Everyone can see that relations between the United States and Turkey are deteriorating, but many are unaware that the countries haven't been the best of allies for decades.

In the spring of 1999, I was asked to contribute to an ambitious book on American-Turkish relations, "The United States and Turkey: Allies in Need," edited by Morton Abramowitz, a former US ambassador to Turkey. My chapter would be on how the Turkish elite — the decision-makers and those who influence them — perceive the United States. The subject had scant reference material and was mostly uncharted territory.

Even I was appalled by my research findings: The Turkish military, which was the primary agency of American-Turkish relations during the Cold War, had emerged as the most anti-American institution in Turkey. The data that supported my finding was fairly strong. Eminent American colleagues who contributed to the book, including Abramowitz, were satisfied, though surprised. A renowned political figure of the period, Stephen Solarz, known as the foremost Turcophile among his fellow congressmen, commended the chapter as providing interesting, though surprising, new information.

At a 2000 Princeton symposium on American-Turkish relations, I spoke with the titan of Middle East experts in the United States, Bernard Lewis — an author, professor and influential figure among American policymakers on Turkey, as well as a Turcophile like Solarz. I recall his disbelief when I told him that the most pro-American people in the Middle East were Iranians, while the most anti-American ones were the Turks.