Free Republic

June 29, 2004 Bosphorus Bridge was selected as the symbol of the 2004 NATO Summit which was held in Istanbul. Rumors that NATO was no longer needed because it lost its purpose with the collapse of the USSR were put aside and a larger NATO with a redefined purpose to fight terrorism over a large territory, all the way from Fez in North -West Africa to Bangladesh in Central Asia, and covering the Middle East and the Caucasus Republics along the way reemerged. Most of these countries are Muslim, and the purpose is to bring freedom, democracy, and prosperity to...

THE WORLD'S UGLY DISEASE CALLED "ANTI-SEMITISM" AND ITS AIM TO DESTROY THE OLD TURKISH JEWISH FRIENDSHIP (A Personal View) Mahmut Esat Ozan Chairman-Editorial Board The Turkish Forum-USA The dastardly attack perpetrated against two of Istanbul's renowned Jewish Synagogues is, without a doubt, the work of heartless Islamist terrorists. It does not make any difference whether they are of domestic or of foreign origin. Their work has been utterly despicable. There are those who sent their 'deep condolences' to the Turkish authorities, from afar such as: France, Germany, the Vatican, and Scandinavian countries, expressing their sorrow for the great loss of...

WMD 404

Islam and Secularism in Contemporary Turkey Prof. Dr. Suna Kili, Bogazici University It is a well-known fact that radical changes of political and social transformations do not necessarily follow a unilinear line. At times and occasionally there may be attempts at complete or partial reversions to the old order. Turkey's case is no exception to this general phenomenon. In contemporary Turkey radical change is still represented by the Kemalist reforms with direct implications for Turkish political life and Turkish constitutionalism in general and education in particular. After the successful termination of the War of Independence (1919-1922), the task of the...

Lawyers aid schoolboy harassed over American heritage FUKUOKA (Kyodo) More than 500 lawyers have joined hands with a 9-year-old boy in a lawsuit filed Wednesday with the Fukuoka District Court demanding 13 million yen from his school and a teacher who repeatedly ordered the child to kill himself. The boy, a fourth-grader who attends a municipal school in Fukuoka's Nishi Ward, suffers posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of his teacher's actions, according to the lawsuit. In an effort to show solidarity with the pupil and to make him feel that he is not isolated, 503 lawyers from around the...

TURKISH / AMERICAN RIFT By Ali Ferda Sevin, September, 2003 THE longstanding close friendship between Turkey and The US suffered a setback in March 2003 when several forces came together by happenstance to cause it. First, there was the Turkish desire to impress Europe after the European Union (EU) had been dangling carrots in Turkish faces and pulling back just in time to deny Turks entry to the coveted club. In spite of such European condescension (or perhaps, because of it), Turkey remains eager to please the Europeans. Turkish elite opinion has always been infatuated with the "high culture" and...

ENSIGN AMENDMENT SA 541 TEXT OF AMENDMENT SA 541. Mr. ENSIGN (for himself and Mr. CORZINE) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 925, to authorize appropriations for the Department of State and international broadcasting activities for fiscal year 2004 and for the Peace Corps for fiscal years 2004 through 2007, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of title VIII, add the following: SEC. 815. REAFFIRMATION OF SUPPORT FOR CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE; COMMEMORATION OF ANNIVERSARY...

TURKEY'S SELF EMASCULATION --------------------------------------------- by Antero Leitzinger, April 10, 2003 Under the new Islamist government, Turkey's foreign policy has been a complete disaster, unrivalled in the country's long and proud history. Few other countries in the world have ever managed to depart from their traditional foreign policies so rapidly while voluntarily missing so obvious chances for achieving great victories. Instead of participating in the liberation of Iraq, to which Turkey was invited by the USA, its closest ally, Turkey prostrated to France - to the very same country that just recently condemned Turkey for the Armenian genocide, and opposed NATO...

The Iraqi threat to Turkey Ibrahim al-Marashi ibrahim.al-marashi(ed)miis.edu, ialmaras(ed)nps.navy.mil Iraq's major priorities in its Turkey policy are preventing the deployment of Turkish forces in the north of Iraq, encouraging Ankara not to expand the presence of American forces in Turkey (as well as Israeli forces), ending Turkish support for the Iraqi Turkmen opposition, and ensuring that Turkey will allow the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (both originating in Turkey) on terms favorable to Baghdad. Any threats to these strategic Iraqi interests will be met by some sort of Iraqi response. The following article demonstrates how Iraq could react...

