The United States, and we Americans, have no better friends out there than Turkey and the Turks. They stood by us during the Korean War (1950-53) and, as a staunch NATO ally, contributed in substantial ways to the West’s victory in the Cold War (1947-1990). Now Turkey is a natural to provide leadership for the development of a stable, democratic Middle East. Instead of blindly putting all our eggs in the Israeli basket, we should encourage and enable this good friend to assume that natural leadership role.

Turkey knows the neighborhood; she has lived there for centuries, surrounded by a pesky set of neighbors: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Bulgaria, Russia and now a collection of restless former Soviet republics.

Turkey maintains active diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel, the only Muslim country to do so. Though she cannot match the billions of dollars the United States has invested in Israel over the years, Turkey may be better positioned than the United States to bring Israel to its senses.

Living next door to Iran, Turkey shares our concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Victimized repeatedly by international terrorist operations on Turkish territory, Turkey is extremely well qualified as a partner in the global struggle against international terrorism.

The United States has not always been a loyal friend to Turkey. In 1974, we disappointed her with our presumptuous overreaction to events on Cyprus. Now, as we profess our hope to see an end to the current violence in the Middle East, and the establishment of stability and democracy in that perennially troubled region, let’s put our confidence in the one partner best qualified to make it happen.

We should not be distracted by Turkey’s understandable decision in 2003 to attach a higher priority to protecting its national borders than to allowing U.S. forces to launch a ground attack from Turkey into Iraq. To have done so would have brought the wrath of Saddam Hussein down on eastern Turkey.

A1996 paper prepared for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the Jerusalem-based Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies urged a national strategy for Israel that includes close cooperation with Turkey.

Here’s hoping current Israeli policy-makers are inclined to follow that good advice.

Robert M. Sargent is a former U.S. diplomat whose overseas assignments included Turkey (1981-83), Bulgaria (1972-74) and Tunisia (1985-88). He lives in Sargentville.