Turkey is a full member of NATO and thus is a prime ally of the western world ... at least in name and form. However, this Muslim nation has drifted so far away from Ataturk's secular vision and from its responsibilities in this NATO alliance that serious thought should be given to showing it the door.
The President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, took the opportunity of Pope Francis's visit to Turkey recently to denounce the West in terms devoid of any sugar-coating. He spat out:
I speak openly, foreigners love oil, gold, diamonds, and the cheap labor force of the Islamic world ... they like the conflicts, fights and quarrels of the Middle East. Believe me, they don’t like us ... they look like friends, but they want us dead, they like seeing our children die.Pretty hostile words from the leader of a friendly nation. To read a fuller context of this diatribe against his alliance mates (including specific slurs against the United States), see: Powerline Comments
Pope Francis on the other hand turned the other cheek and praised Turkey for its humanitarian assistance in the ISIS conflict next door in Syria and Iraq. They both made nice-nice and then the Pope was shown Erogan's humble new abode ... a $600 million presidential palace. For more about this ecumenical belly-rub see: NY Times Article.
Obviously, the Pope either hasn't read the newspapers or has chosen to ignore Turkey's deviousness in allowing ISIS to attack the Kurdish town of Kobani, Syria from inside Turkish territory. Clearly Erdogan's hatred of the Kurds outshines his love for the West... see: The Guardian Article.
It surely looks to me like Turkey is a turkey ..
Afterward: To see how oppressive Turkey is becoming, read about a professor jailed there for barring the hajib in class: Atlas Shrugged.
I am very saddened to see the Turks turn toward the glory and trappings of the lost empire. they had taken many solid steps toward being a member of the modern world. granted, relations with Europe, and the US, have been tentative and confrontational but none of that had derailed their progress. the cool-aid must be too sweet.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly I am rather sad about the developments of Turkey. I have always been a great admirer of the Turks and Erdogan's progress towards anti-West perorations and espousal of a very aggressive Muslim point of view is very vexing. I had hoped that Turkey could be a bridge between the West and the Muslim world. Regrettably and apparently that isn't very likely.
ReplyDelete