TORKKAVA ATAOV. Amerika, NATO ve Turkiye. Aydinlik yayinevi. Ankara. 1969. 295 s.

The book by T. Atayev, an associate professor at Ankara University, who teaches the course "The Soviet Union" at the Faculty of Political Science, and is the author of a large number of works on Turkish foreign policy and international relations , 1 differs sharply from the vast majority of books and articles published in Turkey on modern international life and foreign policy of this country. First of all, Ataev seeks to reveal the class character of foreign policy actions; being familiar with V. I. Lenin's statements on imperialism and a number of Soviet publications, he expresses opinions close to Marxist ones. In contrast to the traditional pro-American concepts of Turkish historiography, the author exposes the imperialist nature of the US foreign policy.

Naturally, T. Atayev focuses on the foreign policy of his country. While most Turkish historians advocate military-political cooperation with the United States and Turkey's participation in the aggressive NATO bloc, the author of the book under review objectively analyzes the post-war foreign policy of his country, which was caught in the snares of American imperialism. To characterize the position of T. Atayev, it is very significant to compare his views with the position of another Turkish historian, F. Halyuk. Gursel's book "The Influence of Russia's Neighborhood on the Historical Destinies of Turkey" 2, which was published in 1967. first prize in the historical research competition. Gursel has a false idea about the continuity of the foreign policy of tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, portraying it as the worst enemy of Turkey. Even the Soviet Union's disinterested economic assistance to its southern neighbor is presented as a means of subjugating Turkey. Slander of Soviet foreign policy is necessary for Gürsel in order to justify the aggressive course of the United States, NATO and the participation of the Turkish ruling circles in this policy. Similar attitudes are typical for the works of many other Turkish scientists and publicists, such as Shevket Sureya Aydemir, Fakhir Armaoglu, Feridun Cemal Erkin 3 and others.

T. Atayev strongly opposes such an interpretation of international problems. American - Turkish relations are explored in his book-and this is its indisputable merit-first, as part of the entire system of international relations, and secondly, as a definite link in the history of American imperialism. Based on numerous facts, the author exposes the colonialist and aggressive nature of American imperialism, which manifested itself long before the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution. As early as in The Origin of American Imperialism (1968), he rightly remarked,

1 T. Ataov. Amerikan belgeleriylt ame-rikan imperyalizminin. dogusu (The origin of American imperialism according to American sources). Ankara. 1968; ejusd. The Origins of U. S. Expansion. Ankara. 1968; ejusd. The Origins of the Cold War: 1945 - 1949. Ankara. 1969; ejusd. Turk dis politikasi iizerine dusunceler (Reflections on Turkish Foreign Policy). "Siyasal bilgiler fakiiltesi dergisi" (Journal of the Faculty of Political Science of Ankara University. Further-SBFD), 1969, cilt XXIV, sayi 1; ejusd. Bugtinku Almanya sorunu (German question today). Ibid.; ejusd. Savas ve barisin duzenlenmesinde dort yeni gelisme (Four new problems in the settlement of war and peace). SBFD, 1968, cilt XXII, sayi 4; Son iki yilda ucuncu dunya (Third World in the last two years). SBFD. 1969, cilt XXIII, sayi 4; Son iki yilda Bati dunyasi (The Western World in the last two years). SBFD, 1968, cilt XXIII, sayi 3, and other articles in magazines and newspapers.

2 Haluk F. Cursel. Tarih boyunca turkrus iliskileri. Bir siyasi tarih incelemesi. (History of Turkish-Russian relations. Research on political history). Istanbul, 1968.

3 Sevket Sureyya Aydemir. Ikinci adam. (Jsmet Jnonti). (The second person. Ismet Inenyu). Ucuncu cilt. 1950 - 1964. Istanbul. 1968. Т. III; Fahir H. Armaoglu. Siyasi tarih. 1789 - 1960. (Political history. 1789 - 1960). Ankara. 1964; Feridun Cemal Erkin. Turk-Sovjet iliskileri ve bogazlar meselesi (Turkish-Soviet relations and the problem of the Straits). Ankara. 1968.

