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10/7/15

US-Turkey: How Turkey Fell Out of Favor - by Soner Cagaptay

When I came to Washington in 2002, the Department of Defense was among Turkey’s best friends inside the U.S. government
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The Pentagon considered Turkey a staunch ally and uniformed U.S. personnel had a deep affection for Turkey, going back to U.S.-Turkish cooperation in the Cold War and in the Balkans in the 1990s.

Today, the Pentagon has, for the most part, lost its fondness for Turkey. This change is a result of America’s shifting sense of Turkey’s identity and role in the NATO alliance.

The transformation of Turkey’s standing in the eyes of the U.S. military is due to Turkish and American dynamics.

Following the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government, including the military, became preoccupied with identifying moderate Muslim allies.

Turkey benefited from this endeavor as the ruling pro-Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the elections in 2002, taking office on a platform of moderation.

The AKP upset its potential allies in Washington, however, when it refused to help Washington in the 2003 Iraq War.

Raed more: United States: How Turkey Fell Out of Favor - The Globalist

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