[BenLurkin]

Nobody liked the Ottoman Empire (except I suppose the Germans), but let’s face it — dismantling the Ottoman Empire led to regional chaos which is still underway 100 years later.

An expanding modern Turkey, however, can only make things worse.

[Cronos]

Dismantling the Ottoman Empire could have been done a lot better if European, Christian, powers had agreed. When they DID agree and not undermine each other you had successes like Greek independence.

the Ottoman Turks were in retreat from 1683 -- the Russians hammered on them from the north, taking over the Caucasus and heading southward along Romania, while the Habsburgs were hammering them from the West

Then France and england interfered -- the French tied up with the Ottomans to check the Austrians. If the French had been defenestrated at this time, the Austrians would have freed the Balkans

Then the Prussians took the opportunity to oppose the Austrians by tying up with the Turks

Then the English and French opposed Russia in the Crimean war, or we would have had an independent Balkans in the early 1900s and even a Christian Lebanon and Syria