Barin Kayaoglu
JTW Columnist

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Tuesday, 10 November 2009

As you read these lines, you will probably hear the latest on the Iranian nuclear negotiations. Tehran’s response to the latest Western offer – to further develop Iran’s low-enriched uranium in France and Russia and return it to Iran – is likely to be negative. Iranian officials will let the world know – once again – that nuclear energy is their “inalienable right,” that the proud Iranian nation will not bow to bullying, and, at any rate, they are not seeking nuclear weapons.

American officials will respond by saying that Iranian intransigence poses a grave threat to regional and international security, that they are suspicious of Iran’s motives in having a nuclear energy program, and they will threaten Iran with a new set of sanctions at the United Nations Security Council.

And hundreds of op-eds and blogs will argue about what to do. Some will blame Iran and call it a “terrorist state.” Others will use this as another example to show “American imperialism” at work.

I will refrain from joining those ranks. Instead, I will talk about two national burial grounds outside of Washington and Tehran: Arlington National Cemetery and Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery, located south of Washington across the Potomac River, came into being during the American Civil War (1861-65). The federal government expropriated the land from General Robert E. Lee as punishment, whose service to the Confederate side had caused the war to continue for 4 years.

Since 1865, the United States has buried over 300,000 servicemen and women at Arlington National Cemetery. Many families agree that the honor of having their loved ones buried there eases their suffering (as much as it could be eased). Every Memorial Day (May 25) in the United States, many families and former comrades visit their loved ones at Arlington.

South of Tehran, Behesht-e Zahra serves a similar purpose. Unlike Arlington, however, it is a burial ground for ordinary Iranians as well. But of the 250,000 who are buried there, the majority was combatants in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). Saddam Hussein had started that war and sustained it with massive Western military support. Most of those Iranian soldiers were young boys under the age of 25 when they died. And similar to Memorial Day in America, on every Thursday and religious holiday in Iran, relatives go to Behest-e Zahra to visit those soldiers.

The graves of fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters at these places are somber reminders of the real price of war.

So before Iranian and American policy-makers make up their mind about the next step, it would be humane for them to spend some time at Behesht-e Zahra and Arlington. Nothing can bring back the dead. But there is no good reason to start another Middle East war that would create new ones.

*****************

Barın Kayaoğlu is a Ph.D. candidate in history at The University of Virginia and a regular contributor to the Journal of Turkish Weekly.

E-mail: kayaoglu@virginia.edu

NOT-NOTE:

-Yazı önce Journel of Turkish Weekly’de yayınlanmıştır.Article first ıssued at Journal of Turkish Weekly

http://www.turkishweekly.net/columnist/3219/two-cemeteries-in-washington-and-tehran.html

-Ayrıca aşağıdaki blogda da yayınlanmıştır-Also publshed in blog below.

http://hopladedegi.wordpress.com/category/kisi-people/makaleleri-his-articles/two-cemeteries-in-washington-and-tehran/

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These are my first steps of writing at Technorati. Imagine yourself in a boat. You don’t know how to swim.

Your elder brother have told you right after when away from the beach that; ‘he was going to throw you into the water’. He’s aim was to have you chopping for dear life. That was the way he learned to swim he said.

When this happened, I was at age of six. Did I succeed? Yes ı did. That day, for dear life, I chopped as hard as I could, and manage to stay on the water.

Today I’m 60+3 in age. It seems that, this time I’ve put in water myself to the ‘Deep Oceans of Technorati’.
Am I capable, or will I be having enough effort to stay on the surface of Technorati? Or will I sink, and drown?

The ones who has the experience of swimming in different waters, — fresh or salt — wavy, streamy, windy etc., or swimming in a pool, in a river, a lake, and sea, can also be added to this classification, should and must keep in mind, that each of these different waters have their own formats, their unique characteristics.

To be successful in the mission of ’swimming’, it needs applying the necessary basics, but in different rules, compatible with each one of the waters concerned.

