Post by Bozur on Apr 10, 2005 0:39:43 GMT -5
Fiction or fixation?
‘Metal Storm,’ a novel on war with US, is a Turkish best seller
AP
Turkish authors Orkun Ucar (l) and Burak Turna (r) stand next to the advertisement posters of their book ‘Metal Storm’ in Istanbul on Tuesday. Turkey’s hot new best seller opens in the year 2007, with US troops in northern Iraq firing on a group of Turkish commandos, setting off a war between the two NATO allies.
By Louis Meixler - The Associated Press
ISTANBUL - It’s the year 2007, and US troops in northern Iraq fire on a group of Turkish commandos, setting off a war between the two NATO allies.
US tanks quickly pour across the Iraqi border into Turkey, annihilating Turkish forces while US warplanes target Istanbul. A Turkish agent, acting on his own initiative, exacts his revenge. He detonates a nuclear bomb in a park in Washington that levels the US capital.
Turkey’s new hot-selling novel is “Metal Storm,” and although it is pure thriller, it highlights the deep fears of many Turks that the US invasion of Iraq will put the decades-long allies on a collision course.
The mood of suspicion has become so serious that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a meeting with Turkish leaders earlier this month, raised concerns about the negative image of the United States in Turkey, diplomats said.
The book is “fiction but in Turkey everyone is questioning whether there will eventually be a conflict between America and Turkey,” Cem Kucuk, an editor at Timas Yayinlari, the book’s publisher, said in an interview Tuesday.
During the Cold War, Turkey and the United States saw their alliance as crucial to stopping possible Soviet expansion. But now, the critical security issue to both countries is Iraq, where the two sides have vital interests that could conflict.
A turning point for Turkey came in 2003 when US forces seized 11 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraqi that they suspected of plotting to assassinate a top Iraqi Kurdish official. US soldiers handcuffed the Turks and put sacks on over their heads, which many Turks considered an extreme humiliation.
“There is a perception that the United States is encouraging... Kurds in Iraq and they are not taking into account the concerns of the Turkish government,” said Sami Kohen, a columnist for the Milliyet newspaper.
Criticism of US policies is hardly new in Turkey and has long been championed by leftist and pro-Islamic groups.
Turkish newspapers have recently been filled with stories of increasing tensions. Kohen said that in questions he has fielded at recent lectures and conferences, the US “is being portrayed more as a hostile country than an ally.”
Also at issue is the fact that Turkey’s ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, has its roots in the Islamic movement, whose members have sometimes identified more with besieged Iraqis than with the US.
“The (party’s) base is radically anti-American and is very sensitive to populist policies,” columnist Cuneyt Ulsever wrote in the Turkish Daily News.
And many Turks fear that the US may soon provoke a conflict with neighboring Iran, further inflaming tensions in the region.
A BBC World Service poll taken in 21 countries showed a chart-topping 82 percent of Turks felt that Bush’s re-election was a negative for global peace and security. In France the figure was 75 percent.
“It is impossible not to see the anti-American movement’s rise,” columnist Ismet Berkan wrote in the daily Radikal.
Turkish officials have been working hard to blunt the hostility on the street and have recently emphasized the importance of the relationship with the US.
In Brussels, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was asked about anti-American sentiments.
“Let’s not focus on this but on making friends,” Erdogan said after meeting with Bush Tuesday.
Burak Turna, co-author of the book, says he wrote “Metal Storm” to try to prevent a US-Turkish clash.
“Our message to the United States is that we don’t want chaos in the region,” said Turna, who worked for a small US textile company before writing the book. “The book is not anti-American but is a criticism of US policy and shows how things could end up if we continue on this way.” The book has sold 100,000 copies in just two months, a record in Turkey, Kucuk said, and six of Turkey’s largest bookstores say the book is one of their top 10 sellers.
www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=53340
‘Metal Storm,’ a novel on war with US, is a Turkish best seller
AP
Turkish authors Orkun Ucar (l) and Burak Turna (r) stand next to the advertisement posters of their book ‘Metal Storm’ in Istanbul on Tuesday. Turkey’s hot new best seller opens in the year 2007, with US troops in northern Iraq firing on a group of Turkish commandos, setting off a war between the two NATO allies.
By Louis Meixler - The Associated Press
ISTANBUL - It’s the year 2007, and US troops in northern Iraq fire on a group of Turkish commandos, setting off a war between the two NATO allies.
US tanks quickly pour across the Iraqi border into Turkey, annihilating Turkish forces while US warplanes target Istanbul. A Turkish agent, acting on his own initiative, exacts his revenge. He detonates a nuclear bomb in a park in Washington that levels the US capital.
Turkey’s new hot-selling novel is “Metal Storm,” and although it is pure thriller, it highlights the deep fears of many Turks that the US invasion of Iraq will put the decades-long allies on a collision course.
The mood of suspicion has become so serious that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a meeting with Turkish leaders earlier this month, raised concerns about the negative image of the United States in Turkey, diplomats said.
The book is “fiction but in Turkey everyone is questioning whether there will eventually be a conflict between America and Turkey,” Cem Kucuk, an editor at Timas Yayinlari, the book’s publisher, said in an interview Tuesday.
During the Cold War, Turkey and the United States saw their alliance as crucial to stopping possible Soviet expansion. But now, the critical security issue to both countries is Iraq, where the two sides have vital interests that could conflict.
A turning point for Turkey came in 2003 when US forces seized 11 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraqi that they suspected of plotting to assassinate a top Iraqi Kurdish official. US soldiers handcuffed the Turks and put sacks on over their heads, which many Turks considered an extreme humiliation.
“There is a perception that the United States is encouraging... Kurds in Iraq and they are not taking into account the concerns of the Turkish government,” said Sami Kohen, a columnist for the Milliyet newspaper.
Criticism of US policies is hardly new in Turkey and has long been championed by leftist and pro-Islamic groups.
Turkish newspapers have recently been filled with stories of increasing tensions. Kohen said that in questions he has fielded at recent lectures and conferences, the US “is being portrayed more as a hostile country than an ally.”
Also at issue is the fact that Turkey’s ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, has its roots in the Islamic movement, whose members have sometimes identified more with besieged Iraqis than with the US.
“The (party’s) base is radically anti-American and is very sensitive to populist policies,” columnist Cuneyt Ulsever wrote in the Turkish Daily News.
And many Turks fear that the US may soon provoke a conflict with neighboring Iran, further inflaming tensions in the region.
A BBC World Service poll taken in 21 countries showed a chart-topping 82 percent of Turks felt that Bush’s re-election was a negative for global peace and security. In France the figure was 75 percent.
“It is impossible not to see the anti-American movement’s rise,” columnist Ismet Berkan wrote in the daily Radikal.
Turkish officials have been working hard to blunt the hostility on the street and have recently emphasized the importance of the relationship with the US.
In Brussels, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was asked about anti-American sentiments.
“Let’s not focus on this but on making friends,” Erdogan said after meeting with Bush Tuesday.
Burak Turna, co-author of the book, says he wrote “Metal Storm” to try to prevent a US-Turkish clash.
“Our message to the United States is that we don’t want chaos in the region,” said Turna, who worked for a small US textile company before writing the book. “The book is not anti-American but is a criticism of US policy and shows how things could end up if we continue on this way.” The book has sold 100,000 copies in just two months, a record in Turkey, Kucuk said, and six of Turkey’s largest bookstores say the book is one of their top 10 sellers.
www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=53340