Memory of Sheridan hinders positive US agenda for Turkey

Since the recent visit of the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis to Ankara, there is a growing sense that Washington is desperately in search of some confidence building measures to ease tensions with Turkey. The ever-rising anti-Americanism in Turkey is one of the key factors behind this tension, which is urging Washington to revisit a relationship that has become increasingly "transactional" in recent years. 

However, a second indictment from a grand jury over the role of 15 members of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's security detail in a brawl during his official visit to Washington in May dropped a bombshell. For Ankara, the unexpected part of the indictment, which was handed down a few days ago, was the inclusion by a grand jury of Muhsin Köse, the head of Erdoğan's security team. The indictment suggests that the aggressive pushing of the police cordon by Erdoğan's security detail started right after Köse communicated with others via earpieces. 

This puts Köse on the list of the Turkish guards who cannot travel to the U.S. without facing the risk of arrest. Erdoğan will undoubtedly see this as a sign of malevolence just weeks before his planned visit to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly meetings. As yet there is no sign that Erdoğan may cancel his visit for the meetings, and indeed such a boycott would hurt the interests of nobody but Turkey. At a time when all stakeholders will be discussing the parameters of a post-conflict Syria, ensuring the absence of the Turkish president would definitely not be a wise move. 

But it would be worse to go to New York in a psychology of retaliation. The Turkish security team that will accompany Erdoğan during the visit should be strictly educated on the boundaries of their assignment....