Turkey and USA relationship during the Cold War

Размещено на http://www.Allbest.Ru/

Baku State University

Turkey and USA relationship during the Cold War

Nabiyeva L.

Annotation

The relationship between Turkey and the United States was built in the throes of the Cold War For decades, their interaction was dominated by political and military considerations relating to Europe, especially how best to meet the Soviet strategic challenge and how best to manage the complex and frustrating Turkey-Greece-Cyprus triangle. More than twenty years after the end of the Cold War, however, those traditional priorities are making way for a new agenda that reflects not just changes in the international system but also Turkey's remarkable transformation from a military-dominated society to a fledgling democracy. Issues of contention in this relationship will be analysed and effect of these issues on Turkish foreign policy will be evaluated. To this end, the US's policy to shift NATO's defence strategy from massive retaliation strategy to flexible response strategy in spite of opposition of some NATO allies including Turkey will be evaluated. The US's secret agreement with the Soviet Union to withdraw Jupiter missiles in Turkey during the Cuba Crisis in spite of Turkey's reservations will be investigated. Effect of these issues on Turkish foreign policy will be analysed. After the Second World War, Turkey became a part of the Western Bloc. Nonetheless, Turkey, which was a middle-power country, disagreed with the US over some issues. As a consequence, while continuing to be a part of the Western Bloc, Turkey tried to follow a more balanced and multi-dimensional foreign policy.

Key words: Cold War, Turkey, USA, NATO, Truman doctrine, Marshall plan.

Аннотация

Отношения Турции и США во время холодной войны

Отношения между Турцией и Соединенными Штатами были построены в период холодной войны. На протяжении десятилетий в их взаимодействии доминировали политические и военные соображения, связанные с Европой, особенно с тем, как наилучшим образом справиться с советской стратегической угрозой и как лучше всего управлять сложным и проблемным треугольником Турция-Греция-Кипр. Однако спустя более двадцати лет после окончания холодной войны эти традиционные приоритеты укладываются в рамки новой повестки дня, которая отражает не только изменения в международной системе, но и замечательную трансформацию Турции от общества с преобладанием вооруженных сил к молодой демократии. Проанализированы вопросы раздора в этих отношениях, оценено влияние этих вопросов на внешнюю политику Турции. С этой целью проведена оценка политики США по переориентации стратегии обороны НАТО из масштабной стратегии возмездия на гибкую стратегию реагирования, несмотря на сопротивление некоторых союзников по НАТО, включая Турцию. Расследовано секретное соглашение США с Советским Союзом о выводе ракет «Юпитер» в Турцию во время кризиса на Кубе, несмотря на оговорки Турции. Проанализировано влияние этих вопросов на внешнюю политику Турции. После Второй мировой войны Турция стала частью Западного блока. Тем не менее, Турция, которая была страной с сильной властью, не согласилась с США в некоторых вопросах. Как следствие, продолжая оставаться частью Западного блока, Турция пыталась следовать более сбалансированной и многомерной внешней политике.

Ключевые слова: холодная война, Турция, США, НАТО, доктрина Трумэна, план Маршалла.

Анотація

Відносини між Туреччиною та Сполученими Штатами були побудовані в період холодної війни. Протягом десятиліть в їх взаємодії домінували політичні та військові міркування, пов'язані з Європою, особливо з тим, як найкращим чином упоратися з радянською стратегічною загрозою та як найкраще керувати складним і проблемним трикутником Туреччина-Греція-Кіпр. Проте через більш ніж двадцять років після закінчення холодної війни ці традиційні пріоритети укладаються в рамки нового порядку денного, який відображає не тільки зміни в міжнародній системі, але й чудову трансформацію Туреччини від суспільства з переважанням збройних сил до молодої демократії. Проаналізовані питання розбрату в цих відносинах, оцінений вплив цих питань на зовнішню політику Туреччини. Із цією метою здійснена оцінка політики США щодо переорієнтації стратегії оборони НАТО з масштабної стратегії відплати на гнучку стратегію реагування, незважаючи на деяких союзників по НАТО, включаючи Туреччину. Розглянута секретна угода США з Радянським Союзом про виведення ракет «Юпітер» у Туреччину під час кризи на Кубі, незважаючи на застереження Туреччини. Проаналізовано вплив цих питань на зовнішню політику Туреччини. Після Другої світової війни Туреччина стала частиною Західного блоку. Проте Туреччина, яка була країною із сильною владою, не погодилася із США з деяких питань. Як наслідок, продовжуючи залишатися частиною Західного блоку, Туреччина намагалася слідувати більш збалансованій і багатовимірній зовнішній політиці.

