***
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - It's the year 2007, and U.S. troops in northern Iraq fire on a group of Turkish commandos, setting off a war between the two NATO allies.
U.S. tanks quickly pour across the Iraqi border into Turkey, annihilating Turkish forces while U.S. warplanes target Istanbul. A Turkish agent, acting on his own initiative, exacts his revenge. He detonates a nuclear bomb in a park in Washington that levels the U.S. capital.
Turkey's new hot-selling novel is Metal Storm, and although it is pure thriller, it highlights the deep fears that many Turks harbour that the U.S. invasion of Iraq will put the decades-long allies on a collision course.
The mood of suspicion has become so serious that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a meeting with Turkish leaders earlier this month, raised concerns about the negative image of the United States in Turkey, diplomats said.
The book is "fiction but in Turkey everyone is questioning whether there will eventually be a conflict between America and Turkey," Cem Kucuk, an editor at Timas Yayinlari, the book's publisher, said in an interview Tuesday.
During the Cold War, Turkey and the United States saw their alliance as crucial to stopping possible Soviet expansion.
But now, the critical security issue to both countries is Iraq, where the two sides have vital interests that could conflict.
Washington sees Iraqi Kurds as key allies in bringing stability to the country. Turkey, however, is terrified that growing Iraqi Kurdish power could inspire Kurds in Turkey, where the army has battled autonomy-seeking Kurdish insurgents for decades.
A turning point for Turkey came in 2003 when U.S. forces seized 11 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraqi that they suspected of plotting to assassinate a top Iraqi Kurdish official. U.S. soldiers handcuffed the Turks and put sacks on over their heads, which many Turks considered an extreme humiliation.
"There is a perception that the United States is encouraging . . . Kurds in Iraq and they are not taking into account the concerns of the Turkish government," said Sami Kohen, a columnist for the Milliyet newspaper.
Criticism of U.S. policies is hardly new in Turkey and has long been championed by leftist and pro-Islamic groups.
"What is new and what makes this anti-Americanism so widespread now and so strong is the large mass which includes the elite and the intellectuals . . . and some of the military," said Kohen. "All of these elements who . . . had a lot of sympathy for the United States are turning against" America.
Turkish newspapers have recently been filled with stories of the increasing tensions. Kohen said that in questions that he has fielded at recent university lectures and conferences, the United States "is being portrayed more as a hostile country than an ally."
Also at issue is the fact that Turkey's ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, has its roots in the Islamic movement, whose members have sometimes identified more with besieged Iraqis than with the United States.
"The (party's) base is radically anti-American and is very sensitive to populist policies," columnist Cuneyt Ulsever wrote in the Turkish Daily News.
And many Turks fear that the United States may soon provoke a conflict with neighbouring Iran, further inflaming tensions in the region.
A BBC World Service poll taken in 21 countries, showed a chart-topping 82 per cent of Turks felt that U.S. President George W. Bush's re-election was a negative step for global peace and security. In France the figure was 75 per cent.
"It is impossible not to see the anti-American movement's rise," columnist Ismet Berkan wrote in the daily Radikal.
Turkish officials have been working hard to blunt the hostility on the street and have recently emphasized the importance of the relationship with the United States.
In Brussels, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was asked about anti-American sentiments.
"Let's not focus on this but on making friends," Erdogan said after meeting Bush on Tuesday.
"At the moment, our relations are just fine," he said, adding that it was "out of the question" for the government to contribute to such negative sentiments.
While criticism of Bush and U.S. policy has skyrocketed, there is little hostility toward Americans on the streets and officials have taken pains to point out that just a few years ago, president Bill Clinton was enormously popular in the country.
Burak Turna, co-author of the book, says he wrote Metal Storm to try to prevent a U.S.-Turkish clash.
"Our message to the United States is that we don't want chaos in the region," said Turna, who worked for a small U.S. textile company before writing the book. "The book is not anti-American but is a criticism of U.S. policy and shows how things could end up if we continue on this way."
The book has sold 100,000 copies in just two months, a record in Turkey, Kucuk said, and six of Turkey's largest bookstores say the book is one of their top 10 sellers.
Turna urged the United States to review its policies and consult more with its allies, but said he was not confident that Bush's reconciliation trip to Europe will have much of an impact.
"It is a very desperate attempt to mend fences," Turna said, when asked about Bush's meetings this week with European leaders. "As long as the U.S. goes on its way it is not possible to mend fences."
|
Xasiork