ISTANBUL, Feb. 22 -- Ask anyone in Turkey why the United States should not go to war in Iraq in the near future, and the answer will almost certainly focus on the recent past. Turks speak of the economic devastation caused by the 1991 Persian Gulf War: how tourism revenue dried up, how a valuable oil pipeline from Iraq was shut down, how truckers who made their living on cross-border trade were idled -- or resorted to illegal smuggling. They speak of a surge in terrorism by ethnic Kurdish separatists in southeastern Turkey. And they recount Washington's promises to compensate...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- See if this makes sense: Turkey is Islamic. But not Arab. So it has good relations with Israel.</p> <p>It has a secular, democratic tradition. But it's currently governed by an Islamic party that supports the United States against Iraq. Wow!</p>

Phil Van Cleave, head honcho of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc., just e-mailed this: "The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star is publishing a list of area residents who have concealed handgun permits. Great idea Free Lance - let's tell all the criminals which houses to burgle in order to get some guns! Great service to the community. Maybe the editor and senior people at the Free Lance should publish their personal home addresses so that they, too, can spend quality time with some of those cuddly little felons. Here is the link: Weapons Permits If you find publishing CHP holder's names...

Time to Treat Turkey as an Ally By James Lacey In 1950, U.S. commanders positioned 5,000 Turkish troops in the path of a major Chinese offensive that threatened to swamp the entire U.N. army in Korea. Freezing, unsupported by allies and out of communication with higher headquarters, the Turks grimly held their positions for three days and saved an American army in the process. When they finally withdrew, 3,514 of the original 5,000 Turks were dead, wounded or missing. U.S. leaders were so embarrassed at how badly they had mismanaged the Turkish force that an official apology was sent to...

<p>ANKARA, Turkey -- The head of Turkey's military has warned that the armed forces would protect the state against "fundamentalism" -- days after a party with Islamic roots swept national elections.</p> <p>Since the modern republic was formed in 1923, Turkey's military has been seen as a staunchly secular force in a country which, by population, is 99.8 percent Muslim.</p>

"As I have little time at my disposal, I will use that time to deal with enlargement, in particular the application of Cyprus. I had the honour of visiting northern Cyprus during the summer with two of my colleagues from the House. To my surprise the ambassador chose to object in the strongest manner on my return. It was not my first visit and it was obvious to me that on the island there exists two democracies and two sovereign states representing their distinct peoples. Turkey has never expressed a wish to make Cyprus a Turkish island or an annex...

<p>U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams yesterday delayed sentencing a Chesterfield County man for producing and receiving child pornography so he can re-examine how authorities obtained evidence.</p> <p>William Adderson Jarrett - already sentenced in state court to 90 years for child molesting - was turned in by a computer user in Turkey. Identified only as "unknown user," the man used a special program to illegally hack into Jarrett's computer through the Internet and download child porn.</p>

The Economy Is Naked by Glen Hameroff Back in the 1950s, America achieved recognition as the world's leading economic power. Our vast industrial base had emerged unscarred by the Second World War and our ability to produce real products was without peer in the world community. A hard working, blue-collar worker could expect to own a home and a car. This could be accomplished while his wife stayed home and raised the children. Dreams were fulfilled, cars were made of steel, and Robert Young's weekly television show declared that "Father Knows Best." Today our world is continually changing and families ...

The concepts of law and crisis management differ significantly between nations. I once took my family to a restaurant in the United States for a private celebration and ordered some wine. When the waiter asked to see the IDs of my two daughters, the 19-year-old was disappointed because state law prohibited the restaurant from serving alcoholic beverages to people under 20. I was stunned by the strict observance of the law. French politician Alexis de Tocqueville, in his 19th century book "The American Democracy," wrote that Americans observed the law, however troublesome it may be, believing it was in their ...

I have never read so much CROCK of $hit in my life. To those who wants to put USA down and criticize. PLEASE, THE DOORS ARE OPEN. JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE IF YOU DO NOT LIKE IT. We had enough of these bleeding heart morons. I am not saying it is O.K. to kill, maim, torture etc. etc. innocent people, but you have to draw the line somewhere. You have to protect yourself and your interest. It is not USA that is killing poor Iraqi civilians, it is so called leader Saddam. Just ask yourself the question, ...

  Dear Mort,  Here is something I have cut from a letter to someone else.  It's a reflection off the top of my head after hearing some really good news on TV;      "...heard some very very good news.  Rumsfeld, our Sec of Defense has alluded that we will utilize not only conventional military but also economic, political and regular intelligence gathering services and... NON-CONVENTIONAL MILITARY (yeah, baby!) to respond this event.  Craig, the only chance in hell we have of hitting our mark is through ruthless and liberal use of our counter-terrorist military units...NAVY SEALS.  Go bros.  Rip some fucking ...