Turkish-U.S. Relations: Beautiful Life but Ugly Policy

While Turkish public opinion toward the United States and the Obama administration had improved since 2010, the attitudes of the Turkish population had generally been unfavorable toward the United States for the last decade or so. Before the new millennium, however, Turks had a favorable opinion of the United States. What changed? Only when we examine U.S.-Turkish alliance relations from their beginnings in 1946 until today can we understand why Turkish public opinion was favorable for a long time and then changed for the worse recently. This brief examines that history.

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