The Johnson Letter

The Johnson Letter was a letter sent by the President of the USA, Lyndon B. Johnson, to the Prime Minister of Turkey, İsmet İnönü, on June 5, 1964, to prevent Turkey's intervention in Cyprus. The letter is described as the first hitch in the United States-Turkey relations. Although its existence was known from the first day, it was officially revealed to the Turkish public in 1966.

As the conflicts in Cyprus escalated and the Greek Cypriot side decided to take up arms on June 2, 1964, the Turkish government announced its decision to land in Cyprus and started the necessary preparations. Military activity began to increase in Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. The USA, which was disturbed by the developments, found the war in the region contrary to its strategic interests. Therefore, the US side felt the need to step in. The famous letter signed by President Johnson and later known as the "Johnson letter" was delivered to Turkish Prime Minister İnönü on June 5, 1964.

In the letter, it was stated that Turkey's unilateral intervention in the island could lead to war between the Turkish and Greek sides, and it was unacceptable and disappointing for these two NATO member countries to fight. Furthermore, it is written that Turkey should consult its allies before taking a decision to intervene. It has also been implied that this war will create the possibility of the Soviet Union's intervention in Turkey and that NATO will be reluctant to defend Turkey in such a case. The letter was written in a very harsh and vulgar style and included humiliating expressions.

Thus it can be said that by mentioning NATO's possible noninterference attitude towards a possible Soviet threat against Turkey in the future, Johnson is basically saying that the fundamental values of the NATO alliance may not be met if a state, Turkey, in this case, won't act in accordance with their wishes. We can see US's hegemony over NATO here very clearly. Moreover, Johnson mentions that the military resources that Americans provide to Turkey under another treaty should be used only under specific circumstances, and they are not proper to use in the Cyprus situation. This also shows a wish to constitute a hegemony, this time over Turkey. So it is safe to say that in Johnson's eyes, they don't have an equal mutual relationship.

As a result of these, Turkey had started to question NATO's reliance on the security issues and whether it is enough just to have America's influence in the international arena. Thus, a search started both to form new relations with other states to constitute a more multilateral foreign policy and to find new resources to provide military supply within the country. Furthermore, Turkey started to question its support to the US on international issues and responded by not supporting the US's force use in Vietnam. Also, the Turkish government took some measures regarding US's military bases within Turkey.

In a nutshell, this letter brought some cold wind between Turkey and America as it attracted negative attention towards the USA from Turkish society and also the government.

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