By Arthur I. Cyr
Scripps Howard News Service

What's in a name? Plenty, and the same goes for a nation's flag.

The national flag remains a potent emotional symbol, demonstrated this month by intense ― and underreported ― conflict among Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The flag flap has important bearing on international relations, especially U.S. foreign policy.

Azerbaijan flags were removed from a stadium in Bursa, Turkey, where a World Cup match between Armenia and Turkey was being held. They were found in a trashcan.

In retaliation, Azerbaijani officials in Baku removed Turkey's flag from a war memorial commemorating Turkish troops who fell in fighting for Azerbaijan independence in 1918. On Oct. 27, the flags were raised again.

Turkey is making strong efforts, so far reciprocated, to resolve fundamental conflict with Armenia, dating back to the Armenian genocide early in the 20th century.

On Oct. 10, the two nations signed a protocol to open their shared border. Turkey closed the border in 1993 as a gesture of solidarity with Azerbaijan. In mid-October, President Serkh Sarkisian became the first head of state of Armenia to travel to Turkey.

Armenia-Turkey rapprochement in turn has antagonized Azerbaijan, which has been losing to Armenia in a border dispute involving the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. This has occurred despite repeated assurances from national officials in Ankara that relations with Baku would remain strong.

This interplay may be difficult to follow, involving complex politics as well as obscure geography, but Turkey's vital strategic importance provides a powerful incentive to understand developments.

Despite current tensions between a religious government and a secular constitution and state, Turkey remains a strong, stable representative democracy.

Eventually, the nation may serve as a bridge between East and West, which brings essential economic and political modernization to the Arab world.

Turkey's relative isolation within Europe is a problem. The European Union has turned the nation's application for membership into seemingly endless agony.

No doubt concern about Islamic extremism contributes to caution, but more general long-standing European prejudice against outside populations undeniably is involved. Condescension is combined with inertia.

Developments within Turkey overall have been reassuring. The people remain committed to representative government, an effective counter against al-Qaida and other extremist movements. To date, terrorist acts in Turkey have boomeranged.

The government in Ankara has placed priority on good relations with Israel as well as with Arab states. Turkey commands vital sea lanes and trade routes, including the Straits of Bosporus and potential oil and gas lines from the Caucasus.

Ankara-Washington cooperation is strongly rooted. Turkey has been actively engaged in Afghanistan, including major military command responsibilities. During the first Persian Gulf War, U.S. B-52 bombers were deployed on Turkish soil, a potentially risky move by Ankara.

Turkey played a vital Allied role during the 1950-53 Korean War; the U.N. military cemetery at Busan, the largest port city in South Korea, contains a notably large number of Turkish graves.

This background is of even greater importance given that ties between Turkey and the United States are currently badly strained. The Bush administration invasion of Iraq was bitterly opposed by Ankara.

Attacks by anti-Ankara Kurdish terrorists based in Iraq have led to Turkish military strikes into the northern region of that country.

The Obama administration is giving some priority to rebuilding frayed relations with Turkey, along with Israel our most important ally in the region. This may reinforce positive steps in southeast Europe.

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen distinguished professor at Carthage College. E-mail him at acyr@carthage.edu. For more stories, visit Scripps Howard News Service (www.scrippsnews.com).