# Americas deterioriating relations with Turkey **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 1, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911 "2007-11-01T19:55:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/1 "2007-11-01T19:55:23Z")
I was reading [this](http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20071101/wl_csm/oturkus) article earlier about the deteriorating relationship between Turkey and the US. According to the article Turkey is they most anti-American nation polled (I’m assuming countries like North Korea weren’t asked): > [@](#): > > Yet, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Ankara Friday to defuse tensions over Kurdish rebels operating in Iraq, she faces a nation that is now the most anti-American in the world, according to one survey. > [@](#): > > In a recent global survey by the Pew Research Center, only 9 percent of Turks held a favorable view of the United States (down from 52 percent in 2000), a figure that placed Turkey at the rock bottom of the 46 countries surveyed. Looking at the article the Turks have a serious problem with the US…probably more than most Americans realize. > [@](#): > > That perception has been reinforced in the past two years by some of Turkey’s most popular books and films which portray the US and Turkey at odds – if not at war. Turkey’s all-time box office champ, 2006’s “Valley of the Wolves,” saw a ragtag Turkish force square off heroically against a whole division of bloodthirsty American soldiers in northern Iraq. > > “Metal Storm,” a bestselling political fantasy book from the year before, went even further, describing an all out war between Ankara and Washington in the not so distant future (the year 2007, to be exact), in which Turkey ultimately prevails with the help of Russia and the European Union. And of course, thrown in with all the OTHER tensions currently between Turkey and the US, our wonderful Congress chose this time to up the ante and really build a bridge for US/Turk relations: > [@](#): > > Real life events have also done little to improve America’s image in Turkey. The recent passage by a US congressional committee of a resolution recognizing the mass killing of Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire as a genocide – something Turkey strongly rejects – set public opinion aflame. There are a lot of issues here, and a lot of reasons Turkey and the US aren’t seeing eye too eye right now. A big part of this obviously stems from the US invasion of Iraq and the pressure this is putting on the Muslim community in Turkey. Another huge bone of contention is the issue with the Kurds and the PKK and the perception by a large percentage of Turks that the US is supporting the PKK and Kurdish terrorism in Turkey. What can be done? The US is in a sticky situation here. Obviously we don’t want too piss off Turkey (though you couldn’t tell this by the actions of either our idiot President OR our idiotic Congress). On the other hand we have too maintain a delicate balance with the Kurds in Iraq because this is the one area of relative peace in the who god forsaken country. On the other other hand, the PKK definitely are some mangy bastards that the US SHOULD be helping Turkey eliminate…they are certainly terrorists by any definition and we are supposed too be fighting terrorism and all that jazz. So…thoughts? What can the US do to repair it’s relations with Turkey (or vice versa…not all of this is the US’s fault, and some of this stems from local groups in Turkey deliberately attempting to swing their publics perceptions away from the US)? How can the US walk this razors edge? Is there even anything that CAN be done as long as Bush remains in office, or is this going to be yet another thing that needs too be handled by the next administration? What can be done to explain to Congress that they need to shut the fuck up and deal with problems here in the US…or maybe deal with the whole Iraqi war thingy? -XT ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/2 "2007-11-01T21:06:19Z")
In the long run, the best thing America could do for Turkey is turn against it, and pressure it to grant independence to Turkish Kurdistan. Once that is done, the primary reasons for Turkey’s poor human-rights record will vanish, and Turkish membership in the European Union will become a much more viable possibility. (Plus it would piss off the Iranians. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/3 "2007-11-01T21:08:32Z")
Free Kurdistan! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/4 "2007-11-02T03:46:36Z")
Come November 22nd, I think the relationship will be quite one-sided. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/5 "2007-11-02T03:54:56Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] Free Kurdistan! [/QUOTE] And reasonably priced Burma! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/6 "2007-11-02T04:17:20Z")
