Turkish people have an all-or-nothing thinking pattern about the US role on crucial domestic and foreign issues that shapes their future. When American diplomats hear about it, they often express sadness of Turkey’s self-perceived vulnerability and remind us that their conduct of diplomacy has no place in meddling anyone’s domestic affairs. This common dialectic unfortunately does not help either side to correct misperceptions, and that by refusing to meet halfway — by accepting some US influence in shaping policies here, it continues to make this an unhealthy alliance.
There is still concern on the Turkish side that the Western powers have a master plan to carve out an independent Kurdistan when this massive transformation in the Middle East ends. While on one side Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government presents itself with an unmatchable confidence as playing an influential role in its region, it becomes difficult to square the allegations as delivered by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on March 15 when he suggested, “Either we will unite as Turks, Kurds, Bosnians and Arabs and walk toward our goals with a new understanding of politics, or they will try tearing us to shreds and splitting us into small pieces.”