Apology letter by Israel

[ekrem]

As media revealed, Israelian Industry Minister Ben-Elizier met with Turkish Foreign MInister Davutoglu in June with the consent of Netanyahu. The meeting was made on Israel's behest. Both met to formulate a preliminary letter of apology.
The talks were kept secret and by-passed the Israelian Foreign MInister, Liebermann, who is right-wing and whose party was founded to represent the growing "Soviet-geography" Jews who migrate to Israel.

The talks were made public to Liebermann by the media-aide of Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who is from another party in the government.
In a cabinet meeting Ben-Elizier threatened the media-aide of Barak with "I will skewer you" because of the leakage. Allthough Barak approved the meeting.
Ben-Eliezer slams Barak in wake of covert Turkey meeting - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

The Minister of Welfare and Social Services, Isaac Herzog, on the other side said, that leakage was made by persons in symapthy with Liebermann. He also said, that the leakage didn't serve Israeli interests just a bruised ego(Liebermann).
'Lieberman leaked Zurich meeting'

As Israel is governed by an unstable 5-party coalition, the government probably had to appease Liebermann after the leakage as Liebermann declared that mistrust has risen between him and Netanyahu and by-passing him was a violation of norms and an undermining of his authority:
Ben-Eliezer and Ahmet Davutoglu, Israeli and Turkish Ministers, Hold Secret Talks

The outcome was according to Turkish FM:
"the leak of that meeting to the press hindered the process.”
The process mentioned here is restoring of bilateral relations.

Consequently, Turkey chose now the way of International platforms (UN) for its demands to be met.
See here on usmb.com
http://www.usmessageboard.com/israe...el-launches-inquiry-over-flotilla-crisis.html

 

[ekrem]

The deputy of Liebermann is Danny Ayalon.
He is the one who invited the Turkish Ambassador to a meeting. In retroperspective of the meeting, he would declare to the Knesset:

"Israel will eventually benefit, and I believe that the relations between Israel and Turkey will also benefit" from the diplomatic incident.

Ayalon apologizes following Turkish deadline - Israel News, Ynetnews

What happened?
The Deputy of Liebermann, Ayalon requested the Turkish Ambassador to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
He also invited the Israeli press. --->

Ayalon told cameramen in Hebrew: "Pay attention that he is sitting in a lower chair ... that there is only an Israeli flag on the table and that we are not smiling."

Peres: Humiliation of Turkey envoy does not reflect Israel's diplomacy - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

 

[ekrem]

The party which Avidgor Lieberman founded is a split-off from the right Likud party of Netanyahu.

Yisrael Beiteinu
Yisrael Beiteinu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is an ultra-nationalist party which has its support base in the Soviet settlements of South Israel. The Guardian Video:
Video: Israel's hardline party widens its appeal | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[ekrem]

The Kach party was banned in 1988 to take part in Knesset elections because inciting racism.
Today it is declared a terrorist organization by Isral and Canada.
(Look at footnote in Article)
Kach and Kahane Chai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Text-Version from Haaretz about Video under this text version:
Elections 2009 / Haaretz exclusive: Avigdor Lieberman said to be ex-member of banned radical Kach movement - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

The former Secretary General of Kach giving interview to IsraelNationalNews TV about how he signed Lieberman's member ID-card:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdm1C20BJfw]YouTube - Was Lieberman in Kach?[/ame]

Profile by New York Times
In 2008, he suggested publicly that Egypt’s president “go to hell.”
Avigdor Lieberman News - The New York Times

 

[ekrem]

Profile by the Telegraph:

(...) his supporters have a tendency to chant "Death to the Arabs" at party rallies.
Israel election: profile of 'kingmaker' Avigdor Lieberman - Telegraph

 

[ekrem]

Inaugration speech as Foreign Minister:

When was Israel at its strongest in terms of public opinion around the world? After the victory of the Six Day War, not after all the concessions in Oslo Accords I, II, III and IV. Anyone who wants to maintain his status in public opinion must understand that if he wants respect, he must first respect himself. I think that, at least from our standpoint, will be our policy.
Statement by incoming Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman 1-Apr-2009

It's a failed ideology. Look at Danny Ayalon at post-2 giving statement to Knesset after incident. They're answering pressures to abide to peace with the philosophy in Lieberman's inaugration speech.


