US FOREIGN POLICY

PROF. DR. TAYYAR ARI

 Basic reminds for course
 One midterm exam and one final exam
 Attendance is must
 Active participation in class will be evaluated and added to the midterm
and final examinations as 20 percent
 Presentations of lessons will not be uploaded
 In addition, you can take homework on any subject you freely choose or
from my list that I will distribute and upload and send you through UKEY
 Papers (homeworks) you will prepare will be added as 20 percent to the
final examinations
 Papers you will prepare should be around 15 pages with word or pdf
format and 12 punt, line spaces should be 1,5
The main resources you will be responsible
 Fraser Cameron, US Foreign Policy After The Cold War, Global
Hegemon or Reluctant Sheriff? Second Edition, Routledge, 2005.
 Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy, The Paradox Of World Power,
Fifth Edition, Sage, 2016.
 Bruce W. Jentleson, American Foreign Policy ,The Dynamics Of
Choice In The 21st Century, Fourth Edition, W. W. Norton & Company,
2010.
 Michael Cox and Doug Stokes, (Ed) Us Foreign Policy, Second Edition,
Oxford, 2012.
 James M. Mccormıck , American Foreign Policy and Process,
Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010.
 TayyarArı, «Comparing the Bush, Obama and Trump Foreign Policies» Ultra
Nationalist Policies of Trump and Reflections in the World, PeterLang, 2020.
 Tayyar Arı, Amerika’da Siyasal Yapı, Lobiler ve Dış Politika, Dora, 2015.
1.WEEK INTRODUCTION

2. WEEK THEORETICAL CONTEXT IN US FOREIGN POLICY

3.WEEK DOMESTIC CONTEXT OF US FOREIGN POLICY

4.WEEK PRESIDENTIAL POWER IN FOREIGN POLICY

INTEREST GROUPS AND PUBLIC OPINION

5.WEEK LOBBIES AND US FOREIGN POLICY

6. WEEK HISTORICAL CONTEXT

7. WEEK US MIDDLE EAST POLICY

8. WEEK US-TURKEY RELATIONS

9. WEEK US- IRAN RELATIONS

10. WEEK US-ISRAEL RELATIONS

11. WEEK PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINS: TRUMAN,EISENHOWER, NIXON,

CARTER, REAGAN, BUSH AND OBAMA DOCTRINES

12. WEEK US- NATO RELATIONS

13. WEEK POST-SOVIET RUSSIA-US RELATIONS

14. WEEK US ANTITERRORISM POLICY AFTER 2001

US POLICY ON IRAQ AND SYRIA

US-CHINA RELATIONS
DOMESTIC STRUCTURE

 EXECUTIVE BRANCH /ARTICLE TWO

 PRESIDENT AND THE WHITE HOUSE

 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

 SECRETERIATS
 The political structure in America is based on three important
principles such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and
federalism.
 Powers are shared first at the federal level, between the legislative,
executive and judicial branches, and then between the federal
government and the states.

 This distribution of powers leads to more effective work of

governments (federal and state governments) by causing conflict and
cooperation between these bodies to balance each other.
 According to the separation of powers, Congress makes laws, the
President implements these laws, and the Federal Constitutional
Court supervises the compliance of the implementation with the
law.

 The rule of checks and balances primarily shows its effect in the
bicameral (House of Representatives and Senate) structure of the
Congress. Also, a law passed by Congress can be vetoed by the
President, while treaties and appointments of senior bureaucrats
require Senate approval.

 Apart from this, many acts of Congress and President are subject to
the opinion of the Supreme Court.
 The powers to be exercised by the national government or the federal
government are clearly stated in the first three articles of the
Constitution (legislative, executive and judicial powers).

 With the tenth amendment to the Constitution, state governments are

assumed to be competent in matters that are not authorized by the
Constitution to the federal government and are not expressly
prohibited for state governments.

 The Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the

United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people." December 15, 1791.
 If we look at the example of the UK, unlike the parliamentary system,
the distinction between the executive and the legislature in the
American system is clearly stated in the Constitution.

 The election of the President and the members of Congress is not

dependent on each other, nor is the party discipline seen in classical
parliamentary systems.
 This unique system in America is expressed as the Presidential and
Congress System.
 As is known, in other democratic systems, executive power (and
therefore policy-making power) is largely concentrated in the hands of
the prime minister, who is the leader of the party that has the majority
in the parliament, and the cabinet, usually elected from among the
members of parliament.
 As a normal result of this structure, the decisions or policies taken by
the prime minister and the cabinet are normally implemented in the
parliament without any hindrance.
 Because the members of the legislature act completely in line with
party decisions and policies.
 Therefore, the prime minister who loses the majority in the parliament
is usually either overthrown by a vote of no confidence or resigns
himself.
 If any party in the parliament does not have the majority to form the
government alone, the elections are renewed so that a new government
can be formed.

 In the USA, on the contrary, since Congress is elected separately from

the President, these two bodies make their decisions largely
independently of each other, and therefore.

