Turkey turning cool to NATO
By Judy Dempsey International Herald Tribune
Published: September 6, 2006
BERLIN Turkey, a secular Muslim country that was once a fervent supporter of NATO and an enthusiastic applicant to the European Union, has increasingly cooled toward its American and European allies while warming toward Iran, a new international survey confirms.
Transatlantic Trends, an annual survey of European and American public opinion published Wednesday by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, shows a striking shift in attitudes within Turkey, a key member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Turkey is of major strategic importance for NATO. During the Cold War, it was the West's most important southern security flank in Europe, as well as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
Now, with growing instability in its immediate neighborhood, including the Caucasus, the uncertainty over Iran's nuclear intentions and the sectarian fighting in Iraq, Turkey remains a crucial member of the 26-member alliance.
At the same time of declining support from Turkey, support for NATO has dropped sharply among Europeans, particularly in countries once considered the staunchest supporters of the defense organization: Germany, Italy and Poland, as well as Turkey.
These two trends - changing attitudes among Turks and declining support for NATO - have accelerated since the terrorist attacks on the United States five years ago and the subsequent U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Over all, the survey report said, "five years after Sept. 11, 2001, the image of the United States in the eyes of the world has not recovered from its steep decline after the war in Iraq."
Daniel Fried, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European affairs, countered that the report also showed how the United States and Europe shared a common assessment about the threats they faced.
"Political differences do exist and they may be a byproduct of the debate about Iraq," said Fried, who was in Berlin for the publication of the report. "Despite that, the U.S. and Europe have a very firm basis on which to agree."
This seemed to be the case regarding the dispute with Iran over its nuclear program. Large majorities of Europeans (84 percent) and Americans (79 percent) feel that the dispute should be resolved via diplomacy, the survey found. If diplomacy failed, however, 53 percent of Americans and 45 percent of Europeans would support military action to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear arms.
In Turkey, the survey found that on a 100-point "thermometer" scale, Turkish "warmth" toward the United States declined to 20 degrees from 28 degrees from 2004 to 2006, while Turkish warmth toward Iran increased to 43 degrees from 34 over the same period.
Warmth toward the EU was 45 degrees, down from 52 two years ago. Warm feelings were far lower toward certain European countries, with 31 degrees for Spain, 30 for Italy, and 25 for Britain and France, apparently because they are perceived as anti-Turkish. Germany, with many residents of Turkish descent, registered 44 degrees.
Further, while a majority in Turkey continue to see EU membership as a good thing, positive feelings have plummeted, from 73 percent in 2004 to 54 percent this year.
The poll found that support for NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance that has been the linchpin of the trans- Atlantic relationship for more than half a century, has fallen in the European countries surveyed from 69 percent in 2002 to 55 percent in 2006.
The drop was steepest in Germany, with support falling from 74 percent to 56 percent over the four years. In 2003, Germany, along with France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, opposed a U.S. request for NATO to provide support during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Even more revealing are the findings for Poland, which in 1999 became one of the first former Warsaw Pact countries to join the alliance and which almost immediately supported the U.S decision to invade Iraq and send troops. Support among Poles for NATO plummeted from 64 percent in 2002 to 48 percent in 2006.
"NATO is no longer seen as providing a security umbrella, which it used to do during the Cold War," said Kai-Olaf Lang, an expert on Poland at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.
As support for NATO declines, a majority of Europeans, 55 percent, say they want a more independent approach to security and diplomatic affairs, up from 50 percent in 2004. There is also strong support - 65 percent - for an EU foreign minister.
In Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952, support declined from 53 percent in 2004 to 44 percent in 2006.
Analysts say Turkey's growing disenchantment stems from the months leading up to the war against Iraq. Turkey asked NATO to provide support in case of an attack by Iraq, but several NATO countries refused.
Fried conceded that Turkey's relations with NATO had "soured in 2003," but asked how deep the trend was.
At present, NATO is increasingly preoccupied with its future role in fighting terrorism while remaining a collective defense alliance. These issues will dominate a NATO summit meeting in Riga, the Latvian capital, in November.