Probably, all of these waters have been experienced by most of us. But ‘ocean’ is the superb of all waters. Deepest, biggest, widest, finest, and the most spectacular.
Ocean is also known and named as; cruelest, merciless, and above all the feared most.

Despite all the positive, but heavily negative mentioned appellations of ‘Oceans’, she is least known, still the most famous, most mysterious, the such a thing is that, she is still the most curious, and most fabulous.

After all these chit-chats of ocean, let me mention about how I feel of stepping into the unfamiliar ‘giant’ oceans of Technorati.

For long years of educational official work, I was accustom to writing formal, scientific etc. notes, texts, and articles. But I’m retired now. I am eager to write what’s really inside of me. The work, happily but painly busyness with the family, and finally rushy traffic of all kinds within the natural flow of life, kept me static all those years.

As if I was automatically programmed to do all that without complaine. After my retirement, I no more could control the feelings in my soul, and the ‘file’ of heavy traffic consisting of words, phrases, ideas in my brain.
It’s time now for them to come out, to take a role, and step into the stage of life itself.

Simply, plainly, sincerely, within the rules of life and the new era, I feel I’m obliged to keep pace with this.

So I started dealing with building up web sites, first was built exactly at 29 April, 2009.

Working hard, I manage to come to this phase in five months, a level that brought me to the shores of Technorati.

For many years writing formal texts,articles,then writing freely in my sites/blogs — which decreased my eagerness, and tension a little bit — I’ve suddenly found myself in the very deep waters of Technorati’s Oceans.

To be honest, with a wish, and hard work, I knew I was going to end up on some Web Site address. Of course, joining as the ‘Author’, a contributor for Technorati, I couldn’t have imagined and expected in very short time like this.

Now I’m in. Being experienced in writing, will be my advantage. But being not familiar to the tendencies, obligations to follow the written/un-written general rules, preferences of the ‘ readers, members, fans, authors, management ‘ etc. are going be my disadvantages at Technorati in the preliminary stages.

Nevertheless, I’m certain, being in the Technorati Family, will bring me enormous credits. Advantage of sharing my writings with a very big, large and elite community, plus I’ll be having a chance of exchanging valuable knowledge with them. In short

I will gain a lot…

For hard workers, ones who have capacity and will for writing, must never give up, they should always be in challenge with themselves to reach to a higher level.

Why not to try yourselves. Knock the doors of Technorati. Apply to write there, ‘Login’ and start. The rest will come…

Finally, a gentlemen from Technorati Editorial, who kindly helped me in some of my difficulties, have said in it’s mail; “It is not always easy to write from the heart and open up to complete strangers what one feels about a transition.”

These expression have motivated my feelings. I appreciate it.

He also pointed out about the line in the beginning of this article and said: “Imagine yourself in a boat. You don’t know how to swim.” is a perfect metaphor.

Thanking him so much again, I feel obliged to respond to this as: If ”Imagining oneself in a boat with fear,cause of not knowing to swim ” is considered a ‘Perfect Metaphor’, Then me being in The Technorati should be considered as ” MegaMetaphor ”.

Thank you again…

I’m afraid. Afraid of the responsibilities that I will come upon Technorati. Afraid of unexpected happenings that might kept me out of my goal.

Time is the best solution for the one’s who are afraid. Afraid of being inadequate. The way to overcome this negative feeling is to ‘do the best that can be done’.

Not to rush, slowly, patiently, and fearlessly move on the right path.

”It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” — Confucius

It’s about time to end this article. Then here comes the conclusion part.
In Turkish, the word ‘dede’ is ‘grandpa’. My granddaughter’s first call to me was ‘dedegi’, not ‘dede’.

I fall into astonishment, because I didn’t know the meaning of it. The word’s meaning was not known by major dictionaries also.

I founded the meaning myself. The suffix ‘gi’ was ‘dear’. She ment ‘dear grandpa‘.

Finally, I will end my first article by calling upon ‘The Big Community of Technorati’, that they have a ‘dedegi‘ among them now.

