Clash of interest over northern Iraq drives Turkish-Israeli alliance to a crossroads

Date
2005
Authors
Kibaroglu, M.
Advisor
Instructor
Source Title
Middle East Journal
Print ISSN
0026-3141
Electronic ISSN
Publisher
Middle East Institute
Volume
59
Issue
2
Pages
246 - 264
Language
English
Type
Article
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract

Turkey and Israel enjoyed an almost perfect relationship throughout the 1990s that amazed their friends, yet bothered their rivals. The US war in Iraq revealed, however, that the two longstanding allies did indeed have contradictory objectives and concerns with respect to the future restructuring of Iraq. While Turkey fears the emergence of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq, the same possibility seems favorable for Israel from its security standpoint, vis-à-vis threats posed by countries like Iran, Pakistan, and beyond. It appears that the "amazing alliance" is heading toward a crossroads. Such an eventuality may change the nature of the relationship from a "win-win" to a "lose-lose" situation unless proper steps are rapidly taken with a view toward rebuilding confidence on both sides.

Course
Other identifiers
Book Title
Keywords
Geopolitics, International relations, Regional security, War, Asia, Eastern Hemisphere, Eurasia, Iraq, Israel, Middle East, Turkey, World
Citation
Published Version (Please cite this version)