American Hellenic Institute refutes importance of Turkish bases for USA

Turkey has curried favour for many years with successive US administrations who have often been accused of unreasonable bias and double standards in particular when it comes to disputes between Greece and Turkey. Many have suggested that the source of this bias has been Turkey’s key geopolitical position in the region and value it is perceived for US foreign Policy.

This fact was recently reiterated in a 60 Minutes episode, which prompted Nick Larigakis, president of the American Hellenic Institute to write a letter to the Producers of the programme refuting their claims.

The letter reads:

Correspondent Steve Kroft’s report, “Turkey’s disillusionment with the U.S. President” described Turkey’s air bases, namely Incirlik, as having extreme importance to the United States and NATO for its staging areas and projection of power in the region. The facts of the matter prove otherwise.  Turkey refused to allow the United States to use its bases to open a northern front against the Saddam Hussein dictatorship.  Turkey’s reasoning was that it wanted $6 billion more — in addition to $26 billion offered by the Bush Administration — for a total of $32 billion.

A former Bush administration official called Turkey’s negotiating tactics “extortion in the name of alliance.” (New York Times, Feb. 20, 2003; A1; col. 6.) The United States’ successful prosecution of the war against Iraq without access from Turkey proved Turkey’s limited value as a strategic military resource.

Further, almost on a daily basis, Turkey violates the sovereign territory (air and sea) of neighbouring NATO ally, Greece.  And 43 years later continues to illegally occupy Cyprus, an EU country.

Moreover, when Turkey does allow access, it stalls.

In 2015, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, when asked if he was optimistic that Turkey would become “more engaged” in the fight against ISIS, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, “No, I’m not. I think Turkey has other priorities and other interests.”

Turkey serves to destabilise the region and not to project U.S. interests in the vitally important region of the Eastern Mediterranean.