ABSTRACT

While Turkey's bid for European Union (EU) membership has long been a domineering issue in Turkey's foreign policy, especially under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) administration, the Iraq problem has also become equally vital with its multifaceted reflections on the country's internal and international posture since the 1991 Gulf war. A regional development other than the Cyprus dispute has for the first time affected Ankara's relations with the West, particularly with Washington, more deeply than ever before. This chapter describes the impact of the long running Iraqi debacle on comparative Turkey-US and Turkey-EU relations. In the wake of 9/11, Turkey, with its secular and democratic system, was seen in Washington as a convenient partner in the Islamic world in the face of worsening relations between Islam and the West. Turkey's position on Iraq has had some similarities with those of most European countries on various issues, except the Kurdish problem, since the 1991 Gulf War.