Turkey's Steps?

[Rob Thornton]

Not only do we need to allow this to go forward without interference (including obvious cheerleading), we must be able to accept less than perfect results.

Tom, good point. I am reminded of an author who quoted a Congresswoman about how long we should give China to create conditions acceptable to our views of "freedom of the press" - it seems her vision was measured in months, it was certainly a drop in one of the deepest of cultural wells.

The recent U.S. political debate about the Turkish role (as the successor to the Ottoman Empire govt. of Imail Enver) the death of many Armenians around 1915, shows our exploitive nature, when it comes to pursuit of domestic hay over the long term foreign policy goals it risks.

This is going to take time. Its going to be awkward. Its potentially going to be at odds with our immediate goals at times. Which ever party gets into the White House, the leadership required to look beyond their tenure and creae a vision for what things might be for our children and children's children should be balanced against the desire to act, or speak. Do we have a role to play? Probably, we're so interconnected in so many ways (NATO, Iraq, the ME, the Trans Caucuses) - but the rule of "just because you can do something, does not mean you always should" needs to be observed.

Overall I'd classify the role as "supporting", but at times in related efforts - such as ensuring AQ and like organizations (or other regional players) do not have the strategic freedom of movement to disrupt this effort to further qualify itself over time - a more engaged role may be required.

I think this is where the term "Grand Strategy" comes into play - that gets us beyond the sole use of military strategy to help us and our friends, partners and allies acheive their goals (in this case the freedom to conduct its own affairs). This won't be easy for us, we don't have a form of government that lends itself to unified purposes - we are purposefully at odds with ourselves in many ways. Minimizing the potential internal disruptions we might represent will be tough I think - we're not culturally attuned to letting things develop if they seems be in our interest to intervene - demonstrating strategic patience will be tough.

Best, Rob