mark parris

Grossman's successor in Turkey was a guy called Mark Parris. here's his lawfirm bio.

As U.S. Ambassador to Turkey from 1997 to 2000, Mark was architect of a major expansion of relations between Turkey and the U.S., culminating in President Clinton's designation of Turkey as a "strategic partner" in November 1999. He was instrumental in winning multibillion dollar tenders for U.S. firms in such areas as commercial aviation, Bosphorus navigation safety, energy generation and civil infrastructure. He played a pivotal role in defining and advancing U.S. objectives with respect to the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan main oil export pipeline and an associated gas pipeline.

At Baker Donelson, Mark's practice focuses on working with business clients that have long-term interests in Turkey. With the nineteenth largest economy in the world, Turkey is attractive to many American and multinational companies. But it is a country that can be politically and economically unpredictable, as witnessed in 2001 when the banking system collapsed, and in 2002 when the ruling political coalition imploded.

Earlier in his career, Mark focused on the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. His work continues to carry him throughout the region, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait and central Asia. "Most clients are not focused on only one country," he notes, "they think of problems in regional terms." As evidence of his range, Mark is fluent in Russian, Portuguese and French and has studied Turkish and Hebrew.

Professional Honors & Activities

U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, 1997 to 2000

Special Assistant to President Clinton and Senior Director for the Near East and South Asia, National Security Council, 1995 to 1997

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, 1992 to 1995

Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1989 to 1992

Board Chairman, American Friends of Turkey

Board Member, American Turkish Council

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here's his WINEP bio. (yep, he's at WINEP.)

if you arent familiar with WINEP, you should be, and you should read this piece by Juan Cole as a start. It's difficult to excerpt, but try this:

"Now the U.S.' occupation of Iraq is making it even more hated in the Muslim world. It is a policy hatched in part by AIPAC, WINEP, and their associated "thinkers." The cynical might suggest that they actively want the U.S. involved in a violent struggle with Muslims, to make sure that the U.S. remains anti-Palestinian and so will permit Israeli expansion."

Mark Parris, Marc Grossman, Eric Edelman and Ross Wilson. These are the people who are getting the Turkey ambassadorships. I think if you could explain why this is the case, you could likely go a long way to unravelling sibel's secrets.