The Reaction in Turkey
Here's the official reaction:
“I welcomed [bin Laden’s] death with great satisfaction,” President Abdullah Gül told journalists at the Ankara airport ahead of a state visit to Austria on Monday.
“The way in which he was eliminated should serve as an example to everyone,” Gül said, adding that this killing, announced by U.S. President Barack Obama late Sunday in Washington, proved that terrorists and leaders of terror organizations will be eliminated sooner or later.
The Turkish president described al-Qaeda as the world’s most dangerous and sophisticated terror organization, while Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül noted that the group had mounted fatal attacks inside Turkey as well.
“I wish the entire world would make an alliance against the PKK the way it did against bin Laden,” Gönül added, speaking to reporters Tuesday.
Here's the unofficial reaction: Wish we'd done that. Now why the hell is Abdullah Öcalan still alive, sitting on an island in the Sea of Marmara and giving orders to the PKK?
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Mar '11
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
Claire Berlinski, Ed.:
I think that highly sought-after position goes to Hezbullah, not Al Qaeda, so I don't think Mr Bin Laden's death is going to change things much in the Middle East, other than make matters worse.
I'm glad it happened, though.
Dec '10
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
I wonder how the Turkish government reconciles its revulsion for al-Qaeda with its lack of same for Hamas, especially with Ismail Haniyeh denouncing the same killing that Abdullah Gul is praising.
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
It's in a mighty awkward position with that. As Ambassador Tan once said to a group of foreign journalists here, the West "must understand that in this region, two plus two doesn't always equal four. Sometimes it equals six, sometimes 10. You cannot hope to understand this region unless you grasp this." One of the more inadvertently insightful comments I've ever heard about Turkish foreign policy.
Dec '10
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
Claire, it reveals Gul's lack of self-awareness for him to complain about the world not lining up against the PKK when his party's government sees no need to line up against Hamas or Hezbollah.
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
“The way in which he was eliminated should serve as an example to everyone,” Gül said
So I guess from now on it'll be okay when we do it.
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
I'm not sure I'd use the term "self-awareness." Gül's a politician--of course he's going to use this opportunity both to try to link the PKK and al Qaeda in people's minds, internationally, and to look tough on the PKK domestically ahead of the election. His overarching commitment here is not to "intellectual and moral consistency." Or "awareness."
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
Judith Levy: “The way in which he was eliminated should serve as an example to everyone,” Gül said
So I guess from now on it'll be okay when we do it. · May 2 at 10:15am
I bet you and I would be the only ones who would be willing to try to limn the meaning of this news item on a day like today--what do you think? Plausible? Reported in the pro-AKP press. Abdüllatif Şener is one of the more credible politicians around here. I wonder.
Mar '11
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
As Ambassador Tan once said to a group of foreign journalists here, the West "must understand that in this region, two plus two doesn't always equal four. Sometimes it equals six, sometimes 10. You cannot hope to understand this region unless you grasp this."
Neither can one understand Washington DC...
In the case of Mr Obama's budget, 2 + 2 = - 4.
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
Oh yes -- that's a great one. I saw it earlier today in the Jerusalem Post. Now that you say this guy is credible, I'll have to reconsider it. When I first saw the item I laughed out loud.
I have to say this kind of thing doesn't sound like us. We tend to be almost ridiculously literal in our international relations. The pretzel logic of it does, however, sound pretty Turkish.
This is pretty weird, as back channels go. There was so much public downside from the Israeli perspective. It boosted Hamas's prestige, created the impression that our own relations with Turkey were worsening, and handed the AKP a cudgel to whack us with. Of course, all that might have been a smokescreen to distract attention from secret talks between us and Hamas. If so, they failed. Your thoughts?
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
And that's small potatoes. Here's DebkaFile with a theory claiming that the Hamas-Fatah unity deal was the inadvertent byproduct of secret Israel-Turkey talks. The logic of this is clear as mud (the Abbas connection, for instance, doesn't make any sense as written), but I have no idea who their sources are. Maybe it's true.
Sep '10
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
Judith Levy: “The way in which he was eliminated should serve as an example to everyone,” Gül said
So I guess from now on it'll be okay when we do it. · May 2 at 10:15am
You will never get any objection from me.
Dec '10
Re: The Reaction in Turkey
Claire, Judith: just what is it that Sener thinks Israel got out the "deal" to let Mashaal visit Turkey? The subtext of Sener's story is that Turkey and Israel have a relationship so strong, they can engage in conspiratorial schemes to manipulate world opinion for mutual benefit. However, it doesn't seem that Turkey since 2006 has done anything to help put its strong friend Israel - rather the opposite. So is Sener saying the AKP double-crossed Israel, or vice-versa? Or is he just making stuff up?