U.S. relations with Turkey have recently been characterized as being threatened by changes in Ankara because Turkey is now headed by an Islamic Prime Minister intent on showing his independence from the United States. Turkey has become more enmeshed in the tensions in the Middle East. From the U.S. point of view, however, Turkey is a very important country. Turkey is a member of NATO and has shown an eagerness to join Europe. The Welfare party leader, Necmettin Erbakan, took office as Prime Minister in June 1996, and since that time the U.S. has worried that Turkey might shift from its traditional European orientation to seek new anti-American alliances with radical Muslim nations in the Middle East. One reason for this concern was the anti-NATO, anti-Israel rhetoric of Erbakan prior to his assuming office, though since that time he has adopted a more pragmatic course and has renewed Turkey's military cooperation agreement with Israel while continuing to provide bases for American air operations in northern Iraq ("Delicate Relations with Turkey" 20). U.S. foreign policy toward Turkey in the near future will hinge on such issues and how Turkey responds.
Mustafa Kemal was a Turkish World War I hero later known as "Ataturk" or "father of the Turks," and he founded the republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600 year old Ottoman Empire. He also instituted reforms which moved Turkey away from religious control and toward secular control of the government. The issue of how well the reforms have lasted and how viable they are today relates to the issue of the health of Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey today and how well the secular government will be able to function in the face of rising Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Middle East. However, centuries old traditions began to resurface soon after Ataturk's death in 1938, and they have continued to gather force with the democratization that has been proceeding ...