Turkey / U.S. Disputes over U.S. / Syria Engagements Highlight a Fundamental Shift in Alliance

Washington Post: "For Turkey and U.S., at odds over Syria, a 60-year alliance shows signs of crumbling"
URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/for-turkey-and-us-at-odds-over-syria-a-60-year-alliance-shows-signs-of-crumbling/2014/10/29/9fa07c49-0546-4afd-b6ad-cf6fa70e7fe4_story.html?hpid=z1

While there exists agreement between Turkey and the United States that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be removed in order for stability to return to Syria and the surrounding region, there are fundamental disagreements on how the problem is to be approached. The United States has been adamant in its support (military or otherwise) for Syrian rebels and others who oppose the Islamic State. Meanwhile, the Turkish government has been quite vocal in its opposition of U.S's involvement, especially with regards to the distribution of arms. As noted in the article, Turkish officials have frequently stated that "Washington policymakers do not always sufficiently take into account the concerns of allies", arguing that United States has the privilege of "cherry-picking" initiatives and problems while its allies in the region suffer the brunt of the resulting retaliation.

Over the past several decades, there has been a divergence in the foreign policy agendas of the two states. During the Cold War, Turkey, as a member of NATO, represented a key ally in the U.S.'s communism containment initiative. Utilizing Turkey's proximity to the USSR to establish missile launch sites, the U.S. was able to negotiate mutual reductions in missile / nuclear weapons systems. Since then, the U.S.'s relationship with the state has been rocky. Relations between Turkey and the U.S. have deteriorated notably since the end of the Cold War, particularly as a result of tensions surrounding Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in the 1970s and the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq following the turn of the millennium.

Given Turkey's proximity to many of the volatile regions in which the United States is involved, Turkey's concerns about the broader implications of being aligned with the United States appear legitimate. That being said, it appears as though the United States should seriously re-evaluate its relations with Turkey and its approach towards engagements in the Middle East. Despite the United States' disposition to act unilaterally in its engagements abroad, Turkey represents a significant ally and point of leverage from which the United States is able to engage with Russia and the Middle East. To lose this strategic ally would be to forfeit significant geopolitical influence.