Ключові слова: холодна війна, Туреччина, США, НАТО, доктрина Трумена, план Маршалла.

Introduction

The United States and Turkey have a long history of alliance, partnership and cooperation. Today, the relationship between the two countries continues to develop and grow in importance through mutual values, shared interests in security and stability in the region and beyond, fighting terrorism and extremism, and economic collaboration. During Cold War period, Turkish foreign policy was mainly focused on the improvement of relations with the western states and mainly with the USA. NATO membership has created a fuller and active period in Turkey's foreign policy. In 1952, Turkey was officially accepted to NATO. After that, Turkey's foreign policy has begun to redirect defence systems in the Middle East and the East Mediterranean. In the 1960s, some changes were made in Turkey's Middle East policy. Turkey withdrew from Baghdad's Pact policy. The secret agreement on the withdrawal of Jupiter missiles from the Turkey during Cuban crisis between USA and Soviet Union has a negative impact on Turkey and USA relationship.

Statement of task. In this article, will be examined the Turkey and USA relationship, will be analysed problems of this relationship. After the Second World War, Turkey became a part of the Western Bloc. Nonetheless, Turkey, which was a middle-power country, disagreed with the US over some political issues. As a consequence, while continuing to be a part of the Western Bloc, Turkey tried to follow a more balanced and multi-dimensional foreign policy.

Analysis of research and publications

In this work, reference from foreign authors' books and articles, reports and from internet resources has been used. In addition, it was benefited from the materials which mentioned at the end of the paper.

The cold war is generally described as a “zero-sum game” in which victory of one antagonist equal a loss of the other. But this is a highly questionable interpretation. It would be more realistic to regard the Cold War system as a macabre dance of death in which the rulers of the superpowers mobilize their own populations to support harsh and brutal measures directed against victims within what they take to be their respective domains, where they are “protecting their legitimate interests”. The actual dynamics of the cold War system suggest a rather different conclusion. Typically, acts of subversion, violence and aggression, or development and deployment of new weapons systems, have had the predictable effect of reinforcing those elements of the antagonist state that are committed, for their own reasons, to similar practices, a recurrent pattern throughout the cold war period [5].

The Cold War grew out of complicated interaction of external and internal developments inside both the United States and the Soviet Union. The external situation circumstances beyond the control of either power left Americans and Russians facing one another across prostrated Europe at the end of World War II. Internal influences in the Soviet Union the search for security, the role of ideology, massive post-war reconstruction needs, the personality of Stalin together with those in the United States the idea of self-determination, fear of communism, the illusion of omnipotence fostered by American economic strength and the competition of nuclear armament made the resulting confrontation a hostile one. Leaders of both superpowers sought peace but in doing so yielded to considerations which, while they did not precipitate war, made a resolution of differences impossible [6, p. 361].

The security relations between Turkey and United States dates back to the end of World war II, when the Soviet Union, after refusing to renew the 1923 Friendship Treaty with Turkey, began to make demands regarding Turkey's straits. With the onset of the Cold War, The Americans given the strategic importance of Turkey and the straits and in line with the containment strategy of the Truman Doctrine, came to support the Turks and made Turkey a beneficiary of the Marshall plan. Melvin Leffler, a Cold War researcher, notes that America was interested in Turkey before Truman's aid. Because Turkey has become more important for the United States against the threat of the USSR. The attention to Turkey was more apparent after the note that Soviet Union sent to Turkey [7, p. 814-815].

It was no coincidence that Turkey became the first diplomatic arena of the incident during Cold War. Most countries of eastern and central Europe had been actual battlegrounds in World War II; hence in planning the military operations for Hitler's defeat, Russia and the Western powers were obliged to delineate their respective zones of military occupation clearly-and hence of post-war control. Turkey's neutrality, by contrast, had left its future status ambiguous, and thus made it a tempting target for Stalin's post-war expansionism. The result was that Turkey's leaders as early as 1945 felt compelled to state their own policy of containment. A stance that Washington over the following years backed up with acts such as the Istanbul visit of the battleship USS Missouri in April 1946 and the proclamation of the Truman Doctrine in 1947 [15. p. 160].

