The image of America in the Turkish Public opinion (1945-1980)

The close relationship between the Republic of Turkey and the United States of America, which began in the last year of the World War II, was accelerated after a visit paid by the American battleship Missouri in 1946. In public opinion, this visit was generally perceived as a support for Turkey against the USSR. The succeeding Korean War and the admission of Turkey to NATO are the incidents that contributed to the positive image of America. In this period, America was represented in Turkish public opinion by means of a number of expressions, such as "the Fortress of the Free World / Democracy", "the Guardian of Democracy", "a Friendly and Confederate" country.However, the President Johnson's letter which prohibited Turkey's intervention to Cyprus, following the turmoil in the island, is a significant incident that led to the questioning of this relationship.The idea that America exploited the privileges it obtained from Turkey, using them out of the limits of NATO agreement, caused a number of issues, previously regarded as insignificant, to enter the agenda in public opinion. The news that Turkish officials do not have access to the American bases in Turkey and the legal and customs privileges of American personnel disturbed the Turkish society, which was experiencing serious social and economic hardships at that time.Turkey, which pursued a foreign policy along the axes of NATO and the USA for many years, could not see America by its side whenever it needed a foreign support. In addition, the role played by America in the prohibition of poppy cultivation caused the negative image of America to have more proponents within Turkish society. After the arms embargo decided by the Congress of the USA immediately succeeding the Peace Operation in Cyprus, a considerable opposition to America emerged in Turkey. At that particular stage, for some members of Turkish society, America was not "the Friendly and Confederate" state any longer. Instead, it was began to be called "the Ugly America."