{"id":21375,"date":"2013-07-03T08:23:42","date_gmt":"2013-07-03T04:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/?p=21375"},"modified":"2013-07-03T08:23:42","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T04:23:42","slug":"despite-lavish-public-praise-u-s-is-deeply-troubled-by-erdogan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/en\/?p=21375","title":{"rendered":"Despite Lavish Public Praise, U.S. is Deeply Troubled by Erdogan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Harut<\/a>By Harut Sassounian<\/p>\n

Publisher, The California Courier<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some months ago I wrote a column titled \u201cObama is Exploiting Turkish Leaders\u2019 Craving for Flattery,\u201d explaining that the U.S. President is able to persuade Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to do his bidding by taking advantage of his weakness for lavish praise!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Those aware of Erdogan\u2019s authoritarian streak — on full display during the recent brutal attacks on protesters in Istanbul and other Turkish cities — have been deeply troubled by U.S. officials\u2019 repeated mischaracterization of the Prime Minister\u2019s dictatorial regime as \u2018a role model for the Islamic world.\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The insincerity of such assessments was exposed when WikiLeaks made public thousands of confidential diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, indicating that American officials\u2019 real opinion about Erdogan is the exact opposite of what they have been stating in public.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Embassy dispatches, published by the German magazine Der Spiegel, described the Turkish Prime Minister \u201cas a power-hungry Islamist surrounded by corrupt and incompetent ministers.\u201d In a May 2005 cable, the U.S. Embassy surmised that Erdogan never had a realistic view of the world and believes he was chosen by God to lead Turkey. A knowledgeable source told American officials that \u201cTayyip believes in God \u2026 but does not trust him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

U.S. diplomats report that the Prime Minister gets almost all his information from Islamist-leaning newspapers, ignoring the input of his own ministers. The Turkish military and intelligence services no longer share with him some of their reports. He trusts no one completely, surrounding himself with \u201can iron ring of sycophantic (but contemptuous) advisors.\u201d Despite Erdogan\u2019s macho behavior, he is reportedly terrified of losing his grip on power.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although the Turkish leader declared war on corruption when he first assumed office, informants told U.S. Embassy officials that corruption exists at all levels, even within the Erdogan family. A senior government advisor confidentially told a journalist that the Prime Minister enriched himself from the privatization of a state oil refinery. An Energy Ministry official alleged that Erdogan asked Iranians to sign a gas pipeline deal with a Turkish company owned by an old schoolmate. Furthermore, two American sources claimed that the Prime Minister had eight Swiss bank accounts. Erdogan has denied all such allegations, insisting that his wealth is mostly derived from gifts received at his son\u2019s wedding, and acknowledging that an anonymous Turkish businessman has been paying the expenses of his four children to study in the United States. Such explanations are viewed by the American Embassy as \u201clame.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Embassy\u2019s cables contain many other startling accusations against Erdogan. Informants have told U.S. officials that when his political party\u2019s candidate lost the Trabzon mayoral race, the Prime Minister allegedly funneled millions of dollars from a secret government account to his close friend Faruk Nafiz Ozak whom he had named as head of the local Trabzonspor football club. The money was for hiring top players so that the soccer team\u2019s victories would overshadow the accomplishments of the elected mayor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to a cable sent by former U.S. Ambassador Eric Edelman, Erdogan\u2019s appointees lacked \u201ctechnocratic depth.\u201d While some \u201cappear to be capable of learning on the job, others are incompetent or seem to be pursuing private \u2026 interests.\u201d High-ranking Turkish officials have informed the American Embassy in Ankara that they are appalled by the Prime Minister\u2019s staff. Erdogan reportedly appointed as his undersecretary a man exhibiting \u201cincompetence, prejudices and ignorance.\u201d The Women\u2019s Minister Nimet Cubukcu, an advocate of criminalizing adultery, obtained her position because she happened to be a friend of the Prime Minister\u2019s wife. Another minister is accused of \u201cnepotism, links to heroin smuggling, and a predilection for underage girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, highly-praised by U.S. officials in public, also comes under private scrutiny and criticism. According to confidential American Embassy cables, Davutoglu \u201cunderstands little about politics outside of Ankara.\u201d In fact, U.S. diplomats are alarmed \u201cby his imperialistic tone \u2026 and his neo-Ottoman vision.\u201d In a January 2010 dispatch, the American Ambassador reported that Turkey has \u201cRolls Royce ambitions but Rover resources.\u201d Former Defense Minister Mehmet Gonul was also critical of the Foreign Minister, warning American officials about his \u201cIslamist influence on Erdogan,\u201d and calling him \u201cexceptionally dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Having spoiled Erdogan through lavish public praise, despite privately acknowledging his character flaws, U.S. officials must now assume full responsibility for the Prime Minister\u2019s reckless behavior at home and abroad!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier   Some months ago I wrote a column…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[224,143,212,137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-usa","category-weekly-news","category-world","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}