The annual poll, was carried out in the United States and 12 European countries: Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey. About 1,000 people were surveyed in each country between June 6 and 24. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
BERLIN Turkey, a secular Muslim country that was once a fervent supporter of NATO and an enthusiastic applicant to the European Union, has increasingly cooled toward its American and European allies while warming toward Iran, a new international survey confirms.
Transatlantic Trends, an annual survey of European and American public opinion published Wednesday by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, shows a striking shift in attitudes within Turkey, a key member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Turkey is of major strategic importance for NATO. During the Cold War, it was the West's most important southern security flank in Europe, as well as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
Now, with growing instability in its immediate neighborhood, including the Caucasus, the uncertainty over Iran's nuclear intentions and the sectarian fighting in Iraq, Turkey remains a crucial member of the 26-member alliance.
At the same time of declining support from Turkey, support for NATO has dropped sharply among Europeans, particularly in countries once considered the staunchest supporters of the defense organization: Germany, Italy and Poland, as well as Turkey.
These two trends - changing attitudes among Turks and declining support for NATO - have accelerated since the terrorist attacks on the United States five years ago and the subsequent U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Over all, the survey report said, "five years after Sept. 11, 2001, the image of the United States in the eyes of the world has not recovered from its steep decline after the war in Iraq."
Daniel Fried, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European affairs, countered that the report also showed how the United States and Europe shared a common assessment about the threats they faced.
"Political differences do exist and they may be a byproduct of the debate about Iraq," said Fried, who was in Berlin for the publication of the report. "Despite that, the U.S. and Europe have a very firm basis on which to agree."
This seemed to be the case regarding the dispute with Iran over its nuclear program. Large majorities of Europeans (84 percent) and Americans (79 percent) feel that the dispute should be resolved via diplomacy, the survey found. If diplomacy failed, however, 53 percent of Americans and 45 percent of Europeans would support military action to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear arms.
In Turkey, the survey found that on a 100-point "thermometer" scale, Turkish "warmth" toward the United States declined to 20 degrees from 28 degrees from 2004 to 2006, while Turkish warmth toward Iran increased to 43 degrees from 34 over the same period.
Warmth toward the EU was 45 degrees, down from 52 two years ago. Warm feelings were far lower toward certain European countries, with 31 degrees for Spain, 30 for Italy, and 25 for Britain and France, apparently because they are perceived as anti-Turkish. Germany, with many residents of Turkish descent, registered 44 degrees.
Further, while a majority in Turkey continue to see EU membership as a good thing, positive feelings have plummeted, from 73 percent in 2004 to 54 percent this year.
The poll found that support for NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance that has been the linchpin of the trans- Atlantic relationship for more than half a century, has fallen in the European countries surveyed from 69 percent in 2002 to 55 percent in 2006.
The drop was steepest in Germany, with support falling from 74 percent to 56 percent over the four years. In 2003, Germany, along with France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, opposed a U.S. request for NATO to provide support during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Even more revealing are the findings for Poland, which in 1999 became one of the first former Warsaw Pact countries to join the alliance and which almost immediately supported the U.S decision to invade Iraq and send troops. Support among Poles for NATO plummeted from 64 percent in 2002 to 48 percent in 2006.
"NATO is no longer seen as providing a security umbrella, which it used to do during the Cold War," said Kai-Olaf Lang, an expert on Poland at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.
As support for NATO declines, a majority of Europeans, 55 percent, say they want a more independent approach to security and diplomatic affairs, up from 50 percent in 2004. There is also strong support - 65 percent - for an EU foreign minister.
In Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952, support declined from 53 percent in 2004 to 44 percent in 2006.
Analysts say Turkey's growing disenchantment stems from the months leading up to the war against Iraq. Turkey asked NATO to provide support in case of an attack by Iraq, but several NATO countries refused.
Fried conceded that Turkey's relations with NATO had "soured in 2003," but asked how deep the trend was.
At present, NATO is increasingly preoccupied with its future role in fighting terrorism while remaining a collective defense alliance. These issues will dominate a NATO summit meeting in Riga, the Latvian capital, in November.
