Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/turkish-opinion-of-u-s-war-in-iraq-taints-relations Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Opinions in the United States' once-friendly ally Turkey have turned negative in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and continued violence that is threatening Turkey's border. NewsHour correspondent Margaret Warner reports from Istanbul. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. GWEN IFILL: But first, Margaret Warner is in Turkey. Starting tomorrow, she'll be covering the pope's visit there. Her first report tonight focuses on the effect the war in Iraq is having on Turkey's relations with the United States. MARGARET WARNER: Every weekend, the bridges of Istanbul lure fishermen from all over the city. The Bosphorus that separates Europe from Asia is rich in mackerel, bonito and sea bass, and the fishermen plying its waters are rich in opinions about Turkey's longtime ally, the United States. LEVENT ERGUNES, Fisherman (through translator): America should leave the Middle East, leave these people alone. That's why we don't have good feelings about the USA. They came to bring justice; now things are even worse. MARGARET WARNER: It's the war in Iraq, right on Turkey's doorstep, that has transformed America's image here. A country that for 50 years stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. in NATO, a country whose people once prized their friendship with America, is now roiling with doubts about whether that relationship works for them any longer. ERDINC ASYALIOGLU, Fisherman (through translator): We've always loved America. It's a country we want to visit and a place we want to live. But when Bush was elected, his invasion of Iraq, and Iraq going out of control, it affected us in a very bad way. NUR VERGIN, Political Scientist: I have never witnessed such a thing in this country. MARGARET WARNER: Nur Vergin, who just retired as a political science professor at Istanbul University, is stunned at the change in attitude she's seen in the young, Westernized students she's been teaching for decades. Roughly half the country's population is under the age of 25, and she says the Iraq war has put their affection and regard for America at profound risk. NUR VERGIN: Because America is seen as an imperialistic power which attacked, after all, a Muslim society, a neighboring Muslim society, so there is much empathy, there is much sympathy, and, of course, anti-Americanism.