Dr P -- A couple of Q's for you on Erdogan and Turkey, Please

Submitted by GWK (United States), Apr 23, 2008 at 22:39

DP--

I am sure you've met more Turkish military officers that I ever have. What do you