Classy advertising magazine MediaCat has this cover for April. In my Facebook news-stream, I observe a reaction from Kemalist friends. They call for a protest against the magazine because it replaces Atatürk’s face from this classical photo in which Atatürk teaches the new alphabet to citizens…Title says "An educating leader and his constituency"
an older roundup follows:
Obama’s Turkey test
US President Barack Obama, before he had even completed two months in his post, announced that he would be making an official trip to Turkey.
Obama’s nominee refuses to call 1915 events as genocide
WASHINGTON – Phil Gordon, nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, Thursday declined to qualify World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as "genocide" during his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The US and Turkey: A Sea Change in the Air
By Patricia H. Kushlis
Hillary Clinton’s visit to Turkey earlier this month, combined with her surprise announcement that President Obama would make an official visit to the country after the NATO 60th Anniversary Summit, certainly indicate that major changes in US Middle East policy are in the works and that this administration understands – unlike its predecessor – the pivotal role Turkey plays in the region. Obama’s visit there is now scheduled for April 6 and 7.
This sea change has been too long in coming.
In the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, certain neocons in the Bush administration went out of their way to insult the Turks because neither the Turkish government nor the people supported the US-led invasion of one of Turkey’s southern neighbors. As a consequence, the Turkish government refused to let US military forces launch a second invasion force through Turkey.
The irony, of course, was that the Bushies attempted to use democratization as one of the many pretexts for the invasion yet they were contemptuous of Turkish democracy and thumbed their noses at the Turkish parliament when its elected representatives objected to their invasion plans.
Turkey and Obama: A Golden Age in Turkish U.S. Ties?
by Amberin Zaman
ANKARA — When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that President Barack Obama would visit Turkey next month during her recent trip to Ankara, even the most seasoned pundits were caught off guard. It was widely assumed that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s vitriolic attacks against Israel capped by his famous walkout from the World Economic Forum last month at Davos had dented Turkey’s chances of ever becoming the first predominantly Muslim nation to host the new U.S. president.2 Set against rising anti-U.S. feelings and its cozy ties with Iran, Russia, and Sudan, the Davos affair prompted a flurry of editorials fretting over whether Turkey was turning its back on the West.
TEXT-Turkish business leader sends a letter to Obama
The chairwoman of Turkey’s leading business association, Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD), sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama urging him to consider the possible implications of recognizing the Armenian claims regarding the 1915 incidents.
Ahmet Davutoglu: The Man behind Turkey’s Assertive Foreign Policy …
Turkey: A Rising Regional Star? – Nimet Beriker, RealClearWorld
Turkish official hopeful for golden era of cooperation with US
Turkish premier’s foreign policy adviser said a new era was opened in bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States after President Barack Obama assumed office.
Pre-emptive gestures in Turkish-American-Armenian triangle
Turkey is going to be the first predominantly Muslim country that US President Barack Obama will step foot in after assuming office. That is no privilege.
The Obama visit: risks and opportunities
President Obama’s visit to Turkey next month promises to be a historic event in recent Turkish-American relations.
KEYNOTE SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY AT THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS SUMMIT
"KEYNOTE SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY AT THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS SUMMIT
(BRUSSELS, 26 MARCH 2009)
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
EU wind starts to blow again in Turkey
President Abdullah Gül’s two-day visit to Brussels this week has rekindled hopes about Turkey putting the European Union issue back on its agenda after a noticeable slowdown in EU reforms.
Turkey’s dilemma at NATO: France and Rasmussen
Though Ankara has not yet made its official view on the next secretary-general of NATO public, there has been increased speculation that this NATO member may block Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen from becoming the next head of the alliance.
Turkey unlikely to veto Rasmussen
ANKARA – Turkey is not likely to veto the Danish prime minister’s running for NATO secretary-general, according to Turkish officials. Turkey will continue to put pressure on Denmark to stop the Roj TV’s terrorism propaganda, they add
A visa to Europe
For people in my profe
ssion, more gratifying than the memory of their first kiss is the memory of their first front-page news story, and I suspect it will come as no surprise that I am about to tell you the story of mine.
Why Turkey and the EU need each other by Jonathan Fryer
Later this year, Turkey will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of its acceptance as a candidate for membership of the European Union, though in truth at present there is little to celebrate.
‘New Diplomacy’ in International Political Economy and Turkey-EU Relations
Turkey has three problems – Cyprus, Kurdish and Armenian
Turkey Belongs in Europe by Jan Marinus Wiersma
Almost four years ago Turkey and the EU took a historical step forward and started accession negotiations. However, full Turkish membership in the union does not look much closer today than it did in 2005. Increasing ambivalence on the European side and the exclusionary discourse of some European leaders negatively affect Turkey’s reform process.
Why Turkey belongs in the EU
The Diplomatic Courier (USA), March 25, 2009
By Sigurd Neubauer, Contributor
With its geographical location, at the crossroads of an East-West and North-South axis, Turkey has played a dominating geopolitical role from the days of the Ottoman Empire to the present. In recognition of Turkey’s strategic position, President Harry S. Truman was quick to incorporate Turkey into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). As the alliance is celebrating its 60th anniversary, Turkey is again at a crossroad. This time, the choice facing the Turkish Republic is whether Ankara should continue its path towards becoming a full fledged member of the European Union, or if Turkey should adopt a “neo Ottoman” foreign policy brokering conflicts between Israel and Syria and between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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