Before I discuss the meeting there’s one point I would like to underline. In my previous article I recalled that during the Arab-Israeli War, US intelligence ship the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli jet fighter planes and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, while sailing in international waters. Thirty-eight American soldiers were killed and 171 were wounded in the attack. I wrote that America’s Sixth Fleet, which was 400 miles away, was informed of the attack in 15 seconds. US jets were deployed to defend the ship but were recalled by America’s secretary of defense, Robert McNamara. The recall decision was confirmed by then President Johnson. Most importantly, I pointed out that this incident was covered up and never investigated and that the American administration has been living with this Israeli dagger in its heart for the past 43 years. What I tried to explain was how American administrations are bound to Israeli policies.
Something that confirms this reality happened yesterday. US Vice President Joe Biden said Israel had the right to stop the ships going to Gaza. He added that no American administration has ever had such an extremely positive and supportive attitude regarding Israel’s security as the current administration does. The most striking piece of news on Biden was published in the Israeli Yediot Ahronot daily on Aug. 28, 2008. The article reported that in an interview on Shalom TV in 2007 Biden said, “I am a Zionist.” During the interview Biden, who is a Catholic, had described Israel as America’s single greatest strength in the Middle East. His most striking words were, “You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist.”
Vice President Biden’s statement shows once again just how difficult Obama’s job is in the White House. It also points out that it is America’s deep forces, not Israel, that Turkey essentially needs to address.
Of course, Turkey’s shift toward becoming a global power in the region is bothering Israel. This distress is amplified by the presence of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in power, the “one minute” incident and the support and sympathy for Turkey from the Arab and Muslim world. But this is how things are rolling. If a powerful Turkey is taking the stage, is it smart for Israel to mess with Turkey? Shouldn’t Israel attach more importance to this kind of Turkey for the sake of peace in Israel, the Middle East and more importantly for world peace?
Now let’s turn to the CICA summit to be held on Tuesday. Turkey is the two-year term president of CICA. The 3rd CICA summit will be held at the Çırağan Palace in İstanbul on June 8, 2010, under the auspices of President Abdullah Gül. CICA is the Asian counterpart of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It has 20 member countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, China, South Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Palestinian National Authority, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Jordan.
You may have noticed that this organization includes Iran, Israel and the Palestinian National Authority; and there is India and Pakistan as well as the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. CICA is crucial for this region, where some of the biggest international problems are taking place.
Europe understood the importance of unity and joint security after 50 million people died in World War II. Does Asia have to wait until millions of people are killed before it realizes the right way to go about things? Just look at Israel’s most recent state terrorism. First the Middle East and then the entire region of Asia could be dragged into a disaster any minute.
The summit in İstanbul is important in preventive security mechanisms developing a collective security understanding. At least Israel might have the opportunity to contemplate its actions. After all, for how many more centuries can America continue to protect Israel?
