Statements by U.S. Officials

US Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) Interview with CNN-Turk

Ankara, April 10, 2006 

QUESTION:  Mr. Wexler, first of all thank you very much for joining us. 

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  Thank you.

 

QUESTION:  I want to start with the Hamas issue.  It is very well known that you have some harsh statements -- very clear statements -- about the Hamas delegation’s visit to Turkey.  First of all, why did you react to the Hamas visit in such a harsh way?  How did you perceive it?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  I am a very close friend of Turkey in the United States Congress.  I feel very passionately about the relationship between the United States and Turkey.  I think it is an extremely important relationship, an important strategic partnership for both America and Turkey.  At the same time, however, I disagree fundamentally with Turkey’s decision to have Hamas here in Ankara.  Hamas is a recognized terrorist group by the United States and by the European Union.  We would expect that democratic countries such as Turkey would avoid those meetings.  But I don’t think we should blow this issue out of proportion.  We in America disagree with Turkey’s decision.  It was made.  We need to move on.  We need to learn the lessons from that decision.  To me, the worst ramification of the decision in America is that the opponents of Turkey in America use the Hamas visit to their advantage, whereas the friends of Turkey and America become somewhat deflated by the Hamas visit.  So that disturbs me.  But there are so many more important issues in terms of cooperation between America and Turkey that need to be focused on.  We shouldn’t overly concentrate on the Hamas visit. 

 

QUESTION:  Mr. Wexler, you have said you are against the decision to have Hamas come to Turkey.  But Mr. Saban Disli, a deputy from the AK Party, said that there is not a very big reaction against the Hamas visit in the United States, but that it is the Jewish lobby that is reacting to this.  And it is that reaction that is being perceived as the reaction of America.  Do you agree with this?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  No.  The American Government, all of America, all 280 million people in the population that our government represents consider, by law, Hamas to be a terrorist organization.  We don’t meet with Hamas.  Europe does not meet with Hamas.  And we believe Turkey should not be meeting with Hamas.  That is the essence of the position.  We should not distort it.  We should not make it bigger than it is.  And we should begin to concentrate, as we have, on working in a very positive way -- America and Turkey -- on stabilizing Iraq, on preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power.  There is tremendous cooperation between the United States and Turkey in Afghanistan.  America also, I believe, needs to play an even more positive role in assisting Turkey in defeating PKK terrorists.  America also has an important role to play in the context of Cyprus.  We need to step up our efforts to convince Europe to end the economic isolation of the northern part of Cyprus.  We need to develop even more direct contacts between America and the Turkish Cypriots.  So I think there are very important issues where America and Turkey can work together, and have worked together.  So let’s talk about our differences, discuss them, put them in their proper context, and move on. 

 

QUESTION:  Before passing to other questions regarding Turkish-American relations, don’t you think there is a contradiction about this?  I know that you were against Hamas entering the Palestinian elections. But in the end it was allowed to enter the elections.  And the United States is supporting democratic processes in the Middle East.  For the first time, that government has changed through peaceful means, through democratic elections.  And yet nobody is happy with the result.  What is the problem here?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  You raise a very important point -- that is who, or which parties, should be able to participate in the democratic process.  Most European countries have laws that prevent terrorist groups from participating in their electoral politics.  Afghanistan does not permit an Al-Qaeda party to participate in their elections.  Israel does not allow the participation of its extreme racist, violent parties in their elections.  I believe that we made a mistake -- we being the collective international community -- in permitting Hamas to participate in a democratic process before abdicating their policy of violence.  You can’t on the one hand argue that you participate in a democratic process, and on the other hand -- as Hamas does -- argue that you will maintain a separate paramilitary group that is committed to violent terrorist acts.  So I think we made a strategic error.

 

QUESTION:  And you are cutting off financial aid to the Hamas Government.  But are you punishing the Hamas Government or the Palestinian people just because of their choice in the elections?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  We are not punishing the Palestinian people.  We are refusing to assist a government which is dominated by a terrorist organization.  Our law, when it all settles, will permit humanitarian aid.  Our law will permit through organizations such as the United Nations and through economic bodies assistance to specific projects and programs that directly assist the Palestinian people.  But we will not assist -- nor will Europe, as I understand it -- a Hamas-led government or Hamas-led projects.  There is also a flip side to this.  The Palestinian people need to have accountability for themselves.  Billions of dollars have been expended by Europe and America over the years, almost none of which has ultimately benefited the Palestinian people in terms of their economic development, their health care, or their education system.  So there needs to be an examination from within the Palestinian community.  This is not a problem created by America or a problem created by Europe.  This is a problem in the Palestinian areas largely as a result of the failure of Palestinian leadership.  That was something we need to be cognizant of.

