe Biden was among the many to rely increasingly on the Northern Iraqi Kurds. He was unable to foresee, however, how the division of predominantly Shiite Iraq would benefit Iran.

But the time has come, and fortunes have changed. It’s not possible to look at the same Biden without surprise. Among the matters to be discussed during his visit — directly or indirectly — will be the opposite of his previous statement to Ecevit; in light of recent events in the United States, there will be serious need for Turkey.

According to his communiques with Ankara, Biden, who worked to block arms sales to Turkey in his time, was able to get the necessary signatures from Congress to appropriate “predator” drones and combat helicopters for Turkey to use against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

To summarize, during his visit, Biden will say that the relations between our two countries are better than ever and that America will do whatever it can to ensure that it continues that way, etc. There’s no other way, especially in light of Turkey’s new policy towards Syria. That is, unless Washington wants to poison the positive atmosphere by picking at old wounds. This would be against Washington’s interests.

In short, however much Biden may have acted as an “enemy” of Turkey while he was a senator, now he is going to be that much more of a “kiss-up.” Even if he touches on the Cyprus and Armenian issues, he will do so “lightly.” The “politeness” required by the office of vice president demands that even if it contradicts his past, he must be comfortable with it. That’s just politics.

*Editor’s note: This quote, although accurately translated, could not be independently verified.