 Although there is no mention of the party in the Constitution, the fact

that the parties that entered the American political scene after the 1790s.

 Although there are parties other than these two parties (Republican
Party and Democratic Party) at the state level, they are not accepted at
the national level.
 FOREIGN ENVIRONMENT

EXECUTIVE POLITICAL PARTIES

BAŞKA
N

CONGRESS LOBBIES

PUBLIC OPINION
 PRESIDENT
 In the United States, the President, who is both the head of the
government, the party leader and often the person who determines
the laws to be passed, is also the commander-in-chief of the armed
forces and the main decision maker in foreign policy.
 The President, who is at the head of the bureaucracy as the head of the
government, is the coordinator of the programs to be implemented.
 Due to the fact that the President has important powers, he is under
multi-faceted pressure both internally and externally from other
governments, from interest groups, from the party, the press and
bureaucracy (who try to influence the President and his decisions in
line with his own interests).
 Election of the President
 Article II of the Constitution. The election of the President (and the
Vice-President) and their term of office are regulated in detail in the
1st part of the article.

 Instead of the direct election of the people, the Constitution provides

for an indirect method, which envisages the election of the electoral
college first.

 According to this system, each state elects as many second voters as

its members of the House of Representatives and Senate.
 In the elections held according to the majority system at
the state level, the presidential candidate who wins the
absolute majority (270/538) of the second voters, called
the electoral college, is elected together with the vice
presidential candidate.

 The President must be at least 35 years old, a natural-

born American citizen, and a resident of the United
States for 14 years.

 The Presidential candidate who gets 270 of them is

deemed to have won the elections.
 The race begins for the presidential candidates, who are
selected from among a large number of candidates (5-6
candidates can compete) by the Party Congresses, which
started in the spring of the election year.

 The Presidents who are nominated for the second time are
considered as the natural candidates of their party, since they
are still party leaders.
 Presidential elections are held on the Tuesday after the first
Monday in November. There are 538 members of Congress
(including 435 in the House of Representatives and 100 in
the Senate.

 With the 23rd amendment to the Constitution in 1961,

Washington D.C. was given the right to elect three second
voters, this number is 538). The Presidential candidate who
gets 270 of them is deemed to have won the elections.
 538 members of the Electoral College
270 electoral votes needed to win
 2020 ELECTION
 2016 ELECTION
 Joe Biden (Democratic)
 Hillary Clinton (Democratic)
 Running mate: Kamala Harris
 Running mate: Tim Kaine
 Electoral vote: 306  Electoral vote: 227
 Popular vote: 81,268,924  Popular vote: 65,853,514
 Percentage: 51.3%  Percentage: 48.2%

 Donald Trump (Republican)  Donald Trump (Republican)

 Running mate: Mike Pence  Running mate: Mike Pence
 Electoral vote: 232  Electoral vote: 304
 Popular vote: 74,216,154  [Popular vote: 62,984,828
 Percentage: 46.9%  Percentage: 46.1%
 PRESIDENTIAL POWERS
 War power
 Commander in chief of (Provide for the common armed forces
defense; declare war )
 Treaties
 Negotiate treaties (Ratification of treaties, by two-thirds majority of
the Senate)
 Appointments
 Nominate high-level government officials (Senate approve president’s
appointments)
 General powers
 Executive power; veto (Legislative power; power of the purse;
oversight and investigation)
 The president nominates and the Senate confirms (by a simple
majority) the appointments of Cabinet members, ambassadors, and
other high-level foreign policy officials.

 The President's Treaty-Making Power

 In Constitution, the President is authorized to make treaties with other

countries with the "approval and recommendation" of the Senate, and
that this will enter into force with the approval of the two-thirds
majority of the present members of the Senate.

 Executive agreements with other countries that do not require the

approval of the Senate.
 2. President's Appointment Authority

 In Constitution. The second part of the article II, includes the authority
of the President to appoint ambassadors, Constitutional Court judges,
other public officials and Consuls with the approval and recommendation
of the Senate.

 Based on this authority, the President can appoint cabinet members and
other senior public officials with the approval of the Senate.

 However, the President's national security adviser can be appointed

without the approval of the Senate.
 Reception of Foreign Ambassadors

 Section 3 of the article II deals with the President's power to receive

foreign ambassadors and other representatives.

 Normally, the establishment of diplomatic relations between any two

countries is primarily concerned with the realization of the exchange of
ambassadors and the opening of mutual embassies. Therefore,
diplomatic recognition of other countries falls within the jurisdiction of
the President, who has the power to receive ambassadors.

 Since Senate approval is not required to accept foreign ambassadors, the

President can use this authority as he wishes. Using this power, the
President can decide to which country is to be recognized or not.
 The president has broad authority to conduct foreign relations,
is generally considered to have the sole power of diplomatic
recognition.

 Congress also has an important role in legislating on foreign

affairs, and can, for example, "institute a trade embargo, declare
war upon a foreign government.