Technoratiansgi, ‘dede’ whose aim is to run slowly but continiously on these tracks is very happy for joining your community.

Best Wishes…

NOTE:
-This is my first article published in Technorati.Bu benim Technorati’de
yayınlanan ilk makalem.
http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/learning-to-write-at-technorati/
-After Technorati,the article secondly posted on my sister blog.Technorati’den sonra makale ikinci olarak bana ait ”Dedegi’s Blog” da yayınlanmıştır
http://dedegi.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/learning-to-write-at-technorati/

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Barın Kayaoğlu

Barin Kayaoglu
JTW Columnist

The Iran Letters – Part III: A Survey of ‘Iran Profound’
Wednesday, 13 August 2008

The Iran Letters – Part II: Questions and Answers on Iran’s Nuclear Program
Monday, 14 July 2008

The Iran Letters – Part I: From the Inside, Iran Looks Much Bigger
Saturday, 28 June 2008

The Iran Letters – Part I: From the Inside, Iran Looks Much Bigger
Saturday, 28 June 2008

How Senators Obama and McCain Can Help Iraq Before the Elections
Tuesday, 10 June 2008

Drawing Borders with Other People’s Blood – Part II
Monday, 4 February 2008

Will Turkey Repeat America’s Mistake in Iraq?
Thursday, 15 November 2007

For All Turks and Armenians: An Analysis and Manifesto
Wednesday, 17 October 2007

(Re)Creating America’s ‘Empire of Liberty’ in the Twenty-First Century
Wednesday, 19 September 2007

How to Salvage U.S. Prestige in Turkey and the Middle East?
Tuesday, 28 August 2007

An Analysis of the Turkish Election: Prime Minister Erdoğan on Top of the World
Monday, 30 July 2007

An Open Memorandum On Solutions Other Than a Military Operation Into Northern Iraq
Wednesday, 4 July 2007

The Turkish Military’s Operation to Northern Iraq: Solution or Problem?
Monday, 11 June 2007

Is democracy a luxury for Turkey?
Thursday, 31 May 2007

Why Does the Turkish Presidency Matter? What Should Turkey Do?
Wednesday, 2 May 2007

No Armenian Genocide Resolution from the House of Representatives: Lessons for the Future
Tuesday, 1 May 2007

Seeing the Bigger Picture in Iraq
Monday, 16 April 2007

The Timetable Wars and the U.S. Presidential Election
Sunday, 1 April 2007

Defending YouTube or Defending Atatürk?
Saturday, 17 March 2007

How to Stop Loving and Worrying About the Bomb: The View from 2057
Sunday, 4 March 2007

The Recent Crisis Between the Erdoğan Government and the Military: What Crisis?
Sunday, 18 February 2007

Thinking Strategically in Northern Iraq and Cyprus
Monday, 5 February 2007

‘Damn If You Do, Damn If You Don’t': The Moral Dilemma of the New Bush Plan
Thursday, 18 January 2007

“Damn If You Do, Damn If You Don’t:” The Moral Dilemma of the New Bush Plan
Wednesday, 17 January 2007

On Presidents, Protracted Wars, and Negotiating With the Adversary
Saturday, 13 January 2007

Iran’s Nuclear Program and Security Council Resolution 1737: In Search for a Middle Ground
Tuesday, 26 December 2006

Praying for the Imperfect Storm: The Implications of a Coup d’Etat in Turkey
Sunday, 3 December 2006

What is Turkey’s Importance All About?
Monday, 27 November 2006

Last War for Oil? Inshallah!
Monday, 20 November 2006

An Open Letter to Mr. Michael Rubin
Sunday, 12 November 2006

Turkey’s Allies are Common Sense and Freedom of Expression
Wednesday, 25 October 2006

Thinking More Loudly on Turkey’s EU Bid
Monday, 16 October 2006

The Armenian Question Between Genocide, Tragedy, and Hypocrisy
Thursday, 12 October 2006

The Armenian Question Between Genocide, Tragedy, and Hypocrisy
Wednesday, 11 October 2006

