The Fromson File

I. RETURN TO REALITY   After from a month-long visit to Turkey, an American cannot help but feel chagrined to return home and again hear the naïve expressions from the White House stating that one of the goals of U.S. policy is to create a democracy in neighboring Iraq.   A retired Turkish diplomat, whom I first met many years ago in Moscow when he was the ambassador to the Soviet Union and later served his country with great distinction at home and abroad was perplexed by President Bush’s policies in Iraq.  “We exercised control over what is now Iraq for more than 500 years,” he told me over dinner, “and never made a dent in altering the nature of its society.”  He was referring to the era of the Ottoman Empire whose power and influence once prevailed from the heart of Europe to the Middle East. His wife, a professor of international relations in Istanbul, was equally puzzled.  Mind you, these are people who have lived in the United States for many years when they worked at the United Nations. They always have supported U.S. foreign policy objectives and share a deep affection and admiration for Americans and our way of life.   President Bush stopped in Istanbul briefly at the end of June just as I was leaving. He had come to Turkey to attend a summit meeting of NATO nations. Some demonstrators were in the streets to protest his visit, but there were nowhere near as many as the televised pictures may have suggested.. Some Turks wore buttons that said, “Gelme Bush” (Go Home Bush). But I wish he could have stayed longer and exposed himself to the country I saw during weeks of driving in the western part of Turkey. I realize that would have been impossible as it was for any previous president who went abroad.  Normally, they would visit a foreign country, but rarely see much of it. But theoretically, at least, Bush might have come away from Turkey with a better appreciation of what it takes to even approach a semblance of modernity in a developing society. A nation of 70 million people, Turkey may not be fully democratic as we know it. But it is stable and freer today than ever before in its long history. The changes that first were instituted in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk  still amount to a work in progress.  But given its legacy of autocratic rulers from the time of the Greeks and Romans to the Christians and Ottomans, it is a nation and society that miraculously has evolved into a state of peaceful change and experimentation.   Among Muslim nations, Turkey is a rarity. It is secular, emphasizing the fact that while all Arab countries are Muslim, not all Muslim nations are Arab. Turkey most assuredly is NOT Arabic. It is an example but certainly not a model that can be copied anywhere else in the region anytime soon. There s no sign of a leader like Ataturk emerging in the Middle East anytime soon. President Bush’s notion of uniting the American people behind a long-term commitment to nation-building in Iraq is a pipedream. It is not going to happen. Period.  It is what makes his opponent, Senator John Kerry, sound so disingenuous when he tries to explain his policy on Iraq. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 20 years, surely he ought to have developed a feel for what is possible by now and he should spell it out.  American voters value straight talk. However right or wrong the war was, Sadaam Hussein is gone. If the Iraqis are to put a new, stable government in place, the challenge is up to them. The U.S. can assist them with their new election process. It can give them all the reconstruction assistance they can absorb and then get the hell out within one year.   The Turks have made remarkable process during their contemporary history, emerging from centuries of oppressive dynasties.. They did it without foreign help. Why is it so unreasonable to expect the Iraqis to follow suit? Whether Bush or Kerry is voted into office come November, the American people deserve to hear how long each of them would plan to keep the United States engaged in Iraq, not some waffling and ludicrous explanation like “we will stay the course until we get the job done.” What the devil does that mean? Surely, the grieving families of those U.S. soldiers and Marines who were brought home in coffins or without an arm, a leg or their eyesight deserve something more than a lame alternative to remaining in the swamp we are in right now.