The annual poll, was carried out in the United States and 12 European countries: Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey. About 1,000 people were surveyed in each country between June 6 and 24. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/06/news/poll.php
By Judy Dempsey International Herald Tribune
Published: September 6, 2006
BERLIN Turkey, a secular Muslim country that was once a fervent supporter of NATO and an enthusiastic applicant to the European Union, has increasingly cooled toward its American and European allies while warming toward Iran, a new international survey confirms.
Transatlantic Trends, an annual survey of European and American public opinion published Wednesday by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, shows a striking shift in attitudes within Turkey, a key member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Turkey is of major strategic importance for NATO. During the Cold War, it was the West's most important southern security flank in Europe, as well as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
Now, with growing instability in its immediate neighborhood, including the Caucasus, the uncertainty over Iran's nuclear intentions and the sectarian fighting in Iraq, Turkey remains a crucial member of the 26-member alliance.
At the same time of declining support from Turkey, support for NATO has dropped sharply among Europeans, particularly in countries once considered the staunchest supporters of the defense organization: Germany, Italy and Poland, as well as Turkey.
These two trends - changing attitudes among Turks and declining support for NATO - have accelerated since the terrorist attacks on the United States five years ago and the subsequent U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Over all, the survey report said, "five years after Sept. 11, 2001, the image of the United States in the eyes of the world has not recovered from its steep decline after the war in Iraq."
Daniel Fried, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European affairs, countered that the report also showed how the United States and Europe shared a common assessment about the threats they faced.
"Political differences do exist and they may be a byproduct of the debate about Iraq," said Fried, who was in Berlin for the publication of the report. "Despite that, the U.S. and Europe have a very firm basis on which to agree."
This seemed to be the case regarding the dispute with Iran over its nuclear program. Large majorities of Europeans (84 percent) and Americans (79 percent) feel that the dispute should be resolved via diplomacy, the survey found. If diplomacy failed, however, 53 percent of Americans and 45 percent of Europeans would support military action to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear arms.
In Turkey, the survey found that on a 100-point "thermometer" scale, Turkish "warmth" toward the United States declined to 20 degrees from 28 degrees from 2004 to 2006, while Turkish warmth toward Iran increased to 43 degrees from 34 over the same period.
Warmth toward the EU was 45 degrees, down from 52 two years ago. Warm feelings were far lower toward certain European countries, with 31 degrees for Spain, 30 for Italy, and 25 for Britain and France, apparently because they are perceived as anti-Turkish. Germany, with many residents of Turkish descent, registered 44 degrees.
Further, while a majority in Turkey continue to see EU membership as a good thing, positive feelings have plummeted, from 73 percent in 2004 to 54 percent this year.
The poll found that support for NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance that has been the linchpin of the trans- Atlantic relationship for more than half a century, has fallen in the European countries surveyed from 69 percent in 2002 to 55 percent in 2006.
The drop was steepest in Germany, with support falling from 74 percent to 56 percent over the four years. In 2003, Germany, along with France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, opposed a U.S. request for NATO to provide support during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Even more revealing are the findings for Poland, which in 1999 became one of the first former Warsaw Pact countries to join the alliance and which almost immediately supported the U.S decision to invade Iraq and send troops. Support among Poles for NATO plummeted from 64 percent in 2002 to 48 percent in 2006.
"NATO is no longer seen as providing a security umbrella, which it used to do during the Cold War," said Kai-Olaf Lang, an expert on Poland at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.
As support for NATO declines, a majority of Europeans, 55 percent, say they want a more independent approach to security and diplomatic affairs, up from 50 percent in 2004. There is also strong support - 65 percent - for an EU foreign minister.
In Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952, support declined from 53 percent in 2004 to 44 percent in 2006.
Analysts say Turkey's growing disenchantment stems from the months leading up to the war against Iraq. Turkey asked NATO to provide support in case of an attack by Iraq, but several NATO countries refused.
Fried conceded that Turkey's relations with NATO had "soured in 2003," but asked how deep the trend was.
At present, NATO is increasingly preoccupied with its future role in fighting terrorism while remaining a collective defense alliance. These issues will dominate a NATO summit meeting in Riga, the Latvian capital, in November.
The annual poll, was carried out in the United States and 12 European countries: Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey. About 1,000 people were surveyed in each country between June 6 and 24. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
BERLIN Turkey, a secular Muslim country that was once a fervent supporter of NATO and an enthusiastic applicant to the European Union, has increasingly cooled toward its American and European allies while warming toward Iran, a new international survey confirms.
