A Fast-breaking Dinner

by Cüneyt Ülsever, Turkish Daily News Tuesday, 02 October 2007 05:11

New York - On the night of Sept. 28, I attended a fast-breaking (iftar) dinner hosted by the Turkish Cultural Center in New York. Among over 1,000 people were invited and there were many guests arriving from Turkey just for that occasion. Rumors were that even Hollywood stars were invited to this dinner. Of course, the most important guests were Hillary Rodham Clinton and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The occasion will occupy the agenda in Turkey this week, I am sure. And the Turkish Cultural Center founded by members of the Fethullah Gülen Movement will be scrutinized.

Turkish Cultural Center in New York has very warm relations with Mrs. Clinton, prospective U.S. president. From this angle, friendship ties to be established by similar events, as they were given importance during the late president Turgut Özal, might deeply affect politics. I followed the dinner to see the signs of such a possibility.

The Democratic Party's New York Senator and a candidate for the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, Mrs. Clinton showed a great deal of interest in the dinner and listened to Erdoğan, standing.

As it is known, Mrs. Clinton is in the lead among the Democratic Party presidential candidates. However, the most crucial obstruction in her way is that constituents do not want her (about 40 percent) in this race, which has started very early.

I think one of the reasons for the reaction against Mrs. Clinton is that the Democrats have no solid Iraq policy. Against the Republicans who gum up the works in Iraq, the Democrats are mastered in claptraps about the atrocity of the war. But I am of the opinion, from a real politics angle, that the Democrats do not have any solid plan on the subject.

For now, they know that during a possible presidential term, they will have to exert efforts to clear up the Iraq issue and to seek close cooperation with Turkey inevitably.

The Democrats approached the prime minister of Turkey from this perspective as well.

Why this load of compliments?

I wouldn't know how Erdoğan, who once was announced as the most successful leader by the former president and the husband of a would-be-president, Bill Clinton, felt to hear the odes about his neat figure and all sorts of qualities he owns by almost every Democrat snatching the microphone, but I couldn't help myself asking about the reason behind this load of compliments.

After I heard excessive praises of Rupert Murdoch, I was convinced that the Fox Group took this position to build infrastructure for the sale of Sabah-ATV media group in Turkey.

He repeatedly expressed regrets for being the initiator of the discussions on "Will Turkey become a second Malaysia?" after the statement made by prospective Secretary of State Richard Hollbroke.

"Will Turkey allow the U.S. to use its territory as they pull out from Iraq?"

This is the real question in the minds of everyone involved in politics, not just the U.S. or the Democrats.

I listened to the speeches delivered by Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Erdoğan from this angle.

In 2008, the March 1 deployment motion will repeat itself in reverse.

Let's see, what Turkey's stance will be this time!

Let's live!