Posted on 09/30/2005 6:48:38 PM PDT by Flavius
THE Bush Administration has intervened in the debate about Turkey’s entry into the EU, warning Brussels of disastrous consequences if Ankara’s membership bid is turned down.
Eric Edelman, the Pentagon’s new number three and until recently the US Ambassador to Ankara, said that refusing Turkey’s entry would not just destabilise a strategic region on Europe’s border but also set back efforts to encourage democratic reform across the Muslim world.
“In light of everything else that is going on in the wake of 9/11, in Afghanistan, in Iraq and following the bombings in Madrid and London, to say ‘no’ to a secular, democratic open society — what message does that give to all those other countries and societies to whom we have been giving the message that we want you to start down this road of accommodation and modernity, of separation of mosque and state?” Mr Edelman said.
“We are asking these countries to do something wrenchingly, historically difficult and here is a country that has been at it for 80 years, even 200 years.
“If the answer turns out to be ‘Well, no matter what you do, you won’t get in, you can’t be accepted in the community of democratic nations of open societies and open economies’, the consequences will be significant and long-lasting and not positive.”
Although Washington is not directly involved in the negotiations, it does play an important role behind the scenes, trying to persuade its transatlantic allies in Europe to allow its strategic partner Turkey into the EU club.
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Everything we advocate the Europeons do the opposite. If we don't support Turkish membership in the EU we should demand it. :p
Does every "democracy" in the Mediterranean have to become part of Europe? Next we'll have calls for Tunisia and Libya to join.
this is not so much about turkey as about the quid pro quo among the internationalists on both sides of the atlantic. it went like this. the eu would take in turkety and the usa would take in Mexico.
turkey doesn't need to be a part of the eu to survive. turkey will do right fine thank you.
the real problem is here in the usa where the mexicans are well on their way to gaining control over 1/4 of the country,
We should have Islamofascist Turkey isolated. Well, it would be fun to see EU being poisoned by the Turkish immigrants killing the liberals, but I rather have Turkey be punished and isolated for being pro-Al Qaida and not supporting the Iraq War.
Turkey in the EU would be yet another grievous blow against Western Civilization. Just another example of how the Republicans have lost their way and now stand for nothing except political expediency. They care no more about the future of the West or their own nation than the man in the moon, they only think about their careers and deals that will help them out today. If you tried to explain to them the historical reasons why this is a bad idea they'd look at you like you were crazy, because they are completely politically correct and have convinced themselves that grafting a Muslim, Asiatic country onto Europe will have no effects except positive ones and wouldn't admit there were negative effects no matter how obvious because that would be racism; and because all that history stuff doesn't help their careers, so what good is it? The old saying that nations have no permanent friends, they only have permanent interests, has been superseded in the West by nations permanent interests aren't as important as the self-interest of the leaders.
Yes, we all remember this ordeal. But realize, the Turks were looking out for their own best interests here and the Germans basically offered them more than we did. The Turks would have been with us had they not been bought off by a higher bidder. Germany "unofficially" offered support for future EU membership in return for them blocking our efforts against Iraq. That’s why the defeat of Schroeder is so detrimental to the Turkish position.
However, as ironic as it seems, we are now Turkey's ally when it comes to them being an EU member. Why? As we support them they soften up on certain issues that are important to us. More importantly they could be a crucial long term player in this war we are fighting in the Middle East and Caucasus.
No one is so naive to not know what they did and why, but it actually serves our best interests if they now succeed. Besides, not helping them out of some “pay-back” reason is actually not making those who are the “real” culprits accountable. If the Turks become a full fledged member of the EU what will this do to Germany and France? Those two and in regards to the Turkish position on Iraq in 2003 Germany, are the real culprits. If Turkey gets into the EU they pay, literally.
If you want justice, don’t block Turkey, give those who are the real forces behind the scene a taste of their own crap. They made the deal, they should now eat their own $&IT. The US needs to take all actions (Diplomatic) possible to ensure the EU expands to include the Turks.
Red6
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