Turkey's association with the United States began in 1947 when the United States Congress designated Turkey, under the provisions of the Truman Doctrine, as the recipient of special economic and military assistance intended to help repel direct threats from the Soviet Union. This Soviet threat on Turkey became official in 1945 when the soviets handed Turkey a note demanding a military base in the Bosporus and land from Eastern Anatolia. This marked the deterioration of the relationship between the Soviet Union and Turkey. As the Turkish government would not submit to the Soviet Union's requests, tensions arose in the region, leading to a show of naval force on the side of the Soviets. The tensions caused Turkey to turn to the United States and NATO, for protection and membership, respectively [18].

The United States has been Turkey's closest ally since the end of World War II. Along with Greece, Turkey was early focus of the cold war and occupied a special place in American international policies. This was not always the case. The bilateral relationship has in fact never been conflict-free. Despite the ostensibly unbreakable security and military ties, there were serious ups and downs in the relationship, and for most of the past two decades its future was in doubt.

The mutual ties between the U.S. and Turkey were formalized with the 1947 Economic and Technical Cooperation agreement. This agreement reflected the Truman doctrine, through which the U.S. offered support to democratic nations [20]. disagreement turkey united states cold war

The symbiotic relationship between Turkey and the United States during the Cold War was greatly beneficial to both sides. The United States protected Turkey and gave them economic relief, while Turkey served as a barrier against communism and the oil fields of the middle east, an extra combat force in the Korean War. Turkey's cooperation during these years can be credited to the US's generosity in the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine, and also to a threat received from the Soviet Union in 1945. In March of 1945, the Soviets decided not to renew the 1925 Treaty of Friendship and Nonaggression, that was written in 1925. This decision “met with outrage within Turkey.” The combination of Soviet aggression and US generosity led to a strong US-Turkey relationship during the Cold War.

On March 12, 1947 Truman said in his speech that Greece and Turkey must be assisted against Soviet, which in the future it will be called the Truman Doctrine [10, p. 14-21]. After this decided that Turkey would receive 100 million dollar and Greece 300-million-dollar military aid [8, p. 68-69]. The Turkish-American rapprochement process with Truman doctrine also affected Turkey's political life. The Turkish community has the opportunity to recognize democracy in American style [2, p. 229].

In 1948 Turkey joined the Organization for European Economic Cooperation and began to receive Marshall Plan aid, even though her productive capacity had not been damaged by the war. In 1949 Turkey became a member of the Council of Europe. Throughout 1945-46 Turkey became the victim of an aggressive diplomatic campaign by Stalin, who tried to achieve the old Tsarist dream of a Russian takeover of the Straits, as well as territorial advances in Turkey's eastern frontier regions. This provoked a tough reaction from both Turkey and Western powers, so that the Soviets were eventually forced to drop their demands [17, p. 90].

On June 25, 1950, began a war between the Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). North Korea attacked South Korea with the support of the USSR. In the face of this attack, the United States took action. Appealed to the UN Security Council for military assistance to South Korea. The thirty-eighth parallel is considered border between North and South Korea. The United Nations has demanded the withdrawal of the North Korea eighth parallel from. But North Korea ignored UN's demand [3, p. 455]. The Korean War was written as the first «hot war» of the Cold War years [13, p. 175-176].

At the outbreak of the Korean war, on June 28, 1950, The United Nations Security Council adopted on June 28, 1950 a resolution recommending that the U.N member nations furnish assistance to the Republic of Korea in order to repel communist attack and restore peace and security in Korea. In the middle of July, the same year, the UN secretary General requested Turkey to send troops to Korea. Considering the urgency of the Korean war, the Government of Turkey called an emergency meeting of the Cabinet on July 1950. Included in this meeting were top-level armed forces personnel, and at this meeting they decided to send a brigade size armed forces to Korea [4, p. 242].

During the Democratic Party of Turkey (1950-1960), the main political course was to establish close ties with the Western countries and gain US support. For this purpose, the main target of the government was to become a member of all political, military and economic unions established under the leadership of Western countries [14, p. 555]. At such a time, being near the US in the Korean War was considered a good opportunity to approach the Western world. On July 25, 1950, Menderes decided to send a Turkish military brigade to Korea [12, p. 78].