 

QUESTION:  Mr. Wexler, this issue is being viewed as a kind of signal in American-Turkish relations, and people are asking some questions about a loss of trust or a downgrade of relations.  What is the real problem in US-Turkish relations?  What is the new definition of this relationship?  Do you think it is still a strategic relationship?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  Yes.  I think the relationship between the US and Turkey is a very important strategic relationship, a very important strategic partnership.  Let’s talk about what we are doing together, America and Turkey.  There were disagreements, obviously, in the context of the build-up to the war in Iraq.  We all know what those disagreements were.  But today, Turkey and America essentially have the same goals and objectives in Iraq. We are working together to keep Iraq whole, and to create a unified federal government that will make Iraq stable.  We both have an interest in making certain that the PKK not only does not make gains, but that they are ultimately defeated.  We as Americans share that sympathy and that concern.  There are no ifs, ands or buts about the PKK.  It is a terrorist group, and it needs to be treated in the fashion.  To the degree that they are stepping up their activities, we are concerned, as is Turkey.  America and Turkey are working hand in hand in Afghanistan.  Turkey has played an extremely positive role in Afghanistan.  We need to work together, and have worked together, on Cyprus.  Turkey’s economic revival of the last three or four years is impressive.  Turkey is second only to China in the last few years in terms of economic growth.  We need to grow the trade relationship between America and Turkey.

 

QUESTION:  Mr. Wexler, you are right.  There are so many issues of cooperation between the two countries.  But it is obvious that there are some problems the governments as well.  You will have meetings with the Prime Minister, with Abdullah Gul, with some military officials and MPs.  What is your expectation or recommendations?  What do you expect the Turkish authorities to do in order to put everything on track?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  What we expect – what I expect – of Turkey is for Turkey to act in Turkey’s national interest.  America will act in America’s national interest.  What we find is that America’s national interest and Turkey’s national interest in 9 out of 10 items is the same.  On 1 out of 10 items there may be a disagreement.  What friends do work to minimize the conflict when we have a different approach and maximize the cooperation where we are working together and have mutually beneficial results.  That’s what friends do.  America and Turkey are friends, and that’s what we have done in the past and we will continue to do in the future.  I don’t think it is prudent to only accentuate the negative or the disagreements.  They are important and they should be discussed, but they should also be discussed in the context of the fuller, more positive relationship.

 

QUESTION:  Do you think there are some mixed signals coming from Ankara, or that the neo-con policies of the Bush Administration are harming the prestige of American values in allied countries in the region?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  It is no secret that Turkey has developed, or is in the process of developing, a regional strategy.  Turkey is in a difficult neighborhood and has some difficult neighbors.

 

QUESTION:  So difficult.  Three members of the “evil axis” are right near us.

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  That’s right.  So I think in America there is an appreciation for Turkey’s unique role in this region and the positive aspects of Turkey’s engagement.  The challenge is how to match Turkey’s regional goals and objectives to the broader interests that I think both Turkey and America share.  In most of these instances I think we have been successful.  In some circumstances we have had a disagreement.  The key to developing stronger relations between the United States and Turkey is communication, and understanding the objectives of both parties.  Also, quite frankly, part of the key to the relationship is listening.   I have wished, for instance, that my government had listened a little bit more carefully to the advice we were receiving in Ankara before we invaded Iraq, because much of what was said here in Ankara about the impending invasion of Iraq has turned out to be true.  So we on the American side have much to learn, and I would respectfully suggest that there is also much to be learned on the Turkish side.  So let’s learn it together.

 

QUESTION:  Coming to Iran, Mr. Hersch wrote an article in The New Yorker and there was also a Washington Post article saying that the Washington Administration is planning air attacks or some kind of military attack against Iran, and that Turkey is on the US list of allies or that Incirlik will be used in this.  Do you expect such an attack?  Do you think Incirlik can be used?  What is your opinion?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  The American policy on Iran is clear.  When President Bush visited Europe right after his reelection in February 2005, he committed America to a diplomatic process regarding the Iranian nuclear development program.  America has been tied at the hip with England, France and Germany in negotiations.  We are behind the EU-3 negotiations.  When Russia came out with its proposal to do enrichment in Russia, America supported the Russian efforts.  The Iranians have done nothing other than violate their international obligations and ultimately reject all of the negotiations thus far put forward by the EU-3 and Russia.  We are committed to a negotiation process.  President Bush has not taken any option off the table, nor should he.  But to suggest that we are doing anything other than engaging in a diplomatic process would not be accurate.

 

QUESTION:  On Iraq, only US officials are saying there is not a civil war in Iraq.  But so many Iraqis are being killed in suicide bombings or in the streets.  Iraq is not able to sell its oil in international markets.  You are an advocate of withdrawing American troops.  How long can America carry this burden?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  We are in a very difficult position in Iraq.  Everyone has the same goal at this point in Iraq whether you supported the war or not, and that is a stable, whole Iraq.  We don’t want the break-up of Iraq.  We don’t want instability.  I believe it would be in America’s interest to have a graduated withdrawal, a paring down of American troops.  They could be stationed nearby.  They could still participate in the stability efforts.  But we and our allies have trained over 300,000 Iraqi security and police forces.  It is time for the Iraqi forces to play the prominent and dominant role in securing their country.  Over time, that will hopefully be the result.  Working with our allies like Turkey is how we will successfully leave Iraq to the Iraqis.

 

QUESTION:  A final question:  Do you see an imminent threat of division in Iraq?

 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  Hopefully we will avoid that scenario.  That’s the goal.  The goal is for a stable Iraq.  It serves no one’s purpose -- not the United States, not Turkey.  No one that we care about in the region would be benefited by a break-up of Iraq or instability in Iraq.  That is why America and Turkey working together is so important -- not just on Iraq, but also on Iran and in managing some of the most difficult situations in the region.

 

QUESTION:  Mr. Wexler, thank you very much for joining us. 

CONGRESSMAN WEXLER:  It was my pleasure.  Thank you for having me.