 The president may also negotiate and sign treaties, but ratifying
treaties requires the consent of two-thirds of the Senate.
 His Powers in Military Matters as Commander-in-Chief

 Section 2 of the article states that the President is the commander-in-

chief of all armed forces consisting of land, sea and air power, including
state soldiers.

 Based on this authority, the President can send the American armed
forces to another part of the world and bring the USA into a war.

 The President has the authority to relocate commanders and naval, air
and land forces units within the country, as well as to dispatch them to
places he deems appropriate.
 IMPEACHMENT
 The Constitution charges the House of Representatives with the “sole
power” to investigate, and if necessary, impeach a president by charging
them with committing “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and
Misdemeanors.”

 Once the House of Representatives votes and passes Articles of

Impeachment against the president, the president is then entitled to a
trial.
 Once impeached, the accused president is tried by the full Senate, which
is presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

 If convicted by a 2/3 majority, the president is then removed from

office.
 The history of impeachment

 Only two American presidents have been impeached. Andrew Johnson

was impeached in 1868 for allegedly illegally removing Secretary of War
Edwin M. Stanton.
 Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 two tiems (for allegedly lying under
oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice regarding an
extramarital affair.)
 Neither was convicted by the Senate.
 Richard Nixon likely would have been impeached in 1974 for his
connection to the Watergate scandal, but he resigned from office.
 Trump impeachment

 The House of Representatives of the 117th U.S. Congress adopted

one article of impeachment against Trump of "incitement of
insurrection", stating that he had incited the January 6 attack of
the U.S. Capitol.

 At the trial, 57 senators voted "guilty", which was less than the
two-thirds majority needed (67) to convict Trump, and 43 senators
voted "not guilty", resulting in Trump being acquitted of the
charges on February 13, 2021
 Legislative Branch/Congress
House of Representatives and Senate
117th Congress
 Congress Building/Capitol
 House of Representatives
 The 435 seats of the House grouped by state

 All 435 representatives serve a two-year term.

 Each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House.

 In order to be elected as a representative, an individual must be at

least 25 years of age, must have been a US citizen for at least seven
years, and must live in the state that they represent.

 In addition to the 435 voting members, there are 6 non-voting

members, consisting of 5 delegates and one resident commissioner.
 Senate
 In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state,
regardless of population.

 There are currently 100 senators (2 from each of the 50 states),

who each serve six-year terms.

 Approximately one-third of the Senate stands for election every

two years.
 Congressional Powers
 The Senate must approve many important presidential appointments,
including cabinet officers, federal judjes (including nominees to the
Supreme Court), department secretaries, U.S. military and naval
officers, and ambassadors to foreign countries.

 All legislative bills for raising revenue must originate in the House of
Representatives.

 The approval of both chambers is required to pass all legislation,

which then may only become law by being signed by the president
(or, if the president vetoes the bill, both houses of Congress then re-
pass the bill, but by a two-thirds majority of each chamber, in which
case the bill becomes law without the president's signature).
 Unlike other parliamentary regimes, both houses of Congress have
equal legislative powers, with some exceptions.

 More precisely, there is no relationship between the lower house and

the upper house, and both houses of the Congress are evaluated side by
side.

 Proposals for income-only and appropriations are first submitted to the

House of Representatives. On the other hand, the approval of treaties,
and appointment of cabinet members, senior bureaucrats and
ambassadors are carried out by the Senate.

 They use other powers together. Bills and resolutions on other issues,
including the declaration of war, can be discussed first in any of the
assemblies.
 117th Congress (2020-2022)

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN

2022 midterm election 199 227

Presidential Election2020 220 212

2018 midterm election 232 197

Presidential Election2016 193 235

 118th Congress(2023-2025)
Partisan composition, U.S. Senate Partisan composition, U.S. House

118th Congress
118th Congress

Party Members
Party Members

Democratic 51
Democratic 213
Republican 49

Independent 0 Republican 222

Vacancies 0 Vacancies

Total 100 Total 435

 Congressional committees (Senate)
Page:
Armed Services
Ethics (Select)
Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

Indian Affairs
Veterans' Affairs
Aging (Special)
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Energy and Natural Resources

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Rules and Administration

Committee on Appropriations
Foreign Relations
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Environment and Public Works

Intelligence (Select)
Budget
Finance
Congressional committees (House)
Page:

Foreign Affairs
House Administration
Education and the Workforce
Judiciary
Energy and Commerce
Financial Services
Appropriations

Armed Services
Ethics
Intelligence (Permanent Select)
Small Business
Oversight and Government Reform
Agriculture
Homeland Security
Committee on Rules
Ways and Means
Transportation and Infrastructure
Budget
Science, Space, and Technology
Veterans' Affairs
 Longevity.
 Polarization and party unity.
 Public discontent.
 INTEREST GROUPS AND PRESSURE GROUPS
 Interest groups are organized groups that have come together to realize some
common goals and sometimes take part in the political process.

 An interest group is a group that shares one or more common goals and
engages in a specific activity to protect, disseminate and develop their own
views and behavior in their society.