Thinking Aloud on Turkey’s EU Bid
Monday, 9 October 2006

The Paradox of the United States and the World Five Years After September 11
Saturday, 30 September 2006

‘The Army Is Not a Place for Slacking’: Turkey’s Choices Between Mt. Kandil and a Hard Place
Monday, 11 September 2006

Turkish Troops in Southern Lebanon: Will and Should They Go?
Friday, 1 September 2006

Is Iran a Threat to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime?
Monday, 21 August 2006

Israel’s Current Paradox in a Historical Context
Friday, 11 August 2006

Fear and Loathing in the Middle East: What to Do?
Friday, 11 August 2006

Drawing Borders with Other People’s Blood: A Brief Comment on Ralph Peters’s ‘Blood Borders’
Wednesday, 19 July 2006

Sharing Vision, Structuring Dialogue (At Last): Are Turkish-American Relations Improving?
Thursday, 13 July 2006

Barın Kayaoğlu is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Virginia and a regular contributor to the Journal of Turkish Weekly.

His Other Articles

http://www.turkishweekly.net/previous.asp?id=5

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Barın Kayaoğlu

Barin Kayaoglu
JTW Columnist

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Saturday, 24 January 2009

The Mission

The Israeli invasion of Gaza and its horrific toll on Palestinian civilians demonstrate that, so long as this self-destructive conflict goes on, the innocent people of Israel and Palestine will wallow in their suffering.

It is time to stop this bloodbath. And the creation of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza is the only way to reach that goal.

The question of Palestine remains the biggest chasm between Israel, the Arabs, and non-Arab Muslims. Since the first war between Arab states and Israel in 1948-49, there has been no end in sight to the conflict. For sure, Israel managed to sign peace treaties with, and gain recognition from, two of its neighbors (Egypt and Jordan). But because Israel does not take the bold steps necessary to create the Palestinian state, most Arab and Muslim countries refuse to recognize it. Israel, without recognition and security, refrains from normalizing relations with the Palestinians. And without the prospects of a viable Palestinian state, groups like HAMAS gain prestige in the eyes of Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular.
(Tragically, HAMAS’s rocket attacks had prompted Israel to attack Gaza over three weeks ago. And this deadlock has played out disastrously: more than 1,200 Palestinians – many of them innocent civilians – lie dead. Over 5,000 are wounded.)

So, how do we create a Palestinian state; convince Israel that it is in its interest to do so; and move forward to a new order in the Middle East?
How, in other words, do we accomplish mission impossible?

The Task

The trick to creating a viable Palestinian state can come about by addressing the “people problem.”
At the moment, of the West Bank’s population of 2.5 million, nearly 200,000 are Israeli settlers. An additional 175,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem, the venue that Palestinians hope will become the capital of their state. Resettling unwilling Israeli civilians into Israel’s pre-1967 lands will be a troublesome task (just as it was in 2005 when Israel withdrew from Gaza).

An even larger problem will be to accommodate the return of Palestinian refugees, a large body of 5 million. Truth be told, since the State of Israel would not allow the return of former residents of Mandate Palestine into its territories, probably not all Palestinian refugees would come into what would become the Republic of Palestine; at least not immediately.

The third hurdle is the status of Jerusalem. Jerusalem houses the Western Wall of Solomon’s Temple, the Church of Sepulcher, and the Masjid al-Aqsa/Qubbat as-Sahra, the holiest sites for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, respectively. Israelis and Palestinians contest this city fiercely for its great symbolic value. Currently, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the Palestinians will never accept statehood without Jerusalem as their own capital.

The Possible and the Necessary Mission

Aside from Jerusalem, the “people problem” is one that can be solved by careful planning and a price tag. Building decent housing for the nearly 5.5 million people in question (5 million Palestinians and a total of 375,000 Israeli settlers) will be a gargantuan task but it is not an impossible one. (A feasibility study commissioned by the World Bank would probably be the best way to start this project.)

