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Erdogan's Outburst and the Future of the Turkish State
Stratfor ^ | 2/2/2009 | By George Friedman

Posted on 02/05/2009 4:30:31 PM PST by a_Turk

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan exploded during a public discussion with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. Erdogan did not blow up at Peres, but rather at the moderator, Washington Post columnist and associate editor David Ignatius, whom Erdogan accused of giving more time to Peres. Afterward, Erdogan said, “I did not target at all in any way the Israeli people, President Peres or the Jewish people. I am a prime minister, a leader who has expressly stated that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity.”

Nevertheless, the international press focused not on the finer points of Erdogan’s reasoning, but rather on his attacks on Israeli policy in Gaza and his angry exit, which many thought were directed at Peres and Israel. The confusion, we suspect, suited Erdogan quite well. Turkey is effectively an ally of Israel. Given this alliance, the recent events in Gaza put Erdogan in a difficult position. The Turkish prime minister needed to show his opposition to Israel’s policies to his followers in Turkey’s moderate Islamist community without alarming Turkey’s military that he was moving to rupture relations with Israel. Whether calculated or not, Erdogan’s explosion in Davos allowed him to appear to demonstrate vocal opposition to Israel — directly to Israel’s president, no less — without actually threatening ties with Israel.

(Excerpt) Read more at stratfor.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Germany; Israel; Russia; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: islamicagitators; israel; turkey; usa

1 posted on 02/05/2009 4:30:33 PM PST by a_Turk
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To: a_Turk
He looked so unhinged that he probably killed Turkey's chances to get in the EU for quite a while.
2 posted on 02/05/2009 4:45:47 PM PST by colorado tanker ("I just LOVE clinging to my guns and my religion!!!!" - Sarah Palin)
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To: a_Turk

For later read.

Very interesting times.


3 posted on 02/05/2009 4:48:47 PM PST by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
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To: colorado tanker

We the Turks are the world’s 17th largest economy and the USA is retreating the area. Thease people, black or white, will come to recognize us as their big brother. They, whether it be one or the other, should not make any drastic moves without first consulting us, especially if they are counting on us to broker their friggin’ peace. We don’t need the EU, we’re going to build our own union. The EU is toast anyway. They’re a bunch of wusses.


4 posted on 02/05/2009 4:54:33 PM PST by a_Turk (Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice)
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To: a_Turk

Yes, Tayyip Erdogan, the “moderate” Islamist. Kind of like being a little bit pregnant, isn’t it? Turks who vote for a little bit of Islamic rule should be careful; they are likely to wind up with the whole shebang.


5 posted on 02/05/2009 4:55:38 PM PST by tvdog12345
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To: a_Turk

Were Erdogan’s remarks rejecting anti-Semitism and condemnation of Israel widely reported in Turkey?


6 posted on 02/05/2009 5:05:15 PM PST by Mogwai (Arvid? Dubeaux? Gummy? Jer? JW? Laur? SJB? SunnyT?)
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To: tvdog12345

The US will have an Islamist government before Turkey does; they will never undo the secularism they’ve been exposed to, and they’re not “Arab” in any sense of the word.


7 posted on 02/05/2009 5:05:55 PM PST by Carlos Martillo II
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To: Mogwai

They report everything widely.


8 posted on 02/05/2009 5:08:10 PM PST by a_Turk (Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice)
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To: a_Turk

I sense that we have crossed over into a “new world” damn... I was heavily invested in the old one.


9 posted on 02/05/2009 5:14:40 PM PST by Porterville ( I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum)
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To: colorado tanker
He looked so unhinged that he probably killed Turkey's chances to get in the EU for quite a while.?

I could be wrong but I suspect the EU has enough on its plate right now without having to decide whether to try to digest millions more moslems.

10 posted on 02/05/2009 5:16:00 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: hinckley buzzard

I think as the former independent states have judgements entered against them in “Euro-Court”, and the economies collectively tank anyway, some of these potential new candidates for admission are thinking long & hard about whether entry into the EU is really any benefit at all. On their own, they can trade their resources and control their immigration policies themselves in the “global economy”, while as part of the EU they’ll be forced to contracept themselves out of existence while underwriting the original members’ socialist policies.


11 posted on 02/05/2009 5:28:57 PM PST by Carlos Martillo II (Guernica was a work of art...and I don't mean the painting.)
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To: hinckley buzzard
France has been actively fighting admission of Turkey. After this spectacle, Turkey's friends may decide to give it a rest for a while.
12 posted on 02/05/2009 5:55:39 PM PST by colorado tanker ("I just LOVE clinging to my guns and my religion!!!!" - Sarah Palin)
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To: a_Turk

The Turkish military, long the defenders of Ataturks vision of a secular republic, has been infiltrated by Islamicists.

The Turkish Republic will collapse (again) without Western aid and once that happens there isn’t going to be another aid package from the USA. If Turkey wants to align itself with the Arab street, good riddance.

You better brush up on Shariya law buddy, it’s coming to a neighborhood near you.


13 posted on 02/05/2009 6:12:13 PM PST by Tailback
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To: a_Turk

So let’s see...firing artillery into Kurdish villages in Iraq in response to PKK terrorism...GOOD.

Dropping smart bombs on Gaza in response to Hamas terrorism...BAD.

Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. Erdogan!


14 posted on 02/05/2009 7:13:50 PM PST by denydenydeny (People in dictatorships long for truth while pampered, decadent people in the West long for myth.)
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To: colorado tanker

A Turk is a Turk. And Turkey is an allie. The west needs allies.


15 posted on 02/05/2009 7:52:18 PM PST by dr_who
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To: a_Turk

The EU is toast anyway. They’re a bunch of wusses.



By the way, to everyone on this thread, I'm no fan of Erdoğan, but our own president is just as Islamist. Scary, ain't it.

16 posted on 02/05/2009 9:04:13 PM PST by G8 Diplomat
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To: a_Turk
We don’t need the EU, we’re going to build our own union. The EU is toast anyway. They’re a bunch of wusses.

Many Americans will wish you every success in this endeavor. There's a lot of affection and respect for the Turkish Republic on this side of the ocean.

Casey Stengel, famous baseball guy, was turned down for membership in a country club. He said, "Well, I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me for a member anyways!" You guys have a habit of defining yourselves and pleasing yourselves. And minding your own business.

Biz bize benzirez!

I wish our foreign policy was as simple as yours -- Yurta suhl, cihanda suhl. (peace at home, peace abroad.)
17 posted on 02/06/2009 4:40:06 AM PST by RJR_fan (Winners and lovers shape the future. Whiners and losers TRY TO PREDICT IT.)
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