A copy of the letter sent on Dec. 7 by the 10 senators, led by a bipartisan duo of independent Democrat Joe Lieberman and Republican Susan Collins, has been published by www.weeklystandard.com.
“Turkey is a vital leader in advancing regional security objectives and a key partner of the US in NATO and at the UN Security Council, as a non-permanent member for the 2010 session,” the letter says.
“That’s why we have grown increasingly concerned about the downward trend of relations between Turkey and Israel this past year. Turkey’s exclusion of Israel from the recent exercise, Anatolian Eagle, which was also to include US and NATO forces, was both unexpected and disappointing. Turkey’s longstanding strategic cooperation with Israel and its positive role as an honest broker in the Middle East are important sources of stability in the region and are of vital importance to the United States. It is our hope that any political obstacles between Turkey and Israel can be overcome and that historic levels of cooperation will resume as quickly as possible,” it says.