The effects of this American foreign policy were paradoxical. There was a tendency to prefer remaining more aloof from foreign contact, yet simultaneously seeking to project a more positive and aggressive image. It was the nuclear issue, which had rendered Western European Union irrelevant in the 1950s. The development of Soviet nuclear capacity had very largely invalidated much of the strategic thinking on the defence of the Western Europe. It was improbable that a war in Europe could now be fought only with conventional ground troops. In the late 1950s, the United States and NATO had to reconsider the role and organization of the latter. On the other hand, NATO had gone beyond its original geographical confines in 1952 when Greece and Turkey joined the organization. With West German accession in 1955, the United States had maximized the territorial reach of NATO. Apart from the self-declared neutral states in Europe, only Spain remained outside, though American bases were set up there too in 1953 [15. p. 166].

Turkey joined NATO in 1952, which further solidified its alliance with the U.S. and the Western world. During the Korean War, Turkey supported the United States and its NATO allies by sending three Turkish brigades to the warzone, and throughout the Cold War, Turkey remained a strong U.S. partner [20].

However, the relationship was hardly free of troubles and tests. The first test occurred with the Cuban Missle Crisis in 1962, when the United States secretly agreed to withdraw its missiles from Turkey in return for the Soviet withdrawal of its missiles from Cuba. There was no prior consultation with the Turks. Even though the removal of the Jupiter missiles did not endanger Turkey's security, the incident left Turks with a lasting impression that the United States could not be wholly trusted. The second test came in 1964, with president Lyndon Johnson's letter telling the Turkish prime minister that if Turkey invades Cyprus, NATO allies might not come to its defence in case of the USSR attack on Turkey. The language of the letter was harsh. The Turks were hurt, never forgot the incident, and concluded that they should have taken a broader view of their security needs that going beyond the United States and even NATO. The third test was the U.S. arms embargo (1975-78) that followed Turkey's intervention in Cyprus in 1974 to rescue and protect the minority Turkish Cypriots against ethnic cleansing by the majority Greek Cypriots. The Turks learned from the embargo that lobbies (in this case, the Greek lobby, supported by the Armenians) could distort U.S. policy choices [16].

The 1950s were followed by a growing popular anti-Americanism that influenced the attitudes of the ruling elite. Attitudes hardened significantly during the second half of the 1970s, following the arms embargo imposed after Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus. One of the issues that affected Turkish-American relations negatively during the Cold War was the shift of NATO's defence strategy from massive retaliation strategy, which was adopted in 1954, to flexible response strategy. According to flexible response strategy, the Alliance, in case one of the member countries was attacked militarily, would start diplomatic efforts and initially counter this attack with conventional weapons. If diplomatic efforts and conventional weapons cannot stop the conflict, tactical nuclear weapons would be considered. In case tactical nuclear weapons also cannot stop the conflict, strategic nuclear weapons would be considered. The flexible response strategy was opposed by many Allied countries including Turkey since it could lead to destruction of flank countries. As a result of the shift of NATO's defence strategy, France withdrew from the military wing of the NATO in 1966. Turkey was among the countries that opposed most. The US's insistence to shift NATO's strategy was because of a strategic change in Soviet Union's technological and military capabilities. The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik to orbit the Earth in 1957. This meant that the Soviet Union had gained the technological capacity to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. The US strategists immediately started to re-evaluate massive retaliation strategy since it was understood that the Soviet Union, which had nuclear weapons, had now gained the capacity to attack the US soil with intercontinental ballistic missiles. The US sought new strategies to intervene crises in periphery countries. The objective was to prevent the escalation of a crisis in a periphery country into a crisis between two superpowers. As a result, containment policy was changed. Strategies such as “flexible response”, “detente”, “Second Cold War” and “status quo plus” were adopted [9].

The 1980s with Turgut Ozal at the helm of Turkish decision making, heralded a new era of Turkish-American relations, crowned by close cooperation in the Gulf War and changing Turkish perceptions of cold war's international order and technology-generated prospects for globalization. The new dynamics, especially the free-market reforms set in motion during the 1980s, seem central to the pattern of Turkish-American ties in the first decade of the new century.

The making of foreign policy, as in most countries in the world, is the province of the United States helps clarify the background and culture of the Turkey's political class and produces a better understanding of the complicated and complex bond Turks have with the United states [1].

United States Cold War relations with Turkey ran relatively quietly under the radar of common American public knowledge during the Korean War years. However, the Turkish front was of vital importance in the Cold War effort. The US alliance with Turkey continued to contribute to the United States' Cold War strategy even after the conclusion of the Korean War. During the arms race with the USSR, there came a point where the means of delivery of the weapons was the most significant aspect of the race.