For years, the major players of the Middle East conflict – indigenous and foreign – have wasted their resources on warfare – clandestine and open. In its stead, if the wealthy countries – oil-rich Arab states, the United States, and the European Union – can channel their energies to relocate Israelis and Palestinians, peace can be within reach.

As for Jerusalem, two alternatives – neither of which will be pleasant, it must be said – exist. The city can be divided into Israeli and Palestinian sectors and United Nations (UN) peacekeepers can monitor the holy sites. Alternatively, Jerusalem (old and new) can be administered as a single unit by a UN commission, although experience with “free cities” (Danzig/Gdansk had given Hitler the pretext to start a world war in 1939) does not bode well for this option.

The Substitute

“There is no substitute for victory” said General Douglas MacArthur upon Japan’s capitulation in 1945. In the case of Israel and Palestine in 2009, the only substitute for solution is the current situation: HAMAS gains political strength (for merely surviving the latest Israeli onslaught); Israel fails to succeed in its political objective (annihilating HAMAS and keeping moderate Palestinians on its side); and radical Islamists everywhere have another excuse to engage in anti-Western propaganda (Western support for Israel and distance to Palestine).

This is the mission, should you choose to accept.—

Barın Kayaoğlu is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Virginia and a regular contributor to the Journal of Turkish Weekly.

E-mail: kayaoglu@virginia.edu

See his Other Articles in previous years (2009 yılı öncesindeki diğer makalelerine de) bakınız

Saturday, 24 January 2009

http://www.turkishweekly.net/columnist/3080/mission-impossible-ending-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-in-a-nutshell.html

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Friday, 17 April 2009

President Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey last week, his first to a Muslim nation since becoming Chief Executive on January 20, was a significant success. During his two-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul, Obama did and said all the right things. His most crucial statement came in response to the question of whether he was sending a message to the world by concluding his European trip in Turkey. His answer was, in plain and simple Turkish, “evet” (yes). “Turkey is a critical ally,” Obama said, “Turkey is an important part of Europe.” Therefore, “Turkey and the United States must stand together – and work together – to overcome the challenges of our time.” Obama also brought back old memories of U.S.-Turkish relations: “Turkish troops have served by our side from Korea to Kosovo to Kabul.”

To be sure, not all that the American president said was music to every Turkish ear. During the press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül, Obama was reminded of his campaign promise to recognize the events of 1915 and the fate of Ottoman Armenians as genocide. The American president’s adroit response (that he stood by his statements, but Turks and Armenians are the ones who could resolve this issue) and his reference to the problematic episodes of U.S. history (slavery and the extermination of the Natives) was not welcomed by those on the Turkish political right.

Overall, however, Obama’s visit – less than three months into his presidency – has been well-received in Turkey. As opposed to the Bush administration, which carried out policies detrimental to Turkish interests and fueled anti-Americanism, Obama passed his first Turkish test.

The next test is approaching fast: On April 24 (the day that Armenians claim their genocide began), immense pressure will be brought on Obama. To be sure, Armenians’ hope to get Western powers – in this instance, the United States – to talk over Turkish heads is just as counterproductive today as it was a century ago. Therefore, as president, Obama will probably extricate himself by reiterating the statement he made in Turkey (“my views are on record and I have not changed my views [but] what I want to do is not focus on my views right now and focus on the views of the Turkish and the Armenian people”) and advise Armenian Americans and the Armenian Diaspora to sit down and talk things through with Turkey and Azerbaijan (Armenia’s occupation of twenty percent of Azeri territory bedevils Armenian-Turkish relations even more than the question of whether 1915 was a genocide or not).

A more critical test will be to secure Turkish cooperation in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. With the Bush administration’s successive blunders, Turkey, until recently, had followed a more independent course in all three countries. Ankara refused to deal with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq and threatened unilateral military operation into the area; further improved its relations with Iran; and objected to U.S. pressure to increase its military presence in Afghanistan.

