A partnership at risk?
The strategic interests of America and Turkey may be diverging dangerously
THE much-vaunted “strategic partnership” cemented during more than half a century between Turkey and the United States looked in danger of coming unstuck four months ago when Turkey's parliament refused to let American troops use eastern Turkey as a launch-pad from which to attack Iraq. Since then, the two countries have tried to patch things up. But a new row has made matters worse, all over again. Turkey's top general, Hilmi Ozkok, said that the latest quarrel, sparked by the arrest on July 4th of 11 members of Turkey's special forces by American troops in northern Iraq, marked the “biggest crisis” ever between the armed forces of the two NATO allies. For now, the strategic-partnership phrase has dropped out of sight.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “A partnership at risk?”
From the July 12th 2003 edition
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