Of course, the situation in Pakistan with Musharraf, the former poster child of the U.S. until Benazir Bhutto came back on the scene, overshadowed the Erdogan visit . . . once again, poor timing by the Turks . . .
Time Magazine says, "the visit by Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House on November 5 marks an important test of the relationship between America and its best ally in the Muslim world," in an article aptly titled 'Talking Turkey in Washington.'
"In Erdogan, the U.S. has a friend who is that rarest of rarities: a democratically-elected, democratically-minded, economically liberal Islamist — an important bridge between the Muslim world and the secular west. The U.S. needs Erdogan as much as Erdogan needs Washington's cooperation in a recent slew of crises.
The issue at hand is Turkey's own 'War on Terror' against Kurdish separatists operating from inside Iraq just outside its border with Turkey, and what to do (or rather what Turkey should not do) about it.
In a modern day version of 'Mr. Smith goes to Washington,' if I was to meet with President Bush, here are a couple of things I may be tempted to bring up. First, is there such a thing as 'the common enemy' when it comes to terror and terrorism, and if so, does the U.S. have the exclusivity in dealing with terrorists in that part of the world unilaterally, or would the U.S. be open to a joint exercise of starting a dialogue of inclusion (and not rhetorical and actual war games) with all the parties involved in the conflict to resolve the long term outlook at the expense of saving many lives, both of innocent civilians and of military personnel, as well as establishing the global peace and security. Whew . . . that was a long sentence.
And second, I would challenge Bush to a game of 'global' trivia, a potpourri of politics, geography, culture, religion, and history, in a winner take all best of seven series of questions. And after four sessions, declaring a sweep, I'd urge the President to stay true to his word that the winner would be granted three wishes.
I guess I should work on being careful what I would wish for! Any suggestions?
