tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635559730786891370.post3617615227358297220..comments2023-10-28T03:05:12.900-05:00Comments on Against the Current: Judt on Juden in the New York TimesAgainst the Currenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12356717231233669106noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635559730786891370.post-70789652900691615892010-06-10T18:24:18.967-05:002010-06-10T18:24:18.967-05:00Fowarded with permission.
PL.
Begin forwarded me...Fowarded with permission.<br /><br />PL.<br /><br />Begin forwarded message:<br /><br />From: Jordan Hirsch <br />Date: June 10, 2010 4:47:07 PM CDT<br />To: Lewin Peter <br />Subject: Re: Judt and the Juden<br /><br />Hi Mr. Lewin,<br /><br />If I might add, on the last point he makes--you answered the strategic liability argument well, but there's another faulty element: the notion that it's Israel's fault that somehow the United States is losing Turkey. The notion that the "loss of Turkey" is Israel's fault is completely wrong. Sensing U.S. weakness in the region vis-a-vis Iran, and, as Judt correctly notes, offended at its treatment by the EU, Turkey is moving to the strong horse in the region (here, you can see that Judt himself admits that the situation is more complicated than it simply being Israel's fault). Turkey senses a power vacuum in the Middle East and it would like both to become friendly with Iran and to secure a place alongside it for regional dominance. At home, as well, Turkish PM Edrogan is playing the infamous "Israel Card" to bolster his party's substantial losses in polls, with elections 13 months away. See yesterday's WSJ op-ed from Steven Rosen, the former AIPAC official: <br /><br />"Turkish elections, 13 months away, hold the answer. Backing for Mr. Erdogan's party has fallen to 29%, the lowest level since it won power in 2002 and far below the 47% it scored in July 2007. So Mr. Erdogan decided to play the Israel Card."<br />http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703302604575294523287747404.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion<br /><br />There is enough evidence to strongly suggest that Erdogan tacitly if not explicitly approved of the flotilla operation, especially given that Mavi Marmara, the ship upon which the battle occurred, was sold to the IHH by the equivalent of the Istanbul city council. One would imagine that any real ally would stop that kind of operation in its tracks before allowing it to leave. But it's easy enough to see that Erdogan desired this manufactured crisis, and the hysterical response of Turkey's leadership to the deaths of the flotilla mercenaries ("Turkey's 9-11," said the Foreign Minister; "state terrorism," said Erdogan) makes it very clear to me, at least, that the whole thing was premeditated and orchestrated. Unfortunately Israel fell into the trap. But this notion that Turkey's shift away from the U.S. sphere is Israel's fault is utterly misleading. This was Turkey's decision alone. <br /><br />And there is nothing to suggest at all, as Judt would have his readers think, that a US "severance" of its supposed umbilical cord attached to Israel will somehow save the U.S. from ruining its relationships with the Arab world. Turkish anti-American motives exist independently of the Jewish state (as I mentioned above, it has its own good reasons for becoming anti-American); to suggest otherwise is simplistic and fantastical. My fear is that we will watch the U.S. political and defense establishment slowly embrace Judt's logic and then turn around and wonder why it didn't work when terrorism and anti-American sentiment in the Middle East continue to thrive. Hopefully, Israel will survive that abandonment to say "I told you so."<br /><br />Anyway, just adding my two cents. Be on the look out for Walter Russell Mead to respond in the WSJ in the coming days.<br /><br />Hope all is well, and thanks for your detailed analysis of this piece,<br /><br />JordanAgainst the Currenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12356717231233669106noreply@blogger.com