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REMARKS BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON U.S.-TURKEY RELATIONS
June 27, 2012
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today delivered the following remarks on U.S.-Turkey relations at the Middle East Institute’s Third Annual Conference on Turkey in Washington, D.C.:
“Thank you, Wendy, for that kind introduction, for your leadership of the Middle East Institute, and for your many years of service in our diplomatic corps.
“Let me also thank Ambassador Tan, the Turkish government, and our many guests from Turkey, for their generous support of this conference.
“I am grateful that Wendy and the Middle East Institute would think to invite me – a member of Congress – to speak with you this morning. Most Americans no longer care what we in Congress have to say. I believe the approval rating of Congress is now 11 percent. And I have yet to meet anyone in that 11 percent.
“We are down to blood relatives and paid staffers.
“And I am not so sure anymore about some of the staffers.
“On a more serious note, before I go any further, let me say that my thoughts and prayers are with the two Turkish pilots who remain missing after being shot down by Syrian forces last week. All of us are praying for their rescue and safe return. This was an unnecessary and unacceptable act of aggression. And as tensions between Turkey and Syria continue to rise, the Turkish government and people must know that their American ally stands firmly with them.
“I talk often about my lifelong affinity for Turkey and my abiding belief in its central role in history. I remember, as a young man, studying the epic history of Byzantium, and the Ottoman Empire, and the founding of modern Turkey by Kemal Ataturk. I remember hearing stories about the brave soldiers of the Turkish Brigade, who served alongside American forces in the Korean War. I remember learning how one of those Turkish units fought to the last man to repel the Chinese invasion, and that man was ordered to surrender so he could tell his countrymen about the heroism of his comrades. I have traveled to Turkey many times – and Istanbul, along with Jerusalem, remains one of my two favorite cities in the world.
“Throughout my decades of involvement in U.S.-Turkish relations, I cannot recall a more dynamic and exciting time for our alliance than right now. These are times of significant change within Turkey and tectonic shifts in the geopolitics of the surrounding region – both of which are casting our alliance in a new light.
“Over the past few years, there has been a lot of debate in the United States about what these changes in Turkey mean. We have heard it said that Turkey is embracing Islam at the expense of secularism, that it is turning its back on the West in favor of the East, and that U.S.-Turkish cooperation is being displaced by a more tense rivalry. Some commentators have even asked, ‘Who lost Turkey?’
“Much of this recent debate about Turkey has missed the point. It tends to romanticize the past and misread the present. The fact is, Turkey is changing, and the nature of our alliance is changing with it. Nonetheless, there is every reason to believe that these changes mostly can be, and should be, for the better. Indeed, we now have an opportunity to fundamentally transform our alliance – to make it broader, deeper, more durable, and more relevant – in short, to make it one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world for both of our countries.
“No one should expect this to be easy. It will not be. Nor does it mean that we will cease to have our disagreements. Those will persist. But if we remain guided by a few core principles, we can succeed in transforming our alliance.
“One of those principles is that the United States and Turkey need to deal with each other realistically, talk with each other honestly, and build greater trust.
“This should begin with us in the United States. We need to realize that the U.S.-Turkey alliance does not consist of Americans giving orders and Turks getting in line – and to the extent that we have acted this way in the past, it might explain why many Turks still view our country with mistrust and even distaste. We also need to realize that our alliance with Turkey, like other relationships that we value most, should not be reduced to the one-dimensional perspectives of domestic special interests, as worthy as they may be. But perhaps most importantly, we Americans need to realize that we are now dealing with a different Turkey.
“Over the past decade, Turkey’s democracy has become more inclusive and more representative of Turkish society as a whole, including the many citizens who want greater freedom to express their identity as Muslims. As a result, Turkey is defining a new balance between its Islamic and secular heritages, and between the authority of elected civilian leaders and the military’s historic role in political life. America should not view either of these developments as inherently bad. At the same time, the Turkish economy has experienced a decade of strong growth, which has fueled an emerging middle class, catapulted Turkey into the ranks of elite global decision-makers, and inspired a more confident Turkish foreign policy.
“These positive trends sit side by side with other, more troubling ones. It is widely reported that there are more journalists in jail in Turkey than in any other country, and that intimidation of the media is a persistent problem. The ongoing detention and prosecution of military officers have raised suspicions that many of these actions are politically motivated, which has cast the illiberal tendencies of some Turkish leaders in a more disturbing light. Finally, the recent deterioration of Turkey’s relationship with Israel cannot serve any responsible interest, and it is especially painful for us, as we count both Israel and Turkey as vital allies.
“I take no pleasure in raising issues such as these, and I do so not as an enemy of Turkey, but as one of its strongest and most enduring friends – who believes that it is only through a candid exchange of views that we will build trust and make the most of this opportunity to transform our alliance. If we are not open and honest with one another, especially where we differ – if leaders in both of our countries do not defend this alliance and explain its new importance to our publics, even when it may be unpopular to do so – we will be consumed by fruitless introspection, rather than directing our energies outward to advance our common interests and values.
“We must deal with each other realistically – but we must do more than that. We must also invest in each other’s success. Contrary to the dictates of realpolitik, America does not fear the growth of Turkish power, nor do we seek to limit it. To the contrary, we have a major stake in Turkey’s success, and we want to enhance it – politically, economically, and yes, militarily. A more capable, more active, and more influential Turkey with which we share values is a net benefit to America’s national interests, and both of our countries need to invest more ambitiously in this relationship, just as the United States and India have done with each other.
