Final answer:
The United States and Turkey maintain an alliance with occasional strains, marked by their military cooperation within NATO and complex regional diplomatic engagements, reflecting a significant but intricate bilateral relationship.
Step-by-step explanation:
The current relationship between the United States and Turkey is multifaceted and can be characterized primarily as being that of allies with occasional strains due to geopolitical tensions and policy differences. Turkey's strategic role as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) underscores its importance to the United States, particularly in southwest Asia. Historical instances, such as Turkey's consent to host U.S. military bases, demonstrate this alliance, although the refusal to allow those bases to be used for the Iraq invasion indicates complex diplomatic dynamics.
Turkey's status as a secular democracy tasked with balancing relationships with its Middle Eastern neighbors and dealing with internal pressures from Islamic fundamentalists adds another layer to its relationship with the U.S. Conflicts over regional issues such as the control of water resources from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the broader implications of regional security, particularly the stability of the Middle East, are important facets influencing the relationship. Given these considerations, it is not accurate to say that Turkey is neutral or without significant diplomatic ties to the U.S.; rather, their relationship includes elements of cooperation and contention, shaped by both regional and global political landscapes.