United States embarks on three-pronged plan
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by Fulya Özerkan
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Åžubat 06, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Washington's move to blacklist the Iranian arm of the PKK, coming amid rising anti-Israel and anti-American feelings among Turks, can be seen as a message by the Obama administration that the United States values ties with Turkey and Turkish society, say experts.
The new U.S. administration's designation of the Iranian arm of the PKK as a terrorist organization will be a net gain for Washington to reduce rising anti-Americanism in the region, to win over regional countries and eradicate the PKK for good, according to security analysts."The [U.S.] move will strike three birds with one stone," said Nihat Ali Özcan of the Ankara-based think tank, Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, or TEPAV.
"By officially branding Pejak as a terrorist group, the U.S. administration will leave no room for the group to maneuver; end suspicions about its real intention in the fight against the PKK; and differentiate the climate in the region to the disadvantage of the PKK," he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review yesterday.
Any assets Pejak has in U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen and American citizens will be prohibited from doing business with the organization, according to the U.S. decision announced Wednesday.Â
Arif Keskin, an Iran expert at another Ankara-based think tank Eurasian Strategic Studies Center, said one of the objectives of the U.S. decision was to win over the Turkish public, which has turned out to be one of the leading anti-American nations in the world since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, coupled with Washington's long hesitations to combat the PKK. He said the U.S. policy toward the PKK had remained vague for a long time, which sparked suspicions among Turks that Washington was supporting the organization. Turkey's neighbors Syria and Iran used the opportunity of Turkish and American officials meeting to discuss ways to dissolve the PKK, while Iran was hitting Kandil Mountain, where the PKK is based, to demonstrate that not Washington but Tehran was cooperating with Ankara to fight the PKK, he noted. "The Turkish public is very sensitive about the PKK issue and can easily shift sides. At that time, Iran and Syria seemed more friendly to the Turks than the Americans," Keskin said.
Changing perceptions
The Turks' perception of the United States gradually began changing after the November 2007 meeting of the Turkish prime minister and then-U.S. President George W. Bush who declared the PKK a common enemy, but public diplomacy is still not at full speed and links between the Turkish and American public are loose, according to Keskin.
"But the new decision and its timing, especially after the Turkish prime minister's Davos tirade and amid rising anti-Israeli and anti-American sentiments among the Turks, can be seen as a message by the Obama administration that the United States values ties with Turkey and Turkish society," he said.
He said Turks could be convinced the United States would be on their side in the fight against the terrorist group during Obama's administration, given early remarks made by U.S. officials when announcing Washington had blacklisted the PKK. "With today's action, we are exposing the Pejak terrorist ties to the PKK and supporting Turkey's efforts to protect its citizens from attack," said Stuart Levey, U.S. Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
"The U.S. decision to include Pejak on the terrorist list is important for the PKK's future. The PKK must now see the climate changing in the region to its disadvantage," Özcan said.
Full assurance
The United States has provided Turkey with intelligence to go after PKK terrorists who use the northern Iraqi territory as a base for attacks into southeastern Anatolia and opened up Iraq's airspace to facilitate airstrikes on terrorist camps. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan this week. Diplomatic sources said the new U.S. administration gave full assurances that the intelligence sharing would continue. "The PKK goal was to undertake a mission in the region in the context of Americans' now-dead Greater Middle East project.," Keskin said.
"By officially branding Pejak as a terrorist group, the U.S. administration will leave no room for the group to maneuver; end suspicions about its real intention in the fight against the PKK; and differentiate the climate in the region to the disadvantage of the PKK," he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review yesterday.
Any assets Pejak has in U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen and American citizens will be prohibited from doing business with the organization, according to the U.S. decision announced Wednesday.Â
Arif Keskin, an Iran expert at another Ankara-based think tank Eurasian Strategic Studies Center, said one of the objectives of the U.S. decision was to win over the Turkish public, which has turned out to be one of the leading anti-American nations in the world since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, coupled with Washington's long hesitations to combat the PKK. He said the U.S. policy toward the PKK had remained vague for a long time, which sparked suspicions among Turks that Washington was supporting the organization. Turkey's neighbors Syria and Iran used the opportunity of Turkish and American officials meeting to discuss ways to dissolve the PKK, while Iran was hitting Kandil Mountain, where the PKK is based, to demonstrate that not Washington but Tehran was cooperating with Ankara to fight the PKK, he noted. "The Turkish public is very sensitive about the PKK issue and can easily shift sides. At that time, Iran and Syria seemed more friendly to the Turks than the Americans," Keskin said.
Changing perceptions
The Turks' perception of the United States gradually began changing after the November 2007 meeting of the Turkish prime minister and then-U.S. President George W. Bush who declared the PKK a common enemy, but public diplomacy is still not at full speed and links between the Turkish and American public are loose, according to Keskin.
"But the new decision and its timing, especially after the Turkish prime minister's Davos tirade and amid rising anti-Israeli and anti-American sentiments among the Turks, can be seen as a message by the Obama administration that the United States values ties with Turkey and Turkish society," he said.
He said Turks could be convinced the United States would be on their side in the fight against the terrorist group during Obama's administration, given early remarks made by U.S. officials when announcing Washington had blacklisted the PKK. "With today's action, we are exposing the Pejak terrorist ties to the PKK and supporting Turkey's efforts to protect its citizens from attack," said Stuart Levey, U.S. Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
"The U.S. decision to include Pejak on the terrorist list is important for the PKK's future. The PKK must now see the climate changing in the region to its disadvantage," Özcan said.
Full assurance
The United States has provided Turkey with intelligence to go after PKK terrorists who use the northern Iraqi territory as a base for attacks into southeastern Anatolia and opened up Iraq's airspace to facilitate airstrikes on terrorist camps. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan this week. Diplomatic sources said the new U.S. administration gave full assurances that the intelligence sharing would continue. "The PKK goal was to undertake a mission in the region in the context of Americans' now-dead Greater Middle East project.," Keskin said.