Doesn’t Turkey have the largest military in NATO?
Turkey was indeed a more secular and thus, more prosperous nation before Erdrogan.
The more I know about T Rex, the happier I am that the President chose him for SOS.
Turkey has the second largest military in NATO, after the USA. Ours dwarfs theirs, but the European nations have shrunk their militaries into mere shells of their former capability.
Turkey not only has substantial heavy ground forces (they could field 1,000 main battle tanks, supported by loads of artillery), but also a substantial modern air force. Russia, Egypt and Iran are the only countries in the region that are even in the ball park with Turkey (although Greece has an outsized navy). Turkey also has a big defense industry, and can manufacture lots of its own weapons and ammunition.
Nonetheless, things have fallen off sharply for the Turkish military under Erdogan. A series of purges and political appointments have weakened the skills of the high officers, and after the recent coup attempt (last Summer) there was the biggest purge of all - serious skill shortages now exist, for long-lead time specialties like pilots. They have not performed very well when recently tested in Syria, despite having a huge equipment advantage.
Actually, Erdogan initially had hugely successful economic policies, and the economy was roaring - getting his party re-elected with a super majority. Basically, he implemented the Western economic policies that the EU wanted, before Turkey could be considered for admission into the EU (now unlikely). Also, they got a lot of credit, and attracted “hot” money looking for quick growth rates.
They were heading toward the top 15 in the world, but the former success of the economy has reversed the last couple of years - now it is shrinking, and their currency dropped 20% against the dollar last year (which particularly hurts them, because they borrowed so much from overseas during their boom, it suddenly costs a lot more to pay back - lot’s of businesses hurting or going under). There is a wrenching readjustment going on in Turkey now, after years where expectations had continued to grow. The party is over.
And like you said, Turkish Government had been quite secular. Erdogan initially posed as a “moderate” muslim when running for office, but that mask is now off for all to see, with the country rapidly moving toward islamism, dictatorial consolidation of power, and draconian control over the media.
Events seem to be speeding up in Turkey, and pressures building. Next month there is a referendum to grant Erdogan broad new powers. It could be a turning point (probably for the worse).
Hopefully, T Rex (Tillerson) and Trump have the big picture in mind, and are playing the long game to manage the evolution of Turkey, because that country needs help from the path it is on.