Spencer Boyer on U.S.-Turkish Relations

What is the current state of U.S.-Turkish relations?

Well, certainly U.S.-Turkish relations have started to improve a bit over the past year, but they're not where they need to be. Turkey has really been a cornerstone of U.S. national security policy for decades since the beginning of the Cold War and Turkey's entrance into NATO and the beginning of the 1950s. However, the relationship started to break down in 2003 with our decision to enter into Iraq. Turkey, for its part, believed that the United States was not taking its security interest into consideration, in particular the resulting instability caused by our invasion. And the United States felt that Turkey was not being a loyal ally because they did not allow us to use certain space in Turkey to enter into northern Iraq. But the relationship has improved a bit over the past year, in particular because of the fact that we have been cooperating more in helping Turkey deal with its primary terrorism threat, the PKK.

What are the key areas where the United States should reach out to Turkey?

There are a few things that the United States can do to reach out to Turkey right away. I think one of the easiest ways would be for the United States to make Turkey one of the first stops on President Obama's oversees tour after Inauguration. And I think that it would be very important for that visit to Turkey to be within the context of a European trip versus a Middle Eastern trip to show that the United States looks at Turkey as an indispensable element of the West, and that eventual EU accession for Turkey is extremely important to us. The other thing we can do is to continue to cooperate vigorously in helping Turkey battle the PKK and to help bring together Iraq, the northern regions of Iraq in particular, and Turkey, and help them cooperate more on economic, diplomatic, and military matters.

How will the United States benefit from an improved relationship with Turkey?

I think it's critical for the United States and Turkey to rebuild the relationship, largely because there are very few security challenges that the United States and Turkey don't share, whether it's stabilizing Iraq, Afghanistan, or the Balkans; dealing with international terrorism more broadly; dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat; or dealing with peace in the Middle East. The United States and Turkey share these concerns and need to work closely together. Furthermore, Turkey is our only ally that has good relations with all of those actors in the Middle East and can be seen as a literal and figurative bridge to the West. So, going forward, i think it's one of the top priorities of the United States to rebuild that relationship.