The "Power of Argument" or the "Argument of Power"

The recent incident in Davos World Economic Forum panel discussion at the end which the prime Minister of Turkey Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan demonstratively walked off the stage after a fierce exchange with both the Israeli president Shimon Peres and panel moderator David Ignatius, is a clear indicator of the widening gap in the relations between Muslims and the West.

"Mr. Peres, you are older than me... Your voice comes out in a very high tone. And the high tone of your voice has to do with a guilty conscience. My voice, however, will not come out in the same tone. said Erdogan resisting efforts by panel moderator Ignatius to end the session. "When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill." responded Turkish prime minister Erdogan. "And so Davos is over for me from now on," he said before gathering up his papers and leaving the session.

Mr. Erdogan's performance was just an impulse felt overwhelmingly within Muslim world over not just the crimes committed against civilians by Israeli forces in recent Gaza invasion but the cynical stance of the US and most European (some UK newspapers are brave exception!) mainstream media during and (after?) the conflict in which they barely dare to air anything that criticized Israel's disproportional use of force and targeting civilians.

The futile narrative of the "argument of power" passionately expressed by Peres, on the other hand, is nothing new. We had a chance to see, read and hear it being repeated all over the way on the track of hegemonic forces of western media. Horror like pictures of Gaza's children and women massacred by most advanced military weapons in he history of warfare simply did not fit with the vain argument pattern of "war on terror" "What would you do if your "TOWN" or "COUNTRY" is shelled with rockets?" was the precisely tailored justification aired across the West for the minds of humans to swallow this paradoxical setting: killing of civilians with the argument of self-defense.

"The power of argument" seems to have lost its place and meaning in the West! That the contrary is the case was clearly manifested with Mr. Ignatius, associate editor of Washington Post, a moderator of the panel who gave Mr. Peres double Erdogan's time to noisily defend its countries military moves in Gaza. The Davos incident and the deteriorating state of dialogue between Muslim world and the West is both disappointing and worrying even in the wake new impetus brought by the election of President Barack Obama and the swift appointment of an American special envoy, George Mitchell to help re-engage United States in the Middle East peace process. However, a huge question now hangs over the political future of Middle East. After so blatant disrespect and misuse of trust witnessed by those from Muslim world who were directly engaged in the dialogue and mediation of the Middle East conflict - who will and on what grounds be prepared to engage in future if the "argument of power" is put on the frontward?

Shortly after return to Istanbul Mr. Edrogan stated that his people would have expected the same reaction from any Turkish prime minister. "This was a matter of the esteem and prestige of my country. Hence my reaction had to be clear. I could not have allowed anyone to poison the prestige and in particular the honor of the Turkish Republic," he added. Erdogan was proclaimed as a "delegate of the oppressed" from the crowds who gathered to greet him at Istanbul's Ataturk airport.

However, the Davos incident might have been predicted if his earlier address in Bussels is reviewed. As news agencies reported Erdogan, speaking on a visit to the European Union headquarters in Brussels, on Januray, 19. 2009., described the violence in Gaza as a "tragedy" and urged the international community not to marginalize Hamas after its war with Israel. He also strongly criticized Israel for having showed a lack of respect for Turkey. He strongly denounced the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip and added his disappointment by the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Olmert had given no warning of the coming offensive. Revealing that he had had six hours of talks with Olmert at the end of December, during which they discussed the Turkish mediation between Israel and Syria he sadly remarked: "But no mention was ever made during these discussions with Mr. Olmert about Gaza, and three or four days later he should have contacted me... Not only did he not contact me, but we then discovered, December 27, that Israel had started to bomb Gaza."

It was not just personal disrespect having in mind that Turkey and Israel have long enjoyed close diplomatic relations, but more importantly the lack of respect that clearly touched the issue of honor. After all its efforts and high-level missions dispatched to Middle East to mediate between Israel and Syria, in arrogant way as was showed in Davos, Turkey was once more slapped from Israel - a chance to finally reconsider its role in the Middle East and try to engage with more honest and reliable allies.

 Autor: Mr. Mirnes Kovač

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