 Pressure groups are social groups that have come together within the
framework of a certain harmony and common purpose and try to influence
the political decision-making process.

 The will to use certain methods to realize the common interests and goals
shared by the members of the group.
 Difference Political and pressure groups

 Political parties are organizations whose main goal is to seize power,

and they want to be the government. Pressure groups, on the other
hand, mainly try to influence the political power within the framework
of their own interests, rather than trying to be in power.

 The American Bankers Association, the United States Chamber of

Commerce, the Portland Cement Association, the Life Insurance
Association, American Medical Association, and the American
Publishers Association are just a few of the tens of thousands of
organized interest groups in the US.

 In Turkey, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of

Türkiye (TOBB), Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) and Turkish
Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD)
 Lobby and trade firms
 Companies can work with more than one lobbying firm.
 This is mostly related to the areas of expertise of lobbying firms.
 Therefore, companies can benefit from more than one lobbying firm for
separate issues.
 For example, Exon works with five different law and consulting firms
out of its own office in Washington.

 The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrialization

Organization: AFL-CIO is one of the top organizations in the United
States in terms of lobbying spending.

 An organization that has been influential in Congress since 1955, the

AFL-CIO owes its success in lobbying to being well organized, well-
financed, and well-directed.
 LOBBY, LOBBYING
 Lobbying is a type of communication and information exchange that a
person who wants to influence decisions establishes to influence
people in government or decision-making process for their purposes.

 Lobbying is primarily an action aimed at decision-making bodies

related to the government (legislative and executive)

 All lobbying activities are planned and implemented to influence

government decisions.
 Federal Lobby Act of 1946
 Lobbying can be defined as a kind of communication that is planned to
influence government decisions by acting on behalf of a group or
community.
 In the Federal Lobby Act of 1946, “Any person who shall engage himself
for pay or for any consideration for the purpose of attempting to
influence the passage or defeat of any legislation by the Congress of the
United States shall register with the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate and shall give to those
officers his name and business address, the name and address of the
person by whom he is employed, and in whose interest he appears or
works, the duration of such employment, how much he is paid and is to
receive.
 Direct lobbying/Indirect lobbying (public relations or grassroots
lobbying)

 Washington's Successful Lobbyists: Former Congressmen and Retired

Bureaucrats.

 main purpose pursued in the regulation of lobbying has been to protect

public interests and to enable them to carry out their activities more
openly, rather than censoring them.
 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)

 According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), as

confirmed by later amendments, companies lobbying on behalf of
foreign countries are required to report their names to the
Department of Justice.

 Thus, the Congress aimed to inform the public about the activities of
many individuals, groups and institutions that affect the Congress and
national policy and also have a propaganda nature.

 This law in question underwent some changes in 1939, 1942, 1946,

1950, 1956, 1961 and 1966 without any change in its purpose.
 Lobbying methods
 Face to face
 Grassroots lobbying
 Send e mail and letters
 PR campaigns

 Coalitions and cooperation between Lobbies

 Financial support/contributions
 Financing/supporting election campaigns/fund rising, honororia, soft
Money
 well organizing, well-financing, and well-directing.

 PAC
 The US political system enables pressure groups and lobbies to access
the policymaking process and exert their influence on foreign policy.
Through their activities, these groups aim to become powerful
political players.
 In this regard, four major lobbies — namely Armenian, Greek, Jewish
and Turkish — play a significant role in shaping Turkish-American
relations.
 Despite them pursuing different agendas, these four lobbies have one
common goal: To protect the interests of their homeland by getting
the US on their side.
 October 29, 2019
 Congress moved forward with two bills today in rebuke of Turkey for its
incursion into northeastern Syria.
 The House easily passed a bipartisan Turkey sanctions package,
introduced by Reps. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Mike McCaul, R-Texas,
403-16. Shortly before that, House lawmakers also passed a symbolic
resolution 405-11 to recognize the World War I era massacre of more
than 1 million mostly Christian Armenians as a genocide.
 Congress last passed a resolution recognizing the 1915 massacre as a
genocide in 1984. While the House Foreign Affairs Committee has
occasionally advanced it since then, House leadership never put it on the
floor until today.
 No US president has used the term genocide to describe the
extermination since Ronald Reagan. President Barack Obama pledged to
do so on the 2008 campaign trail — only to avoid doing so in office in
the face of intense opposition from Turkey.
 December 14, 2020, the United States imposed sanctions on Turkey in
response to its acquisition of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system from
Rosoboronexport (ROE), Russia's defense export agency.

 The sanctions, which were issued under Section 231 of the Countering
America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), target Savunma
Sanayii Başkanlığı (SSB) (Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries) and
certain of its principal officers. SSB is a public institution affiliated with
the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey to manage the Turkish defense
industry and related procurements.
 In particular, SSB was added to the US Department of
Treasury's new Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions List (NS-
MBS List) and subjected to the following CAATSA sanctions:

 a prohibition on granting specific US export licenses and

authorizations (including from DDTC, BIS, or DOE) for any
goods or technology transferred to SSB;

 a prohibition on loans or credits by US financial institutions

to SSB totaling more than US$10 million in any 12-month
period;
 Ties between NATO allies Turkey and the U.S. were badly strained in
2019 over Ankara’s acquisition of the advanced S-400
Russian air defense system, prompting Washington to remove
Turkey from its F-35 Lightning II jet program.