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that " when America introduced imperialism into the system, neither the Soviet Union nor the Eastern bloc existed. For America, there was no question of opposing socialist or communist regimes."4 Anti-communism and anti-Sovietism are necessary for American imperialism as a means to cover up its aspirations for world domination. T. Ataev shows that the Cold War, post - war international conflicts and crises, and the Vietnam War are the result of reactionary and aggressive US policies aimed at exploiting the peoples of other countries and preparing a war against socialist countries. To confirm this thesis, the author conducts a comparative analysis of the policy of the USSR and the United States on major international issues, including the German problem. He proceeds from the fact that the essence of the doctrines of "open doors", "global responsibility" and "responsibility" is the desire of the United States for world domination. Exposing the slanderous claims of Western propaganda regarding the policy of the USSR in Eastern Europe, T. Ataev compares the situation in the countries of this region before and after the Second World War, shows the development of the anti-fascist movement in them, the desire of peoples to put an end to the past and embark on the path of social progress. The author shows the role of the Soviet Union in the liberation of these countries from the fascist yoke. He analyzes in detail the military intervention of the imperialist powers in the internal affairs of Greece with the aim of suppressing the democratic movement there, and not for the sake of protection from the alleged "aggression from the North" and "the threat of communism". "Due to the fact that the British found themselves in a position where they could not be the No. 1 guardian of imperialism in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean," writes T. Ataev, "this role was transferred to America, which had an atomic monopoly..." (p.117). The Marshall Plan is described in the book as one of the main links of the Cold War (p.122), as an unabashed intervention of American imperialism in the internal affairs of European countries. The author illustrates the true nature of this intervention by the changes that were made under US pressure in the governments of France and Italy in 1947 (p.122).

The paper debunks the thesis that the United States was not interested in Turkey until the Second World War, which has become particularly widespread in American literature. After analyzing the history of Turkish-American relations, T. Atayev comes to the conclusion that "America has always been looking for all possible ways to exploit Turkey... Even with a small excuse, it used a policy of force against Turkey... In the darkest days, such as defeat and occupation, it was against us; when all our people were preparing for the struggle for independence, it was, as it is today, looking for ways to seize our natural resources, promising investments and trying to deploy its soldiers on our land " (p. 155). At the same time, T. Ataev emphasizes that only the Soviet Union provided disinterested support to Turkey.

The analysis of the reasons for Turkey's accession to NATO, which first appeared in the Turkish literature, is also interesting. The author exposes the ruling circles of Turkey, which, when making this decision, were guided not by national, but by purely class and class interests (p. 191). It should be emphasized that Atayev proceeds from the principle of interrelation of domestic and foreign policy (p. 179). It exposes the official motives of Turkish propaganda designed to justify Turkey's entry into NATO. In this respect, it is interesting to compare the positions of the USSR, the United States, Britain, and Turkey in connection with the denunciation by the Soviet Union in 1945 of the Soviet-Turkish Treaty of Friendship and Neutrality of 1925, as well as in connection with Soviet proposals to change the regime of the Straits. In particular, he points out that even before Turkey's accession to NATO, and even more so before the conclusion of the US - Turkish agreements (1959 and others), the main differences between the USSR and Turkey - on the issues of the eastern vilayets and on the problem of the Straits - were already, in fact, settled. The author exposes attempts to justify Turkey's entry into NATO by falsely claiming that the Soviet Union continues the same policy towards the Straits as tsarist Russia. He points out that under the cover of such slander, "important vaccinations were granted to foreigners."-

4 T. Ataov. Amerikan belgeleriyle ameri-can emperyalizminin dogusu, s. XI

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those who do not agree with Turkish independence" (p. 197).

It is important that T. Ataev considers NATO not as an ordinary military alliance, but as a bloc "aimed at protecting the capitalist social system" (p. 211), in which both the United States and the Turkish government jointly oppose communism and the national liberation movement in the Middle East. The US and NATO bases established in Turkey are beyond the control of the Turkish authorities, as evidenced by such facts as the use of these bases without the knowledge of the Turkish government to send troops to Lebanon in 1958, to fly the U-2 spy plane over the territory of the USSR, and others (p.218).

The book criticizes the foreign policy of the Turkish government in connection with the creation of military blocs in the Middle East. T. Atayev notes that, in fact, Turkey took on the role of a servant of the West, and this caused serious damage to its international prestige. Turkey, which in the plans of American imperialism is assigned the role of an accomplice of the West in preserving imperialist domination in the so-called "border zone area"," has lost the respect of the peoples of this region " (pp. 243-244).

T. Ataev reveals the class nature of the bilateral agreements that were concluded in 1959 between the United States and the Asian SENTO countries. Under these agreements, he writes, it is now possible for the United States to interfere, "including the use of armed forces," in Turkey's internal affairs (p.248). For this purpose, the statement of its Government that it is threatened by "communist aggression"is enough. In fact, this legitimizes American intervention in any speech, "democratic opposition" (p. 249).

American foreign policy doctrines and concepts, T. Ataev emphasizes, carry the threat of a third World war, they are fraught with the danger of an atomic nightmare for Turkey (p. 275). Depending on the USA. Turkey may be involved "in a war that is absolutely contrary to the interests of the Turkish people" (p. 280). US and NATO bases located in Turkey threaten the country's national independence. "For the sake of its own security," T. Atayev concludes, "Turkey needs to immediately free itself from foreign influence" (p.281).

The publication of a work by a Turkish author dedicated to exposing American imperialism and its accomplices is an important event in Turkish historiography.

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