Vote of confidence for all of Erdogan’s policies (Islamists win in Turkey; WH "Hails Result")

Jerusalem Post ^ | 9/14/2010 | Herb Keinon

[mojito]

Turks show support for AKP policies, including distancing Ankara from Israel and clipping the wings of the generally secular, pro-Israel army.

The day after Turkish voters approved a sweeping package of constitutional reforms and gave Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a huge victory, the widespread feeling in Jerusalem was that while this was very much an internal, domestic issue, it will have an impact on Turkish-Israeli relations.

Erdogan, who pushed through this packet of 26 constitutional amendments, and for whom this project was as important as the healthcare reform was for US President Barack Obama, must as a result of his huge victory feel not only vindicated by public opinion, but also emboldened.

[....]

The Turkish people gave Erdogan, whose party and government have deep Islamic roots, a huge green light, and in the process have given him a massive tail wind to continue his policies – policies that include a realignment of the country’s foreign policy, which includes a steady distancing from Israel.

[mojito]

The White House hailed the result, as a NATO member falls into the islamist orbit.

[Cubs Fan]

once again Obama sides with Muslims over America and the rest of the west.

Is it any wonder why people think this piece of human filth is a muslim.

[jessduntno]

Welllllllllll, they weren’t exactly our BFF’s.

Remember, we had troops massed on their border to invade Iraq and they pulled the plug on us at the last minute allowing a shitload of Saddamites to melt into the crowd instead of getting dead.

[mojito]

The United States and the European Union have hailed the results from Turkey's referendum on a package of changes to the country's military-era constitution.

The High Election Board is expected to announce the official results later today. With nearly all votes from the September 12 referendum counted, some 58 percent of Turks voted in favor of the 26 proposed amendments, which would curb the military’s power and reshape the judiciary. Turnout was 77 percent.

Hailing the results, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish democracy was the “winner.”

[....]

However, opposition parties say Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) are trying to secure a further hold on power and steer the country away from its traditional secularism.

The White House said President Barack Obama called Erdogan to congratulate him and “acknowledged the vibrancy of Turkey's democracy as reflected in the turnout” for the referendum.

http://www.rferl.org/content/US_EU_Welcome_Turkish_Referendum_Results/2155994.html

[livius]

This is not good at all, and it’s no surprise that Mullah Bambi “hailed” it.

[mojito]

Remember, we had troops massed on their border to invade Iraq and they pulled the plug on us at the last minute allowing a shitload of Saddamites to melt into the crowd instead of getting dead.

That happened because Erdogan and the AKP had just won in recent elections. This very same group has cemented its permanent hold on power, and has overthrown the secular constitution that Turkey has had since its founding.

[MattinNJ]

Good thing they were in charge of the NATO air wing and have all our secrets. I cannot believe I am witnessing this.

[elpadre]

“... policies that include a realignment of the country’s foreign policy, which includes a steady distancing from Israel.”

and the US???

[mojito]

“...The revisions in question, proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), target the two elements of the national government that have most steadfastly sought to enforce Turkey’s Kemalist tradition of secularism: the military and the courts. AKP has pressed an overtly Islamist agenda since its formation from the older Islamist Virtue Party in 2002. But up to now, AKP has been stymied by the stature of the military general staff and the secularist tradition of the courts.”

“The new reforms approved by the voters remove those checks. One will allow Prime Minister Erdogan to try in civil court the military-coup plotters who seized control of the government in 1980, when Turkey was beset by internal violence. This power will prevent the military from serving as a check on radicalized political majorities. In a change much like FDR’s court-stacking proposal of 1937, another constitutional revision expands the nation’s constitutional court from 11 to 17 judges and provides that the prime minister will appoint 14 of them, with the legislature choosing the other three.”

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/j-e-dyer/356291

[mojito]

And includes the embrace of Iran and Hamas.

[mojito]

Please don’t act like a jerk. and don’t use profanity.

See my post at no. 4.

[Madistan]

The difference is that the JPost is reputable, whereas Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty isn’t. The quote marks in your original post imply that the JPost published it. It didn’t.
Don’t get so uber-sensitive when you get called on a mistake.

[mojito]

You need to get your facts straight.

RFE/RL is a news organization funded by the US Congress. It's as legit as any new organization out there.

http://www.rferl.org/

There is also a Radio Liberty run by Stanley Monteith. That's not the one I linked to.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks mojito and La Enchiladita.

• Imam at center of Islamic center controversy named in lawsuit -- The lawsuit alleges Feisal Abdul Rauf's company, Sage Development, which owns two buildings in Union City, New Jersey, failed to properly maintain the buildings and apartments. One building contains 32 residential units and the second contains 16 units, according to the lawsuit.