A Different Bush?
Friday, November 05 2004 @ 06:47 AM Central Standard Time
By Sami Kohen
“Will US President George W. Bush change? In other words, will he change the policies of his first term? Everybody around the world is talking about this and wondering.
We hope that he will be more realistic, compromising and pragmatic rather than continuing to act unilaterally and aggressively on foreign policy. Everybody in the US knows that unilateral and aggressive policies bring bad results. In addition, the political and economic pricetag of Iraq is mounting. International hatred of Bush’s policies is turning into anti-Americanism. In his second term, Bush will need to move closer to Europe, avoid more military adventures, deal with such problems as the Palestinian issue and be more respectful to international bodies like the United Nations. In short, Bush should review his first-term policies. Such changes would help Turkish-US relations. It’s clear that the thorniest aspect of our recent relations is the Iraq issue, that is, its territorial integrity and stability, the Kurdish formation in the north and the presence of the PKK terrorist group. For these reasons, there’s still tension between Ankara and Washington.
No great changes in the US policy on Iraq should be expected in the short term. However, Bush can give Turkey’s sensitivity and expectations more consideration and stand with Ankara. This will be a test of how much Bush will change. Similarly, if Bush doesn’t change how he approaches Turkey’s neighbors such as Syria, this will put us into a difficult situation and rock the region. Turkey has an active role in these issues. If Bush tries to solve the problems in cooperation with his allies instead of acting unilaterally, Turkey can help this. Finally, if he adopts a policy of transatlantic rapprochement, this will also boost Turkish-US relations. Our diplomacy wants to maintain its freedom of movement in foreign policy, and it doesn’t want to have to choose between America and the European Union. A US-EU rapprochement would make things much easier for Turkey.”
Turks.US: A Different Bush?