Bush could send Jimmy Carter to bring peace to the region. Then Bush’d only have two things to worry about: that he might fail, and that he might succeed. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/7 "2007-11-02T04:25:41Z")
> [@](#): > > “Metal Storm,” a bestselling political fantasy book from the year before, went even further, describing an all out war between Ankara and Washington in the not so distant future (the year 2007, to be exact), in which Turkey ultimately prevails with the help of Russia and the European Union. Let’s do it! Well, not the part where we lose. We’ll win. Look, I’ve been against a lot of wars. Pretty much all of them. But everyone has to support one war, right? It’s unsightly not to, especially as an American. So I say let’s invade Turkey. They’ve been mouthing off to us. They don’t know how to follow orders. Plus, they’re the name of a bird which by all accounts doesn’t deserve to live. Let’s serve both the bird and the country with a side of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Who’s with me? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/8 "2007-11-02T04:58:25Z")
[QUOTE=marshmallow] Let’s do it! Well, not the part where we lose. We’ll win. Look, I’ve been against a lot of wars. Pretty much all of them. But everyone has to support one war, right? It’s unsightly not to, especially as an American. So I say let’s invade Turkey. They’ve been mouthing off to us. They don’t know how to follow orders. Plus, they’re the name of a bird which by all accounts doesn’t deserve to live. Let’s serve both the bird and the country with a side of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Who’s with me? [/QUOTE] Me, me! But let’s start that war with Iran first. It’s not a four-front war if the countries you’re warring in are all adjacent to one another, right? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/9 "2007-11-02T05:07:35Z")
Related question: If Russia were to attack Turkey from the rear, would Greece help? 🙂 :: d&r :: ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/10 "2007-11-02T05:17:54Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Related question: If Russia were to attack Turkey from the rear, would Greece help? 🙂 :: d&r :: [/QUOTE] Oman that sucked. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/11 "2007-11-02T17:38:05Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Bush could send Jimmy Carter to bring peace to the region. Then Bush’d only have two things to worry about: that he might fail, and that he might succeed. [/QUOTE] Yeah, Jimmy Carter’s great with foreign policy. His brilliant support of Robert Mugabe has been a boon to the world. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/12 "2007-11-02T19:20:56Z")
> [@](#): > > His brilliant support of Robert Mugabe has been a boon to the world. That would be the same Mugabe who took power in 1980? Under the terms of an agreement brokered by Henry Kissinger? Carter was only in office for the first few months of Mugabe’s rule; his main abuses of power started in 1983. Did Carter leave secret orders behind or something? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/13 "2007-11-05T23:38:58Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] That would be the same Mugabe who took power in 1980? Under the terms of an agreement brokered by Henry Kissinger? Carter was only in office for the first few months of Mugabe’s rule; his main abuses of power started in 1983. Did Carter leave secret orders behind or something? [/QUOTE] Right, Mugabe took power during Carter due to the fact that Carter didn’t stand strong behind the elected PM and was meeting with Mugabe. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/14 "2007-11-06T00:21:47Z")
You know, if we can change Istanbul back into Constantinople, it could pave the way for a They Might Be Giants revival and arena tour. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-deterioriating-relations-with-turkey/424911/15 "2007-11-06T01:15:45Z")
Liberate [the tomb of St. John!](http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/ephesus-basilica-of-st-john.htm) But seriously, I think the pendulum will swing of its own accord. Turks are not Arabs, and AFAIK don’t feel much of an affinity toward Arabs in general. Hell, Turkey does joint military exercises with Israel, for chrissake. They are more Western-oriented (the change from the Arabic to the Latin alphabet was more than just symbolic) than virtually any other Muslim country. Besides, I think any future president of either party will recognize that one of the US’s first priorities has to be to patch up our foreign relations, including those in the Muslim world. The US is already starting to make some of the right noises–denouncing the PKK as a terrorist organization, for instance, and (if I recall correctly from the radio news tonight) agreeing to share intelligence on Kurdish terrorists with Turkey. Give it time.