Turkish democracy and Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an in Antalya on Nov. 15. That meeting was held under the shadow of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, but after this meeting, more incidents occurred one after the other. For instance, nine days later, Turkey downed a Russian plane. Well, indeed, there were so many "strategic" affairs on the table that in the Antalya meeting the American side did not bring up the situation of democracy and freedoms in Turkey. Following this meeting, the government was thinking it had strengthened its domestic position, and then came a series of practices targeting the press. Some 11 days after the Obama meeting, with the advantage of the ongoing hustle and bustle, and also "strategic" affairs, journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül were arrested. 

Now, the reason why I started discussing the incidents surrounding the Obama-Erdo?an meeting is that I believe all of them point to the same problem: It is because Turkey is not ruled by a governing mentality based on rule of law and separation of powers where priority is given to freedoms and the safety of people's lives. As a consequence of this, no policies are generated which contribute to regional stability. On the other hand, the only international actor which truly has leverage over Turkey, the U.S. administration, is avoiding discussing the problems of democracy and press freedom in Turkey. Instead of that, it is trying to take advantage of these distortions in Turkey for the sake of its self-interests; for instance, as they did in July in finalizing the ?ncirlik deal.

Well, while Turkey was shifting, democracy was eroding and press freedom was declining, were the U.S.' interests positively affected? This is exactly the point where the Obama administration...