The Middle East Media Research Institute - US does not trust Turkish AKP Government
The American-Turkish Council's annual conference, which took place in Washington, D.C. in late March 2006, reflected the current chill in Turkish-U.S. relations. While in previous years this conference was always attended by leading Turkish and U.S. government figures, businessmen, and military figures, this year it was marked by sparse participation. Most of the Turkish officials in attendance told the press that Turkish-U.S. relations were in much worse shape than they had previously believed.
Two emissaries sent by Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a fence-mending mission to Washington following the ATC conference also failed in their mission. The emissaries, PM Erdogan's personal advisor Cuneyt Zapsu and AKP Party Deputy Chairman and MP Saban Disli, came under fire from senior U.S. officials with whom they met on April 7, 2006 at the American Enterprise Institute. During the meeting, the U.S. officials expressed their anger regarding several issues: the AKP government's unpredictable policies, Turkey's February 2006 hosting of a Hamas delegation, and the release of the anti-American and antisemitic Turkish film Valley of the Wolves - Iraq, which had the endorsement of high level AKP figures at the level of the wife of the PM, cabinet ministers, the parliamentary speaker, and other dignitaries who attended the film's festive opening gala.
Despite 50 years of strategic Turkey-U.S. alliance, ever since the AKP came to power Turkish polls have shown continued erosion of these relations. A recent study found that the vast majority of Turks harbor anti-American sentiment and see the U.S. as a major threat to Turkey.