A realist is Alon Liel, former director of the Foreign Ministry in Israel and former Ambassador to Turkey. He is also the person who undertook Israel representation in Turkish-mediated peace talks with Syria, which collapsed due to 2008 Gaza War.
This is what he has to say:

This Islamic party indexed the bilateral relations between Israel and Turkey to the Arab-Israel conflict. And now we have a bad year on the peace talks and a bad year in the relations between Turkey and Israel.

Tensions Between Turkey And Israel Escalate : NPR

Here he describes how Lieberman called all Israelian Ambassadors to Israel and instructed them with the new "national pride foreign policy", which includes bullish behaviour against Turkey, which he as a former Ambassador is ashamed of:

“Already when we heard it, we were quite shocked. He said Israeli diplomacy is too soft and it has lost its pride. Many in the community of retired Israeli diplomats feel very ashamed at this

Israel-Turkey spat reveals Israel's new 'national pride' policy - CSMonitor.com

 

[ekrem]

The 2008 Gaza War happened when Syrian-Israeli talks achieved its nearly point of breakthrough.
As I said before, Alon Liel was Israelian representative in these talks.

This Gaza War is the game-changer in relations between Israel and Turkey.
What happened?

In late 2008, when mediating indirect talks between Syria and Israel, for example, Erdogan was certain that a breakthrough was within reach but was worried by all talk of an upcoming confrontation in Gaza.

Israeli premier Ehud Olmert arrived in Turkey on December 22 and was asked by his Turkish counterpart if there was any merit to these "rumors". Olmert said that war would not break out in Gaza. Five days later it did, prompting Erdogan to snap in front of Peres in January 2009: "President Peres, you are old, and your voice is loud out of a guilty conscience. When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill. I know well how you hit and kill children on beaches."

Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs

According to Alon Liel before the Gaza War, relations between Israel and Turkey were on its highest point in history.

In his opinion, the years of 2007 and 2008 were amongst the best years in terms of relations between the two countries.
"This idea that Turkey is heading in the Islamic or Iranian direction and away from Europe is simply avoiding the real picture, which is the damage to the bilateral relationship between Israel and Turkey, Turkey is currently improving its relations with most countries in the world, apart from Israel."

Israel fears Turkey's "shift towards Iran"_English_Xinhua

 

[ekrem]

Turkey was awaiting a reply from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding Israel's position on peace talks with Syria, which had been mediated by Ankara.
On the night of December 23, Erdogan said Israel and Syria were "very close" to moving to direct peace talks on the future of the Golan Heights.

"We were trying to be [Israel's] hope," Erdogan told the Post. "Olmert's last sentence [as he left] was, 'As soon as I get back I will consult with my colleagues and get back to you.'
As I waited for his response, . . . on December 27, bombs started falling on Gaza."

Report: Turkish PM Erdogan says 'Palestine today is an open-air prison' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

 

[ekrem]

President Peres given honour to address Turkish Parliament in first ever speech.
So President Abbas.
Days before Annapolis Conference on Mid-East Peace in USA.
Peres in Turkey: I am here to advance peace - Israel News, Ynetnews
November 2007

January 2009: World Economic Forum in when Gaza war happened
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan Attacks Israeli President Peres:
"You Know Well How To Kill"
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan Attacks Israeli President Peres: "You Know Well How To Kill"

 

[ekrem]

Israel - Pakistan, 1st formal diplomatic contact happened in 2005 in Istanbul.
Mediated by Mr. Erdogan.

Globalsecurity.org : PAKISTAN - ISRAEL RELATIONS:*THE 'FIRST FORMAL CONTACT'

This was only achievable after Israel redeployed from Gaza.
In 2008 they moved again in, bombing civilians.

 

[ekrem]

Assad: Turkey is best mediator
Syrian president says Ankara is greatest hope for peace.
Jerusalem Post - Assad: Turkey is best mediator

Hope and Change we can believe in. Not the fake one from Washington.
Turkey now de-facto shares a physical border with Israel.


Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon on first step to set up Mideast's "EU"
"High-level quartet cooperation council" to strengthen the existing cooperation, develop long-term strategic partnership and solidarity, and further improve the economic integration. They also decided to establish a zone among the four countries where there is free movement of products and people.
Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon on first step to set up Mideast's "EU" [ WORLD BULLETIN ]

You bomb them, you bomb us.