Turkish critics put forward the following claims on Turkey's economic dependence on the USA: American economic aid to Turkey was used mostly by pro-American Turkish economic elite, multinational and American companies to strengthen their position and helped them exploit Turkey's economic resources and to control the Turkish economy. This was the American's intention as well. The Turkish economy fell wholly under the influence of the American economy with American aid and foreign investment. American economic elite used Turkey's raw materials and labour force for their own interests and deliberately tried to prevent the development of the Turkish economy. The consortium which was established by several countries to supply economic aid to Turkey and the American aid agency, AID used their power to control and direct the Turkish economy and to intervene in Turkey's domestic politics. The United States used its aid to Turkey as means of pressure to force Turkey to fulfil some American demands as was seen in the Cyprus and opium questions [11, p. 30].

Conclusion

With the end of the Second World War, Turkey was faced with a fateful dilemma - either join the countries of Western democracy, or the bloc of pro-Soviet states. Given the territorial claims of the Soviet Union against Turkey, Ankara decided to move closer to the United States and the countries of Western Europe. This largely explained Turkey's decision to enter the Korean war on the side of the United States and its allies. As a result, Turkey continued its relations with the United States in the period of the Cold War to protect Turkey's independence and territorial integrity from the USSR. The biggest tension between Turkey and the United States was in the 1975-78 arms embargo. This was a great failure because in return, Turkey was concerned about ending the US embargo by closing the US base in its territory using its geostrategic position. Even if relationship between two countries continued to be strategic partnership during the Cold War, two countries disagreed over many issues. Shift of the defence strategy of the NATO from massive retaliation strategy to flexible response strategy in spite of the opposition of many NATO allies including Turkey and removal of the Jupiter missiles as a result of secret negotiations between the Soviet Union and the US in spite of Turkey's reservations were among the issues that created tension in relations between the US and Turkey. After these developments, Turkey revaluated its foreign and security policies and tried to follow a more balanced and multi-directional foreign policy.

References

1. Abramowitz M., Turkey's transformation and American policy \ Candar C. Some Turkish perspectives on the United States and American policy toward Turkey. New York: The century Foundation Press, 2000.

2. Akalin C., Soguk Savas ABD ve Turkiye-1: Olaylar-Belgeler (1945-1952). Istanbul: Kaynak Yayinlari, 2003.

3. Armaoglu F., 20. Yuzyil siyasi tarihi (1914-1995). Istanbul: Timas. 2017.

4. Brother Nations, Korea and Turkey. A history of Turkish soliders participation in the Korean War.Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Republic of Korea. Seoul, 2007.

5. Chomsky N., The Chomsky readers, edited by James Peck, New York: Pantheon books, 1987.

6. Gaddis J.G. The United States and the origins of the Cold War 1941-1947. New York: Columbia University press. 1972.

7. Melvyn P. Leffler, Strategy, Diplomacy and the Cold War: The United States, Turkey and NATO, 1945-1952, Journal of American History, Vol. 71 (4), 1985.

8. Norman F. Fifty-year War: Conflict and Strategy in the Cold War, Washington: Naval Institute Press, 2000.

9. Oran B., Turk dis politikasi Kurtulus savasindan bugune Olgular, belgeler, yorumlar. 1919-1980, I cild, Istanbul: iletisim yayinlari, 2004.

10. Turk Amerikan Yardmlari (The turkish aid program), torcumo Cenan S. S., / Genelkurmay baskanligi yayinlari, genelkurmay basimevi, Ankara: 1948.

11. Uslu N., The Turkish-American Relationship between 1947 and 2003: the history of a dinstinctive alliance. New York: Nova Science publishers. 2003.

12. Ozer i., Demokrat parti donemi Siyasi ve sosyal hayat. istanbul: iskenderiye kitap. 2015.

13. Mim Kemal O., Unutulan savasin Kronolojisi Kore 1950-1953. istanbul: Bogazigi yayinlari. 1990.

14. Oymen A., Degisim yillari. istanbul: Dogan kitapgilik. 2004.

15. Ozdemir H., The Turkish American relations toward 1960 Turkis revolution. The Turkish yearbook. Vol. XXXI.

16. Richard H. Solomon, Nigel Quinney. American Negotiating behavior. United states inistitute of peace, Washington. 2010

17. Hale W., Turkish Politics and the Military, London and New York, Routledge, 1994.

Размещено на allbest.ru