Transatlantic Trends, an annual survey of European and American public opinion published Wednesday by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, shows a striking shift in attitudes within Turkey, a key member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Turkey is of major strategic importance for NATO. During the Cold War, it was the West's most important southern security flank in Europe, as well as a bulwark against the Soviet Union.
Now, with growing instability in its immediate neighborhood, including the Caucasus, the uncertainty over Iran's nuclear intentions and the sectarian fighting in Iraq, Turkey remains a crucial member of the 26-member alliance.
At the same time of declining support from Turkey, support for NATO has dropped sharply among Europeans, particularly in countries once considered the staunchest supporters of the defense organization: Germany, Italy and Poland, as well as Turkey.
These two trends - changing attitudes among Turks and declining support for NATO - have accelerated since the terrorist attacks on the United States five years ago and the subsequent U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Over all, the survey report said, "five years after Sept. 11, 2001, the image of the United States in the eyes of the world has not recovered from its steep decline after the war in Iraq."
Daniel Fried, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European affairs, countered that the report also showed how the United States and Europe shared a common assessment about the threats they faced.
"Political differences do exist and they may be a byproduct of the debate about Iraq," said Fried, who was in Berlin for the publication of the report. "Despite that, the U.S. and Europe have a very firm basis on which to agree."
This seemed to be the case regarding the dispute with Iran over its nuclear program. Large majorities of Europeans (84 percent) and Americans (79 percent) feel that the dispute should be resolved via diplomacy, the survey found. If diplomacy failed, however, 53 percent of Americans and 45 percent of Europeans would support military action to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear arms.
In Turkey, the survey found that on a 100-point "thermometer" scale, Turkish "warmth" toward the United States declined to 20 degrees from 28 degrees from 2004 to 2006, while Turkish warmth toward Iran increased to 43 degrees from 34 over the same period.
Warmth toward the EU was 45 degrees, down from 52 two years ago. Warm feelings were far lower toward certain European countries, with 31 degrees for Spain, 30 for Italy, and 25 for Britain and France, apparently because they are perceived as anti-Turkish. Germany, with many residents of Turkish descent, registered 44 degrees.
Further, while a majority in Turkey continue to see EU membership as a good thing, positive feelings have plummeted, from 73 percent in 2004 to 54 percent this year.
The poll found that support for NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance that has been the linchpin of the trans- Atlantic relationship for more than half a century, has fallen in the European countries surveyed from 69 percent in 2002 to 55 percent in 2006.
The drop was steepest in Germany, with support falling from 74 percent to 56 percent over the four years. In 2003, Germany, along with France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, opposed a U.S. request for NATO to provide support during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Even more revealing are the findings for Poland, which in 1999 became one of the first former Warsaw Pact countries to join the alliance and which almost immediately supported the U.S decision to invade Iraq and send troops. Support among Poles for NATO plummeted from 64 percent in 2002 to 48 percent in 2006.
"NATO is no longer seen as providing a security umbrella, which it used to do during the Cold War," said Kai-Olaf Lang, an expert on Poland at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.
As support for NATO declines, a majority of Europeans, 55 percent, say they want a more independent approach to security and diplomatic affairs, up from 50 percent in 2004. There is also strong support - 65 percent - for an EU foreign minister.
In Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952, support declined from 53 percent in 2004 to 44 percent in 2006.
Analysts say Turkey's growing disenchantment stems from the months leading up to the war against Iraq. Turkey asked NATO to provide support in case of an attack by Iraq, but several NATO countries refused.
Fried conceded that Turkey's relations with NATO had "soured in 2003," but asked how deep the trend was.
At present, NATO is increasingly preoccupied with its future role in fighting terrorism while remaining a collective defense alliance. These issues will dominate a NATO summit meeting in Riga, the Latvian capital, in November.
The annual poll, was carried out in the United States and 12 European countries: Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey. About 1,000 people were surveyed in each country between June 6 and 24. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/06/news/poll.php
I would sure love to hear comments from all, especially those who have served or are serving in the NATO.
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