speeches

"The U.S. Ambassador on Iraq” Ambassador Eric Edelman Interview with "Aksam" Newspaper

November 27, 2004

Q:  What are the main goals of the United States in Iraq?  What are the aims of the political and humanitarian policies there?  To what extent do the photographs reflected in the press around the world correspond to your aims?  Within this framework, how do you see the picture in Fallujah and other operations? 

AMBASSADOR:  There are a lot of claims and a lot of false information circulating about Iraq.  There is no evidence for the claims seen in the press.  For example, there are claims that nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, or cluster bombs have been used, that there is wide-scale destruction or even a genocide going on.  These claims are very disturbing. 

Q:  This picture of Fallujah has created a lot of concern in Turkey.  How do you evaluate the reaction by the Turkish Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?  Also, the reactions continued in the Parliament yesterday.  How do you see this? 

AMBASSADOR:  I would like to repeat what I have said about the debate taking place in the Parliament and elsewhere: basing the discussion on facts is extremely important.  You mentioned the images coming from Fallujah, but there are other images from Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq.  We have given all the information we had about Fallujah to both the Foreign Ministry and the military.  Fallujah has been the most intense urban warfare undertaken by the US Armay and the US Marines since Vietnam.  30 years have passed since those events.  During that interval, we have improved our doctrine, our tactics, and our technical capabilities.  Everything possible was done during this operation to reduce the number of civilian casualties to as few as possible.  We believe that the vast majority of the civilian population left the city before the operation began.  Of course I can’t say that there were no civilian casualties, because there were.  But when you consider the scale of the military operation, the losses were relatively small. 

Q:  Throughout the media, the operation in Fallujah is being compared with Vietnam.  How do you view this comparison?  The reaction in Turkish public opinion seems quite strong.  What are you thinking of doing to repair this image as the most important representative of the United States in Turkey?   

AMBASSADOR:  If you don’t know the facts, it’s very difficult to communicate and talk about these things.  The chemicals that were found in Fallujah didn’t belong to the United States.  The only chemicals found there were in the laboratories used by the insurgents themselves.  It is very easy to prove that we did not use chemical weapons in Fallujah, as was claimed the other day.  We won’t have enough time to talk about all the differences between Iraq and Vietnam, but as someone who spent most of his university years protesting against the Vietnam War, I would say there is no parallel between Vietnam and Iraq.

AMBASSADOR:  Here are some photos you may not have seen.  In this picture, you see the mosques of Fallujah.  These are the places that were used as fighting positions by the insurgents.  The Haz Rader mosque in Fallujah was used to store weapons.  There were boxes of ammunition and AK-47s in the Fallujah cemetery.  It is a violation of the laws of war to use a mosque, a church, or other place of worship for storing weapons.  Under those circumstances, they lose their protected status.  Here is equipment for making bombs used against convoys, including convoys that include Turkish truck drivers.  Here is a photo taken in the center of Fallujah of a car loaded with improvised explosives.  The mechanism is like the ones used in the bombings in Istanbul last November 15 and 20.  We could look at a lot more photos.  I think you have understood what I’m trying to say.  There are many pictures.  But these pictures haven’t been published in Turkey or in other places.  What I want to say is that much of the news about Fallujah in the Turkish press has been one-sided.  It hasn’t shown the full picture of what happened in Fallujah.        

Q:  Why can’t you get your views on this problem into the media and the wider Turkish public?  Are you thinking of new ways to approach this?  Are you trying to keep your efforts to influence Turkish public opinion limited to the elite? 

AMBASSADOR:  We have been criticized, with some justification, on our efforts in public affairs and public diplomacy.  But one of the main problems is that we need to gather our facts carefully.  This takes time.  What is really happening?  If I had time, I would really like to sit down with each of the 70 million Turks and talk to them about this as I am talking to you. 

Q:  In Turkey there is a widely held view that the United States makes its policy toward Turkey by first considering Israel.  Whether it’s right or wrong, this is an opinion that has settled in the minds of many in the Turkish public.  How do you explain to the Turkish public whether Israel is or is not a fundamental factor in US policies? 

AMBASSADOR:  This is an extremely broad and complex issue.  But I would like to stress this: our 50-year relationship (with Turkey) has a very important and strategic dimension.  This is a relationship that, for both sides, goes over and above relatons with Israel.  When you look at many of the issues that Turkey and the US have cooperated on, they don’t have anything to do with Israel.  Maybe some in Turkey have misunderstood the situation because of the activities by American Jewish organizations.  It may be that some have viewed that community as the determining factor in internal US decision-making, whereas in reality it is just one of many factors.  US policy toward Turkey is determined by the President and his advisors based on many other factors. 

Q:  Some are saying that a second Bush term will be more hawkish, or more aggressive than the first. At least this is what the Turkish public believes.  What will Washington’s new policy be like?  What kind of strategy will you follow?  How will this affect Turkey? 

AMBASSADOR:  I think everyone should relax and not jump to conclusions about the policies of the new administration.  Secretary Powell and his deputy have announced their resignations, and the new Secretary, Dr. Rice, will be putting together her team.  The new administration will continue the policy line followed during the previous term.  I think the importance and concern given to the struggle against global terrorism will continue.  As President Bush has said since September 11, the United States views countries that support terrorists in the same way we view the terrorists themselves.  Some have said that the US has acted unilaterally without consulting with our allies.  But the facts show that this is not the case.  The President will be traveling to Europe to meet with European leaders shortly after the inauguration. 

Q: What are the differences of view between Turkey and the United States concerning Kirkuk, the possibility of Iraq’s instability spreading to other countries in the region, and the PKK?  Do you think the US has met Turkey’s expectations in this regard?  What are US expectations from Turkey concerning the future of Iraq? 

AMBASSADOR:  On Kirkuk, we have a similar view to that of our Turkish colleagues, though the Turks might be concerned that we haven’t done enough.  But we have a common vision for the future of Kirkuk: no use of force, no changes to the demographic balance through force, and the multi-ethnic structure of the city should not be broken.  On the PKK, I can understand from your question that you already know the answer.  We haven’t met Turkish expectations with regard to the PKK.  But we are trying to solve this problem by working together with Turkey and with the Interim Iraqi Government.  When Prime Minister Erdogan and Vice President Cheney spoke on the phone last week, the Vice President mentioned that we are working on a three-way meeting among Turkey, Iraq, and the United States on the PKK issue.  There will also be a technical level meeting next week.  The issue of security for Turkish truck drivers and contractors will be discussed in that meeting.  These kinds of discussions will continue in the coming months. 

Q:  Do the latest announcements coming from Iran concerning their nuclear program reflect a change in Iranian policy?  Did the United States play a role in this? 

AMBASSADOR:  We are continuing to follow this issue, because as Dr. El-Barradei has said, he has not been able to confirm that work has stopped on enrichment operations.  Iran is also continuing to work on centrifuges.  So we don’t yet have a clear view on this. We will continue to follow it. 

Q:  It seems that Turkey and the United States are sitting at the table and a new page is being turned.  Would you agree? 

AMBASSADOR:  I don’t think we can say that, because we have already had a very intense relationship for the past 50 years.  So I wouldn’t say we’re turning a new page, but as partners we are always faced with new, different, and difficult problems that sometimes cause us to find new directions.  Maybe we could say that this is like a new episode in a television series that has run for a long time, or a new chapter in a very long book.  If Turkey gets a date from the EU on December 17, as we hope it will, we will be operating in a new environment.  All of us will have to adjust to that environment in the way we carry out our relations.