"The quadripartite mechanism... will be open to the participation of all the other brotherly and friendly countries in the region"
Al-ManarTV:: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria to Set Up Free Trade Zone 10/06/2010

 

[ekrem]

GDP Expected To Total 1.13 Trillion Usd In 2010
- Turkey 932.2 Billion
- Syria 105.2 Billion
- Jordan 58.5 Billion
- Lebanon 35.2 Billion

Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria Eye Deeper Trade Cooperation,Their Gdp Expected To Total 1.13 Trillion Usd In 2010


Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem:
"This cooperation is an economic space in the benefit of peoples of the region, it brings back the common history, geography between Turkey and the Arab world," (...)
(...) the quartet cooperation in light of the high-level cooperation council among Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon constitutes a nucleus which is open to all friendly and sisterly countries.
Syrian Arab news agency - SANA - Syria : Syria news ::

 

[ekrem]

foreignpolicy.com

Turkish Dilemma
Once a reliable Western ally, Turkey is now going its own way in the Middle East. And nobody in Washington or Brussels knows what to do about it.

(...)
Americans tend to benignly neglect other countries until they become a problem. And until just the other day, Turkey was a fun tourist destination; now it's a problem.
(...)
Senior Obama administration officials have begun to worry that the West has "lost" Turkey; Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently fretted that Turkey is "moving eastward" and blamed the European Union for blocking Turkey's aspiration for membership
(...)
Over the course of the last decade, the country's diplomats seem to have taken a leaf from China, whose doctrine of "peaceful rise" dictated harmonious relations along its borders and a relatively low profile in global diplomacy. Turkey's policy of "zero problems toward neighbors" smoothed away conflict with Middle Eastern partners, including both Israel and Iran. Through a series of bilateral agreements, Turkey has established a visa-free zone, and it hopes to establish a free trade zone in much of the area once occupied by the Ottoman Empire -- without, as a Turkish diplomat pointed out to me, seeking to re-create Ottoman hegemony.
(...)
And Turkey, no longer content to reduce friction along its borders, dreams of bringing a new order to the Middle East. "[T]he world expects great things from Turkey," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has written on this website.
He might be wrong there, but what's clear is that Turkey expects great things from itself.
(...)
Perhaps all emerging powers reach this inflection point, where nationalistic pride almost compels overreaching. (See under: Brazil.) But Turkey is the only emerging power located in the Middle East, a region where supreme global conflicts play themselves out. A peaceful rise in East Asia is no great feat, but try living next to Iraq and Iran without antagonizing somebody.
(...)
Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, recently observed that (...) Turkey has a great story to tell: not the reconstitution of the Ottoman Empire, but the rise of a democratic, free market state in the Islamic world of the Middle East. Salem described Turkey as "the only country in the Middle East actually pointing toward the future." That is what is known as soft power.
(...)
This administration is prepared to take counsel from rising powers. (....)
"We're trying to give them their place in the sun," says the official with whom I spoke. But how can they accord Turkey its place in the sun without acceding to a view of the Middle East that Washington does not and will not accept? "When you come up with that," the official told me, "let me know."

Turkish Dilemma - By James Traub | Foreign Policy

 

[ekrem]

REDUCING ITS DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN ARMS SUPPLIERS, TURKEY ENHANCES ITS STRATEGIC AUTONOMY

Turkey is rapidly expanding its military forces by domestically producing many weapons and importing many more. The country is currently the world’s fourth largest arms importer, but the Turkish government is vigorously seeking to reduce its dependence on foreign arms suppliers while still retaining the capacity to wage conventional warfare in cooperation with its NATO allies.
(...)
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program

We are the classic conventional warfare guys.
Not the mid-European guys who decrease the Army in size.
We expand.

 

[ekrem]

Iran-Turkey rivalry


Considering the future of the region, the only power in a position to assert its consistent presence is Turkey. Iran, its nearest competitor, is neither in competition with Turkey, nor does it have a fraction of its power — nuclear weapons or not. Turkey has historically dominated the region, though not always to the delight of others there. Nevertheless, its historical role has been to pick up the pieces left by regional chaos.

