NATO and Turkey in Afghanistan and Central Asia: Possibilities and Blind Spots

Turkey's role in the ongoing revision of the Euro-Atlantic security framework has ranged from vague to problematic. This has paralleled Turkey's protracted and equally problematic application for EU membership. Turkish dissatisfaction with this treatment has been forcefully expressed through the rejection of the Berlin Plus agreement. This paper argues that this course is counterproductive. The Euro-Atlantic security alliance needs Turkish cooperation and collaboration as much as Turkey needs it, particularly with respect to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Mutual policy “blind spots” can be eliminated if the stakeholders can focus on substantive policy goals rather than near-term disputes based on cultural disconnect.