“One way to do that is by strengthening our common fight against terrorism, especially the PKK. Turkey’s recent strikes against PKK fighters in Iraq, in which eight Turkish soldiers tragically lost their lives last week, are but one indication of the persistent threat of this terrorist group. That is why Senator Joe Lieberman and I have authored a resolution expressing Congress’s solidarity with Turkey in the fight against the PKK, and urging greater cooperation against its international financing and propaganda efforts, as well as greater U.S. intelligence and military support for Turkish actions to take senior PKK leaders off the battlefield. Such steps could empower Turkish leaders who want to address the legitimate demands of Turkey’s Kurdish citizens, as Prime Minister Erdogan has shown a desire to do.
“Another way to invest in each other’s success is through greater trade, and here we need to be much more ambitious. The best way to do so would be to explore the possibility of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement. More ambitious still would be to join with Turkey in constructing a new architecture of open trade for the Middle East and North Africa, similar to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I know Turkey’s relations with the EU may complicate these goals, but this has not proved problematic between Turkey and other states. It should not hold us back either.
“Similarly, while our defense trade and cooperation remains strong, we now have a huge opportunity to expand it even further. Turkey is one of the only NATO member states that is actually increasing its defense spending. Turkey is talking about acquiring a vast array of more advanced defense capabilities – ground, naval, air, intelligence, and missile defense. The United States is a natural partner for Turkey in its military modernization. And we should use this as an opportunity to better align our military capabilities, to become more interoperable, and to devise a common strategic framework to guide cooperation between our defense industries.
“More important than how we relate to each other, and more important even than how we invest in one another’s success, is what we do together – how we can align our great power in pursuit of common goals, not just responding to events in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, but leading and shaping those events for the better, in accordance with our shared interests and values.
“It is certainly true that a more powerful Turkey is more able and willing to go its own way when its national interests demand. But what is equally true, and far more important, is that the interests and values of a rising, democratic Turkey are increasingly in alignment with ours. This is evident through our cooperation on missile defense, our major contributions together in Afghanistan, and our closely coordinated efforts in response to the revolutionary changes sweeping the broader Middle East. Indeed, despite our occasional differences, our countries increasingly share a larger vision for the future of this vital region. It is a vision of democracy, individual rights, opportunity, and the rule of law – a vision, most importantly, that we share with the vast majority of people from North Africa to Central Asia.
“Our ability to translate this common vision into action is being tested across the region, but nowhere more than Syria. It is now believed that more than 12,000 lives have been lost, and still Assad escalates the violence – going from infantry and snipers, to tanks and artillery, to unleashing plain-clothes thugs to commit mass atrocities, and now to helicopter gunships. Syria’s recent attack on a Turkish fighter jet fits into this troubling pattern of escalation. And all the while, Assad’s slaughter is being enabled by Russian and Iranian weapons, and there are even reports of Iranian operatives on the ground in Syria. Clearly, this is not a fair fight.
“In April, thanks to the special efforts of the Turkish government, Senator Joe Lieberman and I visited a Syrian refugee camp in southern Turkey. I have seen my share of suffering and death, but the stories that those Syrians told still haunt me – men who had lost all of their children, women and girls who had been gang raped, children who had been tortured. And none of this, mind you, was the random acts of cruelty that sadly occur in war. Syrian army defectors told us that killing, and rape, and torture was what they were instructed to do as a tool of terror and intimidation. So if I get a little emotional when I talk about Syria, this is why.
“The situation in Syria cries out for U.S. leadership – not just to save Syrian lives, but to support our ally, Turkey, when they need our support the most. The conflict in Syria is becoming a strategic threat to Turkey. The country is already facing massive flows of refugees, and it is welcoming them in by the thousands. Turkish pilots are now being shot down over international waters, according to Turkish leaders. And the longer this conflict grinds on, the worse it gets – the more sectarian divisions harden, the more Al-Qaeda gains influence, the more the Syrian state disintegrates, and the more Turkey is faced with violent chaos on its border.
“The United States needs to devote a fuller measure of its power to help end the conflict in Syria as soon as possible – not just because it is the right thing to do, and not just because it will be a strategic defeat for Iran, but because it can help to consolidate a new kind of relationship with Turkey. It can show the Turkish people and government that America is willing to take risks for the sake of their security and to invest in their success – that we are not an unreliable partner or a declining power, as some in Turkey allege. We cannot afford to squander this opportunity.
“The conflict in Syria is but one part of a larger story that is now unfolding across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is a story of struggle by people throughout this region to reconcile Islam with democratic politics and a secular state … to subordinate the power of armed groups and military forces to elected civilian authorities … to resolve ethnic and sectarian differences through politics, not violence … to balance the dynamism of free markets with popular demands for equitable economic development … and to do all of this while waging a broader struggle against the subversive and hegemonic ambitions of Iran.
“Turkey is now a central player in this epic story. And as I travel through the region again and again, it is clear how inspired people are by Turkey’s success, and how much they wish to emulate it in their countries. Modern Turkey has never had greater influence to shape the development of its region, and with that power comes an even greater responsibility – the responsibility to lead by example.
“More and more people in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia are now looking to Turkey for lessons to guide their own struggles for justice. It is essential that they learn the right lessons, especially as it concerns the rights of minorities, religious liberty and tolerance, freedom for journalists, relations with neighbors, and the integrity of democratic institutions. In short, Turkey’s ability to set the highest standards of democratic development has never been more critical.
“In all of these endeavors, Turkey and the United States can accomplish far more together than apart. It is this simple, my friends: If the broader Middle East comes to be defined more by peace than war, more by prosperity than misery, and more by freedom than tyranny, I believe future historians will look back and point to the fact that two of the world’s preeminent democratic powers, Turkey and the United States, transformed their long-standing alliance to address the new realities of the 21st century. If we keep this vision of our relationship always uppermost in our minds, there is no dispute we cannot resolve, no investment we cannot make in each other’s success, and nothing we cannot accomplish together.”
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