just read this on a turkish newspaper
When President Clinton visited Turkey in December 1999, he won a lot of hearts by visiting the earthquake victims and mingling with the crowds. At one point I believe he even grabbed a baby from the crowd and kissed him to the amazement and delight of many Turks. President Bush's current trip to Turkey is taking place in a radically different environment of super-tight security and paranoia.
This is the first time ever I've heard that the U.S. Secret Service is taking a special toilet unit to Turkey just for Mr. Bush's private use so that the terrorists won't have access to the presidential fecal matter and thus his DNA. Washington was concerned that such DNA could be used to produce chemical or biological weapons targeting specifically the U.S. President. The security in Turkey is that tight.
Mr. Bush is not a very popular figure in Turkey right now. The majority of the Turks perceive him as a reckless politician who lied his way into Iraq to secure oil and business profits for the fat cats of the American establishment. That's the common perception. However, no matter what his popularity is, the visit of an American president is still an important event, especially when the troublesome developments in Iraq suggest certain possible consequences that would effect Turkey directly. Hence this visit will certainly witness some tough negotiations between Ankara and Washington.
Daily Hurriyet's Cuneyt Ulsever brought another macro angle to President Bush's visit by suggesting that, regardless of what the Turks think of Mr. Bush as a person and a politician, they should not forget two things: A) Nations have interests, not friends. B) Turkey does have her trumps cards that she should use courageously and wisely. Ulsever's top trump card is the American need to control the Middel East oil and the impossibility of doing so on her own. Even though Turkey may not be able to control the fate of northern Iraq, she can neverthless get her share from the control of Iraqi resources by negotiating with America from such a position of strength. The rest of the story seems to depend on how well the provisional Iraqi government will be able to bring the security situation under control in Iraq, which would effect the degree to which Barzani and Talabani forces will slide towards "autonomy," and which in turn will determine the Turkish response. And here I have not even mentioned the very sensitive issue of Kirkuk yet.
That's why I think that while the NATO Summit in Istanbul is an international event of utmost significance, in terms of impacting Turkey's short-term policy in Iraq and Cyprus, it is probably little more than a sideshow.
http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=21679