What's going on here? No doubt the Turkish press, as accused, leaves a lot to be desired in terms of its penchant for conspiracies and high-flown rhetoric. No doubt there is continuing tension between the U.S. and Turkey over the Turkish decision not to allow the U.S. use of its territory for the invasion of Iraq. No doubt the Erdogan government of Turkey still pays a price for its Islamist roots.
 
But where is the perspective, particularly from those who support the President's initiative for reform and democratization in the Middle East?
 
Let us remember: Turkey is a democratic state that has taken necessary reform measures to qualify for E.U. membership consideration. Rather than being treated as if it's one of those Middle East countries that needs targeting by a world that is tired of authoritarian regimes, Turkey should be viewed as a model for emerging democracies in the region. After all, Turkey, like most of the states in the area, has an overwhelming Muslim majority in its population makeup.  Unlike the rest, however, it has been and continues to be under the current government, a country that respects the Islamic faith of its citizens but rules by secular, democratic principles.
 
Turkey's uniqueness in the Muslim Middle East doesn't stop there. Its manifold relations with the state of Israel make it probably the second most important relationship that the Jewish state has. This relationship benefits the western world in general and the United States in particular.
 
First, it reassures Israel that it is not impossible for a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim to have normal relations with the Jewish state. Just contrast Turkey to Egypt, the first Arab country to make official peace with Israel. Turkey has military dealings with Israel, including sales of equipment, maintenance processes and training exercises. Israelis travel to Turkey for vacations in the thousands every year. There is an easiness in the relationship.
 
With Egypt, Israel has a cold peace and worse, though recently there are the first signs in years of a thaw. Egyptians are pressured not to have anything to do with Israel and after an initial eagerness (following the peace treaty in 1981) by Israelis to visit and hopefully to do business in Egypt, discouragement set in.

In sum, the Turkish relationship with Israel is beneficial because the ability of Israel to make concessions directly depends on its perception of its acceptance in the region. Turkey is the model for that kind of acceptance.
  
Secondly, from an American strategic and diplomatic perspective, the high level of Turkish-Israeli relations offers great benefits. One example of that is the pressure that comes to bear on the Syrian regime, where both Israel and Turkey add to that of the U.S.
 
It is hard to imagine that those who have engaged in this apparently coordinated condemnation of Turkey would disagree about the interests that are served by a strong U.S.-Turkish relationship. Instead, they argue that Turkey today is a fundamentally different country than the one which has been a U.S. for decades. This is an unwarranted conclusion.
  
Even those issues that the critics bring to bear to make their case for Turkey leaving the fold are more complex than alleged. While the conspiracy theories about U.S. intentions about the Kurds in Iraq are unwarranted and deserve criticism, Turkey's concerns about Kurdish nationalism, particularly in light of continued PKK terrorism should evoke conservative sympathy.

The same can be said about Cyprus, where it was the Turkish north which voted for the UN solution and the Greek south which turned it down. This is not to support the Turkish side in this dispute as much as to suggest that it's too easy simply to paint Turkey as the bad guy.
 
Clearly, there are issues between the U.S. and Turkey which need to be addressed. But, like the differences between the Bush Administration and our West European allies, this should be done in a constructive manner on both sides, rather than the hysterical approach reflected in these articles. In a changing Middle East, at a time of great hopes for change but also continuing possibilities of instability and terrorism, the U.S.-Turkish relationship should remain an anchor.