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Current crisis could ignite long-smoldering US-Turkey relations

Longtime observers of Washington and Ankara's tense relationship won't be surprised by recent escalations.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1E8D1A64B0

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.

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