“The exercise, I think, was postponed. I believe that was a Turkish decision. As to the question of whether there was a government that was invited to participate and then removed at the last minute, we think it's inappropriate for any nation to be removed from an exercise like this at the last minute,” Crowley said, responding to questions at a State Department press briefing. Upon another question he confirmed that it was Israel that was removed from the exercise at the last minute.
As a matter of fact, to display their unease over the Turkish decision to exclude Israel from the Anatolian Eagle exercises, which take place near Konya, the US and Italy withdrew from the event, obliging Turkey to turn it into a national air exercise.
As far as I know, last Friday the Turkish General Staff informed the countries participating in the exercise, planned to begin on Oct. 12, that Israel had been excluded from the maneuvers at the Turkish government's request. Because exclusion of one nation in this preplanned exercise would have had changed the nature of the exercises while reducing its effectiveness, the US and Italy decided to withdraw from the maneuvers. That is what I initially learned from my sources. But Crowley's remarks have shown clearly that Turkey angered Washington with this last-minute decision. I do not envisage at the moment that this anger will have a serious impact on Turkish-US relations. But such last-minute Turkish decisions will backfire, inflicting damage on Turkish credibility at a time when Ankara has increasingly been seeking to play the role of a facilitator in Middle Eastern disputes.
It seems that it was the Turkish government, not the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), which made the last-minute decision to exclude Israel from the maneuvers, during which Israeli electronic systems are regularly used.
Among reasons for this last-minute decision is the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) internal concern that the Felicity Party (SP) may in the long term steal some of its grassroots votes from its strong Islamic base, which has a negative stance towards Israel. The second reason that may be cited for this government decision is Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Syria last Tuesday, a day after the now-cancelled multinational Anatolian Eagle exercises were planned to take place before the postponement.
Turkey, Israel and the US held joint naval maneuvers, code named Reliant Mermaid, in August. What has changed, then, in the past two months that made Turkey change its mind and exclude Israel from the Anatolian Eagle maneuvers? I guess the answer is most possibly the Syrian element. Interestingly, as Turkey excluded Israel from the exercises, Ankara and Damascus decided to hold a wider-range exercise sometime in May at the borders.
Turkey has long been developing its ties with its Muslim neighbors, seeking at the same time to balance its ties with Israel. Under AK Party rule, ties with Israel have been more strained than under previous governments due to Ankara's more vocal reaction to Israel's disproportionate attacks against Palestine, causing the deaths of many civilians, in particular during its Gaza offensive last winter. It is also no secret that the Turkish military and civilian procurement officials have been uneasy once again, this time over delays on the delivery of Israeli Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
But in the final analysis, Turkey's Israeli decision can be seen as another indication that balances of power in military-civilian relations in Turkey has been shifting in favor of the civilian authorities. This is good for improving Turkish democratic standards. But the Turkish government should also display openly to the world that its attempts to improve its ties with the Arab world should not be at the expense of sacrificing Turkish national interests. The Turkish-Israeli strategic partnership serves the interests of both countries.
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