The Turkish—Israeli Alignment

1 Philip Robins, Turkey and the Middle East (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1991); Malik Mufti, `Daring and Caution in Turkish Foreign Policy', Middle East Journal, vol. 52, no. 1, Winter 1998, pp. 32-50.

2 See, fr example, Alexander Wendt, `Constructing International Politics', International Security, vol. 20, no. 1, Summer 1995, pp. 71-81.

3 Turkish Press Review at www.mfa.gov.tr, 10 May 1999.

4 Turkey Update at www.turkeyupdate.com.tr, 17 May 1999.

5 Kemal Kirisci, `Turkey and the United States: Ambivalent Allies', in Barry Rubin & Thomas Keany, eds, Friends of America: US Allies in a Changing World (London: Frank Cass, forthcoming).

6 Sadi Ergüvenc, `Turkey's Security Perceptions', Perceptions, vol. 3, no. 2, June-August 1998, pp. 32-42, on p. 32.

7 Mehmet Ali Birand, `Is There a New Role for Turkey in the Middle East?', in Henri J. Barkey, ed., Reluctant Neighbor: Turkey's Role in the Middle East (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996), pp. 171-178, on p. 171.

8 Mufti (note 1 above), p. 34.

9 Quoted in James Meyer, `Politics as Usual: Ciller, Refah and Susurluk: Turkey's Troubled Democracy', East European Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 4, January 1999, pp. 489-502, on p. 496.

10 Interview by the authors with two senior officials of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ankara, 7 April 1999.

11 Ergüvenc (note 6 above), p. 40.

12 Ramazan Gözen, `Two Processes in Turkish Foreign Policy: Integration and Isolation', Foreign Policy (Ankara), vol. 21, no. 1-2, 1997, pp. 106-128, on p. 119.

13 Interview with Bülent Ecevit in Die Zeit, 25 March 1999, p. 15.

14 Quoted by Kemal Kirisci & Gareth Winrow, The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of Trans-State Ethnic Conflict (London: Frank Cass, 1997), p. 178.

15 Amikam Nachmani, Israel, Turkey and Greece: Uneasy Relations in the East Mediterranean (London: Frank Cass, 1987), p. 45.

16 The original memorandum that constituted the basis for the military cooperation agreement reached in February 1996 was signed in the previous September. Regarding the exact place and date of the latter signature, substantial confusion still prevails. The data indicated are the ones given by General Cevik Bir to the Turkish newspapers Yeni Safak and Cumhuriyet. See Summary of World Broadcast (SWB) ME/2634 MED/8, 10 June 1996.

17 Jane's Defence Weekly, 17 December 1997, p. 6.

18 Summary of World Broadcast (SWB) ME/2581 MED/9, 9 April 1996.

19 Robert Olson, `Turkey-Syria Relations Since the Gulf War: Kurds and Water', Middle East Policy, vol. 5, no. 2, May 1997, pp. 178-179.

20 Quoted by Joseph Leitmann & Cagri Erdem, `Turkey: Benefiting from David's Army', SFSU IR Journal, Winter 1997, http://psirus.sfsu.edu/intrel/IRJournal/

21 Efraim Inbar, `The Turkish-Israeli Strategic Partnership', paper presented at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DC, 16 September 1998.

22 Turkish Daily News, 7 February 1998.

23 The largest contract that Israel has won so far is a $630 million agreement to upgrade 54 Turkish F-4 fighters, then an Israeli-Singaporean consortium won a $75 million contract to do the same to 48 F-5. Turkey agreed to buy 100 Popeye I air-to-ground missiles, larger fuel tanks for its F-16s and to co-produce 200 Popeye II for the same aircraft. Israel has proposed to upgrade Turkey's ageing M-60 tanks and to sell unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and early warning aircraft (AEWC). Israel is also participating in a joint venture with the Russian Kamov helicopter company and in a similar arrangement with the competing Italian firm Agusta, both bidding to sell combat helicopters to Turkey. In 1998, Israel and Turkey reportedly agreed to cooperate on the production of a new medium range anti-ballistic missile called Delilah.

24 This point was stressed by the Turkish officials and scholars interviewed by the authors in April 1999.

25 Turkish Daily News, 16 July 1999.

26 Turkish Daily News, 11 March 1998; and 16 March 1998.

27 As indicated by Amikam Nachmani, `The Remarkable Turkish-Israeli Tie', Middle East Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 2, Spring 1998, pp. 19-29, on p. 26.

28 Sabri Sayari, `Turkey: The Changing European Security Environment and the Gulf Crisis, Middle East Journal, vol. 46, no. 1, Winter 1992, pp. 9-21, on p. 9.

29 Ali Karaosmanoglu, `NATO Enlargement and the South', Security Dialogue, vol. 30, no. 2, June 1999, pp. 213-224, on p. 215.

30 The Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, openly stated that Europe promotes separatism in Turkey and holds it responsible for atrocities suffered by Bosnian Muslims during the war in Yugoslavia. See Turkish Daily News, 23 January 1998.

31 Milliyet, 14 December 1994.

32 Inbar (note 21 above).

33 Ron Ben-Yishav, Yediot Aharonot, 3 April 1997, translation by Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) online, 4 April 1997.

34 Ha'aretz, 14 December 1997.

35 See Alan Makovsky, `The New Activism in Turkish Foreign Policy', SAIS Review, vol. 19, Winter/Spring 1999, pp. 92-113.

36 Between 1985 and 1998, Turkey's defence expenditures more than doubled, from $3.1 billion to $8.4 billion. IISS, The Military Balance 1999/2000 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).

37 Sükrü Elekdag, `2 ½ War Strategy', Perceptions, vol. 1, no. 1, March-May 1996, pp. 33-57, on p. 51.

38 Ergüvenc (note 6 above), p. 36.

39 See Ziya Önis, `Turkey in the Post-Cold War Era: In Search of Identity', Middle East Journal, vol. 49, no. 1, Winter 1995, pp. 46-68, on p. 61.