 The U.S. argued that the system could be used by Russia to covertly
obtain classified details on the Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and is
incompatible with NATO systems. Turkey, however, insists that the S-
400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose
a threat to the alliance.
 Here are the key findings of the report:
 “11 [U.S. lobbying] organizations [were paid $5 million to register] under
FARA to work on Turkey’s behalf in 2020;
 Those organizations reported making 2,319 contacts on behalf of their Turkish
clients;
 568 [political] campaign contributions, totaling $526,177, were made by
those firms and their registered foreign agents;
 Among the five most active US firms hired by Turkey were:,
both of which ended their contracts with Turkey in October
2020 as a Result of pressure from Armenian-Americans
during last year’s attack on Artsakh by Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The other three firms are: Venable, LB International Solutions
and Capital Counsel.

 The latter also terminated its contract with the Turkish

government in April 2021. Nevertheless, as of September
2021, there are still 10 US lobbying firms hired by Turkey.
TURKISH LOBBIES
 ATAA
 FTAA
 Türk Çalışmaları Enstitüsü (ITS),
 Türk Amerikan Bilim Adamları Derneği (Association of
Turkish American Scientists. ATAS)
 Amerikan Türk Konseyi (ATC)
 Türkiye’nin Amerikalı Dostları (AFOT)
 Amerika Türk Koalisyonu (TCA: Turkish Coalition of
America)
 OTHER LOBBIES AGAINST TURKEY

 AIPAC, American Jewish Committee (AJC) ve American Jewish

Congress

 American Hellenic Institute: AHI),

 AHIPAC ve Amerikan Helen Enstitüsü Vakfı (American Hellenic
Institute Foundation: AHIF)

 Armanian Assembly of America: AAA) v

 Amerika Ermeni Ulusal Komitesi (Armanian National Committe
of America: ANCA) gelmektedir.
 US MIDDLE EAST POLICY
 The US policy towards the Middle East started with the realization of
the existence of oil in the region in the 1920s and, in parallel, the
involvement of American oil companies in the race for a share of the
oil privileges in the region.

 However, the military engagement of the USA with the region was
mainly due to World War II.

 It coincides with the post-World War II years, namely the Cold War
years. President Eisenhower stated in 1951 that West Asia was the
most important strategic region in the world. In fact, all the
presidents continued this tradition and drew attention to the
strategic and economic importance of the region.
 Until UK withdrew from the Gulf region in 1971, The task of
protecting the interests of the West in the region in a military sense was
belonged to Britain.
 USA increased its military and economic support to the countries of the
region by developing a two-pronged policy based on Iran and Saudi
Arabia.

 With the developments in 1979 (the Iranian Revolution and the invasion
of Afghanistan),the US bipedal policy collapsed. Because the USA had
lost Iran, which was the most fundamental element in this policy.
 At this point, Iraq was seen as a buffer country that could prevent
Iran's expansionist tendencies towards the region. Therefore, the
USA, which supported Iraq's war capabilities, made the Gulf
countries behave in the same way. (1980-88 Iran-Iraq War)

 On the other hand, in addition to the containtment policy of Iran

and Iraq, the security of oil and the continuation of control over
oil resources continued to be a basic policy for the USA
throughout the 1990s and even until the 2000s were to keep the
region and oil resources under the control of another power from
inside or outside.
 To maintain the current stability by protecting the traditional regimes,
which are American allies in the Gulf, against internal and external
threats

 To prevent real and potential threats to Israel's security, sovereignty

and territorial integrity and to use military force, if necessary, to
achieve all these goals.

 The power vacuum that emerged with the collapse of the Soviet
empire and the end of the Cold War led the new American
administration to add the purpose of world leadership.
 Now the primary goal of American governments was to become a
hegemonic power and to fulfill the necessary financial, political,
military and geographical conditions to maintain this position.

 In other words, to maintain the central position of the dollar in world

trade and the dominance of the USA in financial markets, and to gain
and maintain an advantage in areas where possible competitors can
compete; weakening the competitiveness of competitors, especially by
maintaining control over oil.

 To punish countries such as Iran and Syria, which pose a threat to US

 Israel factor in US Middle East Policy
 Israel and Jews as an important factor in US foreign policy. It goes
back to the early 1920s. The American Congress showed its support
for the Balfour Declaration with a decision taken in 1922. Two years
later, with an agreement with Britain in 1924, the USA obtained the
right to intervene in the implementation of the Balfour Declaration.

 Despite all the opposition of the Arab countries, the USA supported
Zionism. 56 percent of the Palestinian lands were given to the jewish
people to establishe independent state: The 1947 Partition Plan

 USA, as the first country to recognize without delay (after exactly

eleven minutes), showed that he was behind this new state.
 However, the support given by the USA to Israel reached incredible
amount especially after 1967.