Read more:
STRATFOR | Turkey as a Regional Power
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/turkey_regional_power

 

[ekrem]

 

[ekrem]

Balkans theater:
To the Source:
With a share of 19.4%, "Der Standard" is the most widely read newspaper among people with college or university education.
Der Standard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The big old brother from Bosphorus
With economic investment and political mediation, Turkey established itself as a "soft power" in the Balkans

(...) The strategy of Turkey: After cultural development assistance follows economical investment. In recent years, Turkey has not only restored the bridges and mosques from the Ottoman era in the Balkans. Turkish patrons invested in the educations sector of South East Europeans, in hospitals and water supply.
Now they controll the national Airlines of Bosnia and Serbia.
The biggest infrastructural projects of Turkey are highways in Serbia and Albania.

The economic commitment is the basis for the increasing diplomatic and political position of Turkey in the region. The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu emphasizes that Turkey was part of the Balkan region itself. Turkey does not want to be perceived as a leading nation, but Turkey "wants to shape the conditions in the region", says Davutoglu. And it does.

(...)
Ankara has managed to improve the historical rocky relationship with Serbia, so that even a loving relationship is now being termed between them.
(...)
Serbian Ambassador to Vienna:
"Serbia is a country with strong traditions of the Ottoman period, and we do not regard this as a loss, but as an important fact. There are people who feel close to this tradition. This is respected by the Serbs. In addition, Belgrade welcomes everything, which helps improve the climate in the Balkans, including Turkey."
(...)
Turkey is establishing itself as a soft power in the region. The recipe is always the same: investment and respect. The Turkish beer brewer Efes invested in Serbia, there are Turkish carpet factories in Bosnia. In Albania, the mobile telephony business is firmly in Turkish hands. Turkey grants visa-free travel to Balkan states. The Bosnian Muslims and the Albanians accept Turkey as a true protector. The first Kosovo Embassy abroad was established in Ankara. 90 percent of consumer goods in Kosovo come from Turkey.
(...)

Der große alte Bruder vom Bosporus - Türkei - derStandard.at ? International[/QUOTE]



We want to shape Middle-East and Balkans.
The only resistance we get is in Caucasus and Central Asia by Russia. Taking on Russia and Israel are 2 completely different things
So we switched from "adversary"-modus to cooperation-modus with Russia in these areas.
It benefits us both, as Russia has become No.1 trade partner of Turkey.
There is no need to put a foot each other to fall over, and Turkey still only is a middle-power that can not get it all.

We first have to consolidate our position in Middle-East with economic integration of the smaller looser states. See economic bloc between Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
Through unity comes strength in International arena.

Copying the EU model of the 60's to Middle-East does not taste good for the trouble-makers whose presence in this region is only strong, when region is fragmented and in disagreement.

P.S:
Now the casual Province American can pop-out and declare me Islamofascist and lecture me, how backwards I really am.

 

[ekrem]

We learn from the USA, that to control the world, you need to control the trading routes and the seas.
The USA navy has become a monster due to the requirements of its political Administration.

We make the concept of USA in small scale.
For the first time since the fall of Ottomans, Turkey reached knowledge of own warship designs.

We're building additional
- 8 indigenious Frigates (Destroyer tonnage)
- 8 indigenious Corvettes
- 6 German design U-214 submarines, which will be equipped with 80% Turkish equipment. All electronics and weapons will be Turkish:
Type 214 submarine TURKISH version - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Germans construct the hull and integrate the Fuel-Cells.


Turkey has already 3rd biggest Navy in Europe.
Turkish Navy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
With additional warships being built, Turkish Navy looks into a potent future.
We have no Aircraft Carrier, but we will purchase Landing Plattform Docks (probably from S. Korea). On them you can place Attack Helicopters and vertical F-35.
Look at "LPD" in Wikipedia Article.

Currently "Near coastal security" is ensured by existing Frigates and Corvettes.
These warships will be free of her coastal duties, because we build 16 large Patrol boats.
They will overtake the mission from the existing warships, freeing them for operations far away from home terrritory.
These are the new Patrol Boats:

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Look another pity party attended only by Ekrem.

 

[ekrem]

Combined Strength of
Israel, Iran, Saudi-Arabia
- 16 submarines
- 12 Frigates
- 7 Corvettes
Israeli Navy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Islamic Republic of Iran Navy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal Saudi Navy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Turkey
- 14 submarines (+6 being built)
- 19 Frigates (+8 being built)
- 7 Corvettes (+ 8 being built)
Turkish Navy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia