The Erdogan Experiment

NYT ^ | 5/11/2003 | DEBORAH SONTAG

[a_Turk]

ping

[Wonder Warthog]

...Erdogan insisted that Turkey had done more for the U.S. war effort than any other country except England. Turkish airspace was a singularly essential ingredient, he said. ''How could they feel let down by our doing all this?'' he said defensively."

Yeah, right. Two examples--Kuwait and Qatar. Turkey single-handedly extended the war by not allowing the opening of a northern front.

[Dog Gone]

Interesting article. I wonder how long Erdogan will last. My speculation is that he won't last long unless he matures greatly in office. He blew it in the negotiations with the Americans, and while blame can be shared on all sides, Erdogan is the only one that Turkish voters can punish.

I'm not terribly comfortable with him because I fear an Islamic government could emerge. Presumably, the military would prevent that, but the fact that it's a possibility is a problem.

I wish Turkey well. I hope they come to their senses and quit trying to joing the EU, but that's their decision. They need to start choosing wisely.

[SubMareener]

On the other hand, if they had helped us as we asked, Turkey would be in a real position to get more involved in the northern Iraq. As it is, they find even their Special Forces are on a very short leash. This probably increases the pressure on Erdogan from the Turkish military, because they recognize that he blew the opportunity for Turkey to make a difference in Northern Iraq.

[telebob]

Quite frankly, Erdogan blew it big time. The Turkish military is notoriously cranky with Islamists. He's not only on 'probation', he's on suicide watch.

He and his bunch get insulted over some frigging political cartoon and some percieved diplomatic slights and it winds up costing Turkey 24B right off the top plus greatly reduced influence as a US strategic partner. The US / Iraq deal could have gone a long way towards helping Turkey climb out of the economic hole they are in. Now they got nada....and the EU membership is most likely never going to materialize.

[a_Turk]

>> "How could they feel let down by our doing all this?'' he said defensively."

>Yeah, right. Two examples--Kuwait and Qatar.

I think he's talking about the war on terror in general A10..

[a_Turk]

>> Quite frankly, Erdogan blew it big time.

Three votes.. And it cracked his party.. We haven't had a one party government in Turkey for over a decade. I don't want to see early elections nor some sort of non-confidence vote..

>> winds up costing Turkey 24B right off the top

We don't need more loans. We hae to make it without borrowing money. 80% of the tax income already goes to servicing debt.. Plus it was just a promise, and we have a history of unkept US promises. "Sorry, ddin't pass congress.." Also, US congress blocking weapons sales to Turkey during her war on terror which cost us 36000 citizens lives..

Read this piece of history regarding our strategic partner and our war on terror..

[a_Turk]

>> On the other hand, if they had helped us as we asked, Turkey would be in a real position to get more involved in the northern Iraq.

That's no guarantee. The US grudgingly agreed to our involvement and then wouldn't sign on the dotted line.

Read this for a 3rd party western account of the negotiations.

[gcruse]

Thank you, thank you, Mr Prime Minister. Sometimes our prayers are answered with a 'no,' which subsequently turns out to have been the best outcome of all. America saves billions of dollars, the Turks are kept out of Northern Iraq, the justification for an wealthy independent Kurdistan is in place,
and Turkey has made good friends with the French. What's not to like?

[McGavin999]

The man made some mistakes, but they are not fatal. He does have to learn that being a leader does not just mean rushing to the head of group, but deciding which direction the group should take and then doing what's necessary to get them to go in that direction.

I still have not been able to figure out just what part the military played in this or why they chose the part they played. They of all people should have known that we would go ahead with or without them.

There is still time for Turkey to get on the right side of history and the decisions that are made in the coming months will have great impact on their economy and their future. I guess we'll see if this man is a leader or a follower.

[realpatriot]

"One, Cengiz Candar, told me he had ''stopped even pronouncing Erdogan's name publicly.'' (It is pronounced EHR-doe-ahn, by the way)."

Would this akin to insulting his moustache?

[SubMareener]

There is no doubt that the State Department screwed up the negotiations. However, based on my experience with the Turkish Army and MIT, I would have expected the Turks to be able to handle the idiots at State. They didn't.

Hopefully, the Turkish Government will learn from this, and the Bush Administration will get on with Transforming the State Department. Then things can go more smoothly in the future.

[patriciaruth]

Excellent biography on Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, and the challenge and efforts of Turkey to be a God-fearing and democratic nation at the same time.

[firewalk]

Thanks for the ping
bump to read later...

[marron]

Good article.

[Mortimer Snavely]

'He was supposed to be the anti-Erbakan, so he was not about to impose his will on his party. Critics of Erdogan's performance, however, say that he should have done just that. ''Leaders have to lead,'' the columnist Candar said, adding cuttingly, ''Being the darling of the simple people is not enough during such turbulent times.'' '

Erdogan, I am convinced, is unable to do this, because, as the following demonstrates,

'In the speech following the poem, however, Erdogan went on to proclaim that Islam was his compass and that anyone who tried to stifle prayer in Turkey would face an exploding volcano.'

...he does not engage his brain before putting his mouth in gear.

To me, Erbakan is entirely too alien to Kemalist ideology to be regarded with anything less than an alert suspicion. The fact that Erdogan hasn't unambiguously refuted and confronted Erbakan and the like is cause for concern. Probably he is unable to articulate such a refutation.

"Al Sharpton moment," indeed. I think that a comparison with Huey Long is more appropriate. As Governor of Louisiana, Huey Long tried to rally the snake handlers in the Deep South with his "Share the Wealth" program in the Thirties, basing policy on some Old Testament passages and brutal intimidation. He was unable to justify his confiscation of private property with American ideology, and instead carried on like a demented evangelist, railing against the wealthy with things like "Woe to the rich!"

[Mortimer Snavely]

Here's an example:

'There is only one way to save our people; only one way to save America. How? Pull down wealth from the top and spread wealth at the bottom; free people of these debts they owe; God told just exactly how to do it all.'

'Hear me, people of America, God's laws live today. Keep them and none suffer, disregard them and we go the way of the missing. His word said that. Here is what He said:

"The profit of the earth is for all." Ecclesiastes: chapter 5, verse 9.

"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Leviticus: chapter 25. verse 10.

"At the end of every 7 years thou shalt make a release. . . Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his. . . brother; because it is called the Lord's release." Deuteronomy: Chapter 15, verses 1 and 2.'

--excerpted from a radio address delivered by Senator Huey Long, January 19, 1935

[a_Turk]

There are those fundamentalists in Turkey too, who keep floating the "interest is evil" thing..

Huey Long - USA - 1935, Necmettin Erbakan - Turkey - 2003..

If we're just lagging by 68 years, then that's not so bad :))

[pkpjamestown]

Thanks for posting this! I didn't think you would be interested...., "Another ludicrous article.. ", as you have said before.