 The most important indicator of this, the military and economic aid
provided was a significant increase. With this support from the United
States, Israel became a regional superpower. Its Gross National
Product is the largest among the Arab countries in the region and
equipped with the most modern and advanced technology.

 The main negative development for the Palestinians was the

occupation in the 1967 War.

 The rapid increase of new Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories

was to begin.
 The settler population increased exponentially since then, reaching
20,000 in 1982 and 1984.45,000, 80,000 in 1990, and 140,000 as we
approach the end of the 1990s.

 Ronald Reagan's press release as soon as he took Office that there is

no illegitimate side to the establishment of Jewish settlements.

 Bush in this policy desided to make a change, the Shamir

government's Jewish settlers10 billion dollars of housing loan demand
for housing needs.

 During the Obama era, One who did not abandon the settler policy,
even if it was postponed for only 10 months in 2010.
 The Israeli administration was relieved when Trump took office in
January 2017.
Although there are some ups and downs in their relations, there is no
problem in the relations between the two countries.

The most concrete expression of this is the increasing and continued

foreign aid, sending of American citizens to Israel providing serious
facilitation to aid, most importantly,

It is the alignment of US Middle East policy with Israel's interests.

 When it comes to Jewish organizations in the United States within the

Jewish lobby.
 The first ones that come to mind are AIPAC, American Jewish
Committee and American Jewish.
 But apart from these, Jewish War Veterans, InternationalAssociation of
Jewish Lawyers & Jurists, Jewish National Fund, Jewish StudyCenter,
B'Nai B'rith's Anti-Defamation League, Institute for Jewish
PolicyPlanning & Research and the National Council of Jewish Women
& Hadassah,are a few of the Jewish organizations operating in various
fields.

 However, at the head of the influential Jewish organizations in America,

An American who appears as a registered lobbyist pursuant to the
Federal Lobbying Act. AIPAC, whose name is frequently heard in every
issue related to Israel in politics, comes from AIPAC.
Truman Doctrine
 1-Reluctance of the Soviet Union for not withdrawing its
troops from Iran immediately after the World War II,
 2-Request from Turkey for joint control of the straits and a
base in this direction
 3-its support for the communists in the civil war in Greece.

 Britain, with the notes it gave to the American government

about Turkey and Greece, informed that the it could not
fulfill its traditional responsibilities to protect interests of the
West in the region, and that a Soviet attack could only be
prevented by effective American commitments.
 President Truman, in his speech to Congress on March 12, 1947,
declared that totalitarian regimes would impose themselves by
force if they were unwilling to help free people protect their
national integrity against aggressive movements, and that it is US
policy to support free people against internal and external
oppression.

 Truman therefore asked Congress to provide $400 million in

economic aid to Turkey and Greece, as well as to send American
civilian and military personnel to these countries.
PRESIDENTIAL DOCTRINES AND HISTORICAL
CONTEXT
 Eisenhower Doctrine
 The Nasser government announced on July 26, 1956 that it had
nationalized the Suez Canal Company to finance the Aswan Dam.

 Britain, France and Israel had agreed to attack Egypt within the
framework of a joint plan. As planned, after Israel's invasion of the
Sinai region on October 29, Britain and France also invaded Egypt on
October 31.

 Upon the increase of Soviet influence in the region after the Suez
Crisis, President Eisenhower declared the doctrine known by his
name. Eisenhower, in his message to Congress on January 5, 1957,
called the Eisenhower Doctrine
 Congress Accepted a Law on March 1957

 1) Economic aid to Middle Eastern countries that strive for economic

development to maintain their independence;

 2) providing military aid to countries that request them;

 3) the use of American armed forces against an open armed attack

from any state under the control of international communism and if
the countries of the region so desire.
 Nixon Doctrine
 Shortly after Richard M. Nixon took office in January 1969, with the
impact of Vietnam's burden, he initiated a major change in the US's
Gulf policy.

 report, which began with President Nixon's statement on the Island

of Guam on February 25, 1969, hence the so-called Guam Doctrine,
later sent to Congress on February 18, 1970.

 The essence of the Nixon Doctrine was that the United States would
no longer directly intervene militarily in regional conflicts and would
instead provide military and economic aid.
 After that, this policy dominated the period until the Iranian Revolution
in 1979 and the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. However, it was
emphasized that any power in the region to dominate or increase its
influence in a way that would upset the balance would jeopardize the
security of oil and the interests of the West in the region, and it would
be against the interests of the United States.
 Carter Doctrine
 Apart from the developments in Afghanistan and Iran, other
developments also affected the American policy, which started with the
Nixon Doctrine.

 The regime shifted a little more to the Soviets with a pro-Soviet coup in
South Yemen (PDRY) in 1979

 the Somoza administration in Nicaragua was overthrown by the

Sandinistas in 1979.