To be sure, Turkey has been readjusting its Iraq policy some time. In fact, both President Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have paid state visits to Iraq since last summer. Meanwhile, as the Iraqi government does more to restrict the terrorist group PKK’s ability to stage attacks against Turkish forces and civilians, Ankara becomes more lenient toward the KRG. That change in attitude is now allowing Ankara to become involved in Iraq more constructively. For its part, by paying closer attention to Turkish concerns over the PKK, the Obama administration can pass that Turkish test as well.

Beyond Iraq, Turkey can use Obama’s presidency as an opportunity to underline its critical importance in the region. Ankara should help Washington with “talking Turkish” to Tehran. The Obama administration has already declared its willingness to negotiate directly with the Islamic Republic. This position very much reflects what Turkey has done with Iran since the late 1990s: trade and talk. By buying Iranian natural gas and negotiating the elimination of PKK terrorists from Iranian territory, Ankara has been able to resolve many of its disagreements with Tehran.

In this respect, if Washington addresses Iran’s security concerns – mostly emanating from the two American wars in its neighborhood – and supports projects to transport Iranian oil and natural gas to Europe through Turkey, it could achieve multiple objectives at once: Once Iran has more markets for its hydrocarbon and does not feel threatened by the United States, it will cooperate much more effectively in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be more open about its nuclear program (also rendering a pre-emptive strike by Israel useless). For Ankara, that mean removing Iran as a potential flashpoint and avoiding a third regional war in less than ten years.

With respect to Afghanistan and NATO, it is unlikely that Turkey shall commit more forces, something that Washington has been pushing for a while. Arguably, Turkey could have taken the initiative in the Central Asian nation by sending, say, 10,000 troops in exchange for Washington’s withdrawal of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s candidacy as the next Secretary-General of NATO. Regardless of one’s position on the Danish cartoon crisis, it is almost certain that the Taliban and Al Qaeda will use Rasmussen to undermine NATO efforts in Afghanistan.

But Rasmussen is clearly taking over on August 1. The good news is that Turkey has apparently secured one of the Deputy Secretariats-General as well as several senior military commands within the Alliance. On top of these, Turkey needs to do the smart thing and complement these gains with an increase in its civilian presence in Afghanistan. Even a symbolic increase in Turkish military posture will be an even more brilliant stroke. Turkish engineers and troops have been a welcome sight for Afghan people since the toppling of the Taliban in 2001. It is reported, for example, that some NATO countries that have troops in Afghanistan are putting small Turkish flags on the shoulders of their soldiers in order to protect them during patrols and convoy escorts. By assuming a commanding position in Afghanistan, Turkey can demonstrate to the United States and European Turcophobes its undeniable significance in one of the world’s most troublesome spots.

Given the negative reaction from French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel to President Obama’s express endorsement of Turkey’s EU bid last week, it is unlikely that Turkey will be able to join the EU. On the other hand, Turkey can use the Obama opportunity to increase its posture in the areas to its south and east by playing a more constructive role. If Turkey accelerates its domestic economic and political reforms and set a better example to the Muslim world that democracy, secularism, and Islam can co-exist; if Turkey and the United States work more closely in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan; and if Ankara can resolve its problems with Armenia and mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan, there will be no reason to worry about the likes of Sarkozy and Merkel.

Last week’s visit created a new momentum in Turkish-American relations. It must be used effectively. If Obama takes his Turkish tests seriously and if Ankara makes good use of the Obama opportunity, the future of U.S. relations with the Muslim world and Turkey can improve remarkably. “Evet, yapabiliriz!”

——————————————————————————–

Barın Kayaoğlu is a Ph.D. candidate in history at The University of Virginia and a regular contributor to the Journal of Turkish Weekly.

E-mail: kayaoglu@virginia.edu

See His Other Article (Bakınız Barın Kayaoğlu diğer makalesi)

http://www.dedegi.com/?p=336

Friday, 17 April 2009
Issued At
http://www.turkishweekly.net/columnist/3136/evet-yapabiliriz-obama’s-turkish-test-turkey’s-obama-opportunity.html