The concern in Congress has been bipartisan. Leading Republicans said
Turkey's hostility toward Israel raised questions regarding whether Congress
should continue to support Turkey, a leading client of U.S. combat platforms
such as the F-16 multi-role fighter.
In a letter to Obama in June, Pallone cited Ankara's decision to
organize a flotilla to break the Israeli and Egyptian siege on the Gaza
Strip. The representative said Turkey, in wake of the bloody Israeli
interception of the flotilla, has resorted to threats against Israel and
formed an alliance with forces that threaten the West.
"Rather than engaging in an open dialogue, Turkey has chosen to recall
their ambassador from Israel and disrupt diplomatic relations," Pallone said
in the letter. "Turkey has chosen to ignore the facts and force its own view
of events through threat."
Some of the representatives, including Pallone, demanded that Obama
condemn Turkey's IHH, the Islamist organizer of the flotilla. IHH has been
linked to Al Qaida and Hamas and was said to have recruited scores of
fighters to resist the Israel Navy. Nine people, eight of them Turks, were
killed in the Israeli seizure of the Turkish-flagged Hava Marmara on May 31.
"I also ask that you condemn Turkey's reaction to the incident involving
the flotilla," Pallone said.
"The complicity of Turkey in launching a flotilla to challenge the
blockade in Gaza, the ensuing violence that occurred, the grievous loss of
life is deeply troubling to those of us who have supported the U.S. Turkish
alliance in the past," Rep. Mike Pence, a leading Republican and member of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said. "Turkey needs to decide whether
its present course is in its long-term interest."
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, a former chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee, said Ankara's drift from NATO has been encouraged by Obama.
Hoekstra cited Obama's counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, who has
repeatedly expressed support for so-called moderate elements in the
Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah.
"Obama over the last 18 months has sent a clear signal to people in the
Middle East that it's okay to reach out to these organizations, Hamas,
Hizbullah," Hoekstra told The Washington Times. "I think Turkey believes,
watching Obama, this is not necessarily inconsistent with the Obama
administration."
On June 14, a Turkish parliamentary delegation left for the United
States for talks with Congress and the administration. The delegation from
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, known by its Turkish acronym,
AKP, intended to allay fears that Ankara was moving away from the West.
"The AKP has no agenda of shifting its axis or of Turkey becoming Middle
Eastern," party deputy chairman and delegation chief Omer Celik said. "This
is just rhetoric."
Still, administration officials said Washington has become heavily
dependent on Turkey for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They said Ankara, the only NATO ally to vote against United Nations
sanctions on Teheran, has exploited this to develop a strategic relationship
with neighboring Iran and Syria.
"I'll be honest," Defense Minister Robert Gates said. "I was
disappointed in Turkey's decision on the Iranian sanctions. That said,
Turkey is a decades-long ally of the United States and other members of
NATO. Turkey continues to play a critical part in the alliance. We have a
strong military-to-military relationship with Turkey. We obviously have
facilities in Turkey. So allies don't always agree on things."
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