An inventory of the Obama visit

1) A PRESIDENT OWNING UP TO ATATÜRK
President Obama has portrayed an identity that owns up to Atatürk’s legacy and his vision with strong expressions. His remarks on Atatürk (“He continues to inspire the world”) his commitment to “support Atatürk’s modern and democratic Turkey vision” and his declaration about having adopted the “peace at home, peace in the world” ideal himself were undoubtedly incredibly warm and powerful messages. And yet, the fact that Obama regards directing Turkey towards democracy as the pinnacle of Atatürk’s success, and that he emphasizes Atatürk’s vision along with the democracy angle should be underlined. We could say that Obama’s view closes the door on Atatürkism interpretations that hold the Republic above democracy, and do not embrace democracy at all. Obama has pointed to democracy as the only source of guidance as a solution for all of the problems.

2) STRONG EMPHASIS ON SECULARISM
Obama’s standing behind secularism with strong undertones is a complimentary factor to his view of Atatürk. It should be noted that he presents secularism as a vital component of democracy by emphasizing “secular democracy” during his Parliament speech and he defines a common denominator between Turkey and the U.S., namely “the promise of a secular nation,” where nations do not define themselves through their religious identities.

3) MODERATE ISLAM EXPRESSION IS HISTORY
Another issue complimentary to this development is the fact that the “moderate Islam” expression has come to an end. It had been made public that this very concept has been removed from the official U.S. language during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Turkey last month. President Obama has maintained the same stance with increasing emphasis during his visit to Turkey. This way, all question marks and doubts that had appeared within the sensitive circles in Turkish society regarding the U.S. writing off secularism in Turkey due to this particular language that had found its way in the official circles during the Republican era must have dispersed significantly.

4) MEANING OF A MODEL RELATIONSHIP?
Despite all this, religion is still the determining factor in the U.S. view of Turkey. Even more so, when one considers how Obama utilizes the model relationship concept, it will become evident that he has formulated the model largely on the meeting of two different religions. Obama says, “A nation that is predominantly Christian, and a Western nation where the majority is Muslim, shall be coming together.” Obama thus sends a message to the entire Muslim world, saying, “Look, we could establish close relations with you, too, just as we have with Turkey. You may regard our relationship with Turkey as an example.” These words of his clearly express that Obama places Turkey in a very special position on a global stage in any case. A significant role model as far as the U.S., wishing to build bridges with the Muslim world in the post-9/11 era, is concerned, Turkey retains these characteristics during the Obama presidency as well. The difference is the fact that Washington is not going to change its stance at the expense of giving up on secularism.

5) WARM TO THE OPPOSITION AS WELL
Another significant aspect of the visit is Obama’s warm messages to all circles in Turkey. In this context, his visits with CHP, MHP and DTP leaders are an important novelty. Neither Bill Clinton, nor George Bush, had deemed it necessary to visit with the opposition leaders in their 1999 and 2004 visits to Ankara. Obama, on the other hand, has given the message that he not only knows all the actors on the Turkish political stage, but he cares for them as well. This situation has also prevented Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from perceiving and presenting this visit as a show of support solely for himself and his party.

6) CLOSE RELATIONS WITH ERDOĞAN
And yet, no one can deny that this visit has all but filled the sails of both President Gül and Prime Minister Erdoğan. Obama has established a close and warm relationship with these two leaders on the heels of his inauguration. We could safely guess that Obama shall be in a process of very close dialog and consultation with both his counterparts, and quite a few sensitive international issues shall be brought up in the course of this dialog in the coming days. This close dialog shall not only reinforce Turkey’s role within the region, but also add to Turkey’s ability to influence the U.S. Likewise, it will open Turkey up to the U.S. expectations, as well. The expectation of a gesture in the form sending Turkish troops to Afghanistan is likely to be the first test in this context.�

7) EXPECTATION OF AN ACTION IN THE KURDISH ISSUE
The fact that Obama had sat down with the DTP leader Türk in addition to the messages he had given regarding the Kurdish issue indicates that the Democrat White House is expecting rather progressive steps of the AKP cabinet in this regard. Expectations of new opportunities for Kurds, especially in education, seem to be rising to the top. What’s more, this is the first time a U.S. president has mentioned Kurds in Turkey as an ethnic minority. The fact that Obama has sat down with the DTP, a political action toward a political figure with whom many civilian and other political figures would not shake hands, has rendered it as the most important component of the solution, and has solidified this position. It is quite inevitable that this shall have an effect that will increase the DTP’s power domestically as well as outside Turkey. The visit has carried the political solution process of the Kurdish issue to a new threshold in this regard. �

8) A STEP FOR THE HALKI SEMINARY
One of the clear requests of the new U.S. president is the opening of the Halki (Heybeliada) Seminary. The issue has been addressed by every U.S. president. But Obama has carried the message all the way to the Turkish Parliament quite clearly. We’ll see if this could be enough to break the AKP’s conservative resistance in the subject.

9) BORDER GATE WITH ARMENIA
Similarly, Obama’s request to open the Turkey-Armenia border gate seems to be another source of Ankara. The step that Turkey is preparing to take has already caused cold winds between Azerbaijan and Turkey. How Turkey will balance its rooted interests in Azerbaijan and initiatives in the Armenian issue will be the most critical case in the days to come.

10) PROGRESS IN BILATERAL RELATIONS?
Turkish-American relations faced the biggest crisis in their history following the rejection of the March 1, 2003, troop deployment note in the Turkish Parliament. With the sack incident that occurred on July 4, 2003, bilateral relations totally hit bottom. During that time, many commentators said Turkish-American relations would never be the same again. But the situation today proves they were wrong. Starting from today, Turkey, in the eye of the Obama administration, is one of the most special allies in the world. This will obviously increase the significance and influence of Turkey in the international arena. However, internal issues in relation to bilateral relations’ new agenda may create tension within Turkish internal politics.