 The departure of Turkey and Pakistan from CENTO after the

developments in Iran, and the unsuccessful attempt to rescue the
hostages in Iran in 1980 forced the USA to reconsider its policy towards
the region.
 In his speech to Congress on January 23, 1980, Carter stated,

 “Any intervention by any foreign power to seize control of the Persian

Gulf will be considered an attack on the vital interests of the United
States, and such an attack will be resisted by any means necessary,
including military force.

 Along with the Carter Doctrine, as mentioned above, the policy based
on the Nixon Doctrine was abandoned, and it was decided to defend
the allied and friendly countries in the region and to increase the
defense expenditures of the USA in this direction.

 Within this framework, the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force

(RDJTF) was formed as a result of the work carried out from
December 1979 to February 1980 and took its formal form.
 The purpose of the Joint Task Force/or RDF was to keep a military
force with high mobility and the ability to fight in desert conditions in
the Gulf region, in order to intervene when necessary, in addition to
political initiatives.

 This force, headquartered in Florida, which consisted of 200,000 ready

forces and 100,000 reservists at the first stage and whose number
increased rapidly due to the subsequent crises.

 The Rapid Response Force, or later CENTCOM, was used extensively

in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Operation Desert Fox in
December 1998, and most recently in Operation Iraqi Freedom in
March 2003 for the invasion of Iraq.
 Bush Doctrine
 George W. Bush was determining the principles of American policy,
which will be referred to as the Bush Doctrine, by giving the following
messages in the joint session of the Congress on September 27, 2001:

 All resources at our disposal, any intelligence tool, any legal sanction,
any financial impact. and we will destroy the global terrorist network
by using all kinds of weapons.

 States, wherever in the world, must make a decision: are you with us or
with the terrorists? From today on, a state that continues to harbor and
support terrorists will be considered a hostile regime to the United
States.
 The basic character of the new military strategy of the USA:
 preemptive strike and preventive war
 Unilateralism
 War on terrorism

 After 9/11, the USA has also made clear with its practices that it
prefers unilateral action to multilateral cooperation. In December
2001, Bush announced that he was unilaterally leaving the ABM (Anti-
Ballistic Missile) Agreement, and that he would not ratify the Kyoto
Treaty and the Convention of the International Criminal Court.

 In late 2001 US and its allies invaded Afghanistan

 Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya became possible targets

 INVASION OF IRAQ

 On February 6, 2003, Powell tried to persuade the Security Council

with demonstrative fabricated evidence. At the same time, Secretary
of Defense Rumsfeld stated that the attack on Iraq was part of the
global war on terrorism.

 However, in the post-invasion period of Iraq, it was understood from

the results of the study carried out by about 1,000 scientists, including
CIA experts, weapons of mass destruction were not found in Iraq.

 Again, after the war, it was admitted that Iraq's connection with the
terrorists could not be proven.
 TURKISH- AMERICAN RELATIONS
 Turkey as a US ally in the Cold War era became very important in
preventing the Soviet threat to the Middle East and Europe.

 In this context, Turkey as an important NATO member has been the

second largest military power in size. So Turkey's position and policy
were so important that any change in this policy could cause to
destroy all the balances in the region in favor of the Soviet Union.

 Turkey became a very important part of the Western Bloc for security
and political reasons stem from the structure of the international
system. In this bipolar system, the USA as a leader of the Western Bloc
was very dominant to determine the relations.
 Cuba Crisis in 1962
 Johnson Letter in 1964
 Cprus peace operation and ambargo tu Turkey

 During the 1974 Turkish involvement to Cyprus, the American

Congress applied the embargo to Turkey.

 But some developments at the end of the 70s such as Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan and Iranian Islamic revolution, the importance of Turkey
became very high for the alliance and the United States.
 Particularly invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR and the fall of Shah in
Iran in 1979 drastically changed the general context of the regional and
international balance of power in favor of Soviet Russia while the
United States lost its valuable ally and its strategic predominance in the
Middle East.

 These new developments upset the detente and once again a new Cold
War discourse became dominant in the international relations.

 This decade lasted until the end of the 1980s was called a second cold
war in the literature of political science.
 As a result of these developments began in 1979, US Government left
the political and military strategy depend on the Nixon Doctrine which
was introduced as a response of the Vietnam conflict that White House
lost many friends and gained many new re-actions even from the inside
of the USA, so replaced it in 1980 with the Carter Doctrine aimed at to
increase military deployments in overseas

 Such developments instigated to change American strategy also brought

Ankara and Washington closer to each other to undertake joint
initiatives against new emerged threats in the regional and global
context, since the latest developments rapidly increased Turkey’s
strategic importance in the eyes of Washington government.
 Particularly during the first Iraqi crises even though the end of the
Cold War and the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989, Turkey continued to take
itself as a strategic partner of the United States, and gave full support
by coordinating its policy with the US government.

 In contrast to the Second Iraqi crises, both sides became as good allies,
communicated with each other for Iraq and channels were open to
coordinate the policies.

 In the early years of the 1980s some important developments took

place in the wake of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.

 But, because of the ending of Iran-Iraq war and Soviet invasion of

Afghanistan in the late 1980s American interests in bolstering Turkey's
defensive effort has reversed itself to reach new lows.
 In 1990, Turkey as a strategically located power immediately
responded when Iraq invaded Kuwait, supported UN sanctions
and closed two pipelines.

 Turkey participated all the stages of Gulf Crisis to get Iraqi

government to left Kuwait and in this connection, Özal government
fully supported all the UN resolutions for sanctions on Iraq and even
closed the Kirkuk-Yumurtalık pipeline and joined to the international
coalition and provided the ports and air bases to be deployed for the
same goal.
 Turkey as encouraging adopting of the resolution of 688 aimed at to
provide a safe haven and to prevent the assaults of Iraqi forces against
Kurdish people, also provided its territory to achieve such goals of the
United Nations and the USA government.

 In this context, Turkey which provided all the assistance to the US

government to be successful against Saddam Hussein to contain and/or
not to be a threat, as noted above suffered more than $3 billion annually
for 13 years, but wasn’t compensated by the White House.

 Turkey gave full support to the American’s Iraq policy and continued to
extend the duration of the activities of Operation Provide Comfort
which was called as Operation Northern Watch after 1996.
 During and after 9/11, Turkey promised to cooperate against all kinds
of terrorism and actively participated in American lead NATO
operation to Afghanistan for eight years.

 However, Turkey and the United States couldn’t coordinate their

policies during the second Iraqi crisis, especially since Washington
didn’t give much importance to Turkish concerns about the post-
Saddam Iraqi structure to be shaped.

 American government’s reluctance not to share post-Saddam agenda

with Turkey, scared Turkish civil and military bureaucracy having much
concern about the groving influence of PKK and affliated groups in the
southeast of Turkey.
 Bush and Turkish American Relation
 As a result of lack of policy coordination and Turkish suspicion about
the American prospective policies in Iraq, on 1 March 2003, Turkish
parliament refused to accept to allow the American forces to use Turkish
lands to attack from the north to Iraq.

 While this development known as 1 March crises shocked the American

side and created the trauma in American policymakers, the Turkish side
also was inflamed by the detention of Turkish Special Forces in
Suleimania, Northern Iraq. As a result of these developments, American
favorability decreased from 44 percent to the single digest such as 9
percent in Turkey.

 The relations between both sides strained time to time during or after
the Iraqi operation.
 After Bush's re-election in November 2004, new Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice's Turkey visit during the first trip on 5-6 February
2005, and Prime Minister Erdogan's visit to the US on 8-9 June 2005,
didn’t change picture but these were important developments in terms
of repairing the relations. The parties pointed out that relations would
continue in the context of strategic partnership.

 November 5, 2007, meeting between Bush and Erdogan in the White

House should be viewed as a new phase for relations.

 This meeting was a historical turning point in the relations between the
two countries. The joint statement made after the summit stated that
the PKK was a common enemy by the parties and would be fought
together. Bush promised that the American and Turkish militaries
would work together to fight the PKK
 As stated by the Bush and Clinton administrations, American
administration especially viewed the Turkish model as an important
influence in the political development of democratic and secular states
in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

 The Bush administration hoped that Turkey would become the

stabilizing force in crumbling Central Asia.

 Despite some positive developments as fighting with PKK and finding a

common vision which was called as strategic partnership, between
Turkey and the United States, suspicion was available instead of
confidence during George W. Bush-era.
 Obama Administration
 Obama's first official visit realized to Turkey in 2009 was considered a
positive start and the importance given to Turkey as well as it was
interpreted to give a message to the Muslim World through Turkey.

 Despite, Bush confronted all Muslims by using concept of “war on

terrorism," Obama was careful not to use the concepts of terrorism
and Islam side by side.

 The Gaza incidents that occurred while Obama was preparing to take
power, and what happened in Davos on January 29, 2009, caused
anxiety in Washington in the first stage, but it did not affect Turkish-
American relations yet.
 The Washington visit, held by Prime Minister Erdogan in
December 2009, was historical importance in terms of moving the
relations between the two countries to a new stage. Bilateral
relations were expressed with the concept of "model
partnership", which emphasizes soft power and evokes relations
between equals.

 However, the developments in May-June 2010 caused some doubts

in the relations between the parties. The first was the Tehran
Declaration or other name Nuclear Swap Agreement which was
signed on 17 May 2010 through Brazil and Turkey. This
development caused a new tension in Turkish-American relations
due to the reaction of the US.
 The next development was that Israel attacked Gaza flotilla and the
Mavi Marmara ship carrying Turkish flags on May 31, 2010 and killed
9 Turks.

 The United States did not show to these developments a significant

response, even its assessment was within the framework of Israel's
right to defend. But it was pointing to a deep divide both in Turkey-
Israel and Turkey-US relations, and Turkey withdraw its ambassador in
Tel Aviv and canceled all military exercises with Israel.