From cold peace to cold war with Israel

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

In the end, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has succeeded in winning a United Nations seal of approval that notes that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is legal, ending the cold peace with Israel and starting a cold war. The downgrading of diplomatic ties to the level of second secretary may soon be replaced by a new downgrading, this time to the level of doorman as Turkey puts into action its plans C, D and E.

The Turkish threat to take the blockade dispute to the International Court of Justice is dubious since only parties can do that and, sorry Mr. Davutoğlu, Turkey is not a party to the Gazan-Israeli dispute no matter how much that may break your heart. The threat to boycott Israeli weapons systems is equally childish since these sounds like boycotting Chinese chicken leg producers.

So you say, Minister Davutoğlu, that the Turkish military will now upgrade its naval presence in the Mediterranean, increase its patrols and pursue a more aggressive strategy. With half the naval top brass in jail, our frigates should be careful not to fire on one another, run aground or mistakenly land on our own coastline.

What other imminent Turkish shows of anger are in the works? A painful interrogation process for airline passengers arriving from Israel was what the new Ottoman state could think of. The official explanation is reciprocity, which looks plausible at first glance. But this will only open the new Ottoman state to ridicule as it has no power to reciprocate for how most Western countries process its citizens during visa and entry processes. Now we know that the new Ottoman state can only reciprocate against Israel and turn a blind eye to all other states. Or else, go ahead, Minister Davutoğlu, and apply a reciprocal visa and entry procedure to all visitors from the Schengen zone.

But why are the big angry Turks raising the stakes against big angry Israelis in what one diplomat described to me as “watching a western in which two heroes are killing each other?” Officially speaking, they want payback for the nine Turkish lives lost during the commando raid on the Mavi Marmara which the U.N. panel rightly found was excessive use of force. Nine Turkish lives lost due to a foreign military’s excessive use of force; it’s a first in history.

This could well have been avoided if the big angry Turks and big angry Israelis were not the big angry Turks and big angry Israelis. As a western diplomat told me, “When the Mavi Marmara did not participate in the second flotilla, everyone realized how easy it was to prevent the first one.”

No doubt, Turkish government officials sincerely feel sympathy for the Mavi Marmara victims and their families. But this is not precisely why they are acting like big angry Turks. If Mr. Davutoğlu is keen for an honest explanation, he can first listen to his own speeches which, in “I-have-a-dream” fashion, boast that his dream is to “pray one day at the al-Quds mosque in the Palestinian capital al-Quds.” Yes, it’s all about the militantly Islamic sacrosanct symbolism about an “Arab-only Jerusalem.”

Placards are important. If his own speeches fail to convince Mr. Davutoğlu, he can look at the footage of demonstrations after Friday prayers often ornamented with placards reading “Now I understand Hitler!” Still not convincing? Let’s have a look at the visual material from the annual al-Quds day celebrations in London and in Istanbul for which thousands of Muslims gathered sporting their yellow Hizbullah flags with the famous gun emblem.

The placards at the Trafalgar Square had this assortment: “Death to Israel,” “Israel your days are numbered,” and “For world peace Israel must be destroyed.” A common Trafalgar-Beyazıt placard was “We are all Hizbullah,” and an only-Beyazit placard read “The army of Muhammad is returning/coming.”

And here is how a speaker at Beyazıt spoke about peace: “The world is moving closer to a great day to settle scores [with Israel/Jews]... Israel’s demise is near... If we are going to talk of liberating al-Quds, we must first talk about the annihilation of Israel.”

One may argue that these are radical Islamists and that Turkey’s rulers are not. Then answer two questions, dear optimist (and you can do this silently). Did Turkey’s current rulers carry, or did they not, the same placards years ago before they decided to become the chameleons of political Islam? Do they, or do they not, even this day talk about the “liberation” of al-Quds? They may no longer be carrying the placards, but the same words are engraved on their hearts.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=from-cold-peace-to-cold-war-with-israel-2011-09-06