Turkish-American Convergence at the Beginning of the Cold War Period and Ankara in the Memoirs of a JAMMAT Officer
Selma Göktürk ÇetinkayaThe Joint American Military Mission to Aid Turkey (JAMMAT), established in 1947 for a task to coordinate the military aids to Turkey was a modernization program undertaken by the United States at the beginning of the Cold War. The main object of the United States was to prevent a new interventionist government (USSR) as a result of a formation taken place due to the Cold War. This study aims to evaluate the book titled “Memories of 1950 in Ankara, Turkey” written by Elizabeth McNeill-Leicester, who was commissioned in JAMMAT in 1950 and spent one year in Ankara. Elizabeth McNeill made her career in the U.S. Foreign Service. McNeill served in the Department of Army Civilian (DAC) in Occupied Japan. She was then sent to Ankara. After Ankara, she served in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Among her services in Senegal and Colombia she studied French Civilization at the Sorbonne University. McNeill arrived in Ankara at the end of 1949 and remained in Ankara until the end of 1950. During this time, the author has taken an attitude criticizing Ankara and the public. She, at every opportunity, has said that the United States helped many aspects of Turkey. Therefore, it was stressed that Turkey should be grateful to the Americans. This JAMMAT officer wrote down her observations in detail during her stay in Ankara. This book, published in 2009 and not yet translated into Turkish, helps us to see the Ankara of 1950’s from the point of view of a woman.
Soğuk Savaş Döneminin Başında Türk-Amerikan Yakınlaşması ve bir JAMMAT Görevlisinin Anılarında Ankara
Selma Göktürk ÇetinkayaTürkiye’ye yapılan askeri yardımları koordine etmek için 1947’de kurulan Türkiye’ye Yardım İçin Müşterek Amerikan Askeri Elçiliği (JAMMAT), Soğuk Savaşın başlarında ABD askeri tarafından üstlenilmiş modernleştirme programıdır. ABD’nin bu girişimle ilgili esas niyeti Soğuk Savaş Dönemi’nin ortaya çıkardığı SSCB’nin müdahaleci devlet politikasını önlemektir. Hazırlanan çalışmada, JAMMAT’ta görevli Elizabeth McNeill-Leicester’ın Ankara’da geçirdiği bir yılını kaleme aldığı “Memories of 1950 in Ankara, Turkey” isimli kitabı merkez alarak değerlendirme yapılacaktır. Kariyerini ABD Dış Servisinde yapan Elizabeth McNeill, işgal altındaki Japonya'daki Ordu Sivil Bölümü'nde (DAC) görev almış, daha sonra Ankara'ya gönderilmiştir. Ankara’nın ardından Merkezi İstihbarat Teşkilatı'nda (CIA) görevlendirilen Mc Neill, İran, Pakistan, Hindistan, Senegal ve Kolombiya’da çalışmıştır. Senegal ve Kolombiya'daki hizmetlerinin arasında Sorbonne Üniversitesi'nde Fransız Medeniyeti okumuştur. 1949’un sonunda Ankara’ya gelen McNeill, 1950'nin sonuna kadar Ankara'da kalmıştır. Bu süre zarfında yazar Türkiye’yi, Ankara’yı ve halkı eleştiren bir tutum sergilemiştir. Her fırsatta, ABD'nin Türkiye'ye birçok açıdan yardım ettiğini ve bu nedenle Türkiye'nin Amerikalılara minnettar olması gerektiğini vurgulayan JAMMAT görevlisi Ankara’da kaldığı süre boyunca gözlemlerini ayrıntılı olarak yazmıştır. 2009’da basılan ve halen Türkçeye çevrilmemiş olan kitap, Amerikalı bir kadının gözünden 1950 Ankara’sını görmemizi sağlamaktadır.
The Joint American Military Mission to Aid Turkey (JAMMAT), established in March of 1947 for a task to coordinate the military aids to Turkey was a modernization program undertaken by the United States at the beginning of the Cold War. The main objective of the United States was to prevent a new interventionalist government (USSR) as a result of a formation taken place due to the Cold War. So, the USA apparently garnered Turkey among countries that were open to the Soviet threat and strengthened its own policy in this way. This study aims to evaluate the book titled “Memories of 1950 in Ankara, Turkey” written by Elizabeth McNeill-Leicester, who was commissioned in JAMMAT in 1950 and spent one year in Ankara. This book published in 2009 and not yet translated into Turkish helps us to witness 1950’s Ankara from the viewpoint of a woman. Elizabeth McNeill made her career in the U.S. Foreign Service. McNeill served in the Department of Army Civilian (DAC) in Occupied Japan and in the Public Relations department in the Military Mission for aid to Turkey in Ankara. During the rest of her career she served in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and was posted to the American Embassy in Iran, Pakistan, India, Senegal, Colombia and Iran again. Between her services in Senegal and Colombia she studied French Civilization at the University of Sorbonne.
Elizabeth McNeill, the author of the book, came to Ankara in 1949. McNeill remained in Ankara until the end of 1950. During this time, the writer criticized Turkey, Ankara and the public heavily. At every opportunity, Elizabeth McNeill emphasized that the USA helped Turkey in many ways and therefore Turkey should be grateful to the Americans. During her time in Ankara as a JAMMAT officer, she wrote her observations in detail, which gives us tips about Ankara in the year of 1950. McNeill described Ankara using words such as "bleak, barren, grey, colourless, desert".
The excess of concrete buildings and the lack of green made the author unhappy, but she did not hide that she was influenced by Turkish food. In this book, we see that there are hygienic problems in Ankara and that women have problems eating alone. Elizabeth McNeill, who also provided us with information about hotels and restaurants in Ankara, also explained the hotel she stayed in and the house she moved to after the hotel. Fees paid at the hotel, hire purchase given for the home, and information about payments made for the street food show us the economic situation of Turkey in 1950. In addition, comments on the USA’s economic aid, reflection of United States of America-Soviet Union relations on US officials, and analyses of the Korean War can be seen in the book. It is no surprise to see that American interests are fully respected in these analyses. On the other hand Elizabeth McNeill’s book is so important in terms of social historiography and allowing us to see the situation in Turkey in the 1950s. Especially the social and economic evaluation of the capital Ankara should be seen as valuable.
Apart from this, the comments made about the Turkish soldier draw attention. Considering that JAMMAT, which she was mainly in charge of, is also a military structure, the analysis on this issue should be considered important. In fact, we see that the Turks were also grateful for their help. It is also mentioned that these aids are related to the Turkish military to make it a modern war force. It was also mentioned that the Turkish soldier approached them with suspicion. This situation is explained by McNeill saying that the Turks do not appreciate the value of the things the Americans did. As it can be seen, the comments made in the memoirs are remarkably negative, whatever the subject is. Due to all her negative thoughts she expressed that she was really upset while leaving Ankara at the end of her book. Considering all these criticisms, the book has to be evaluated comprehensively and despite these negative thoughts, it should be approached academically and from a historical point of view. As mentioned in the book, the following statement of Atatürk should be a guide here:
“Remain yourselves, but learn how to take from the West what is indispensable to an evolved people. Admit science and new ideas into your lives. If you don’t they will devour you.”
It should be noted that in this article other sources providing information about the period regarding the evaluation of the memoirs, including Atatürk's lines, were also examined. As a matter of fact, memoirs and periodicals and official publications, apart from the survey works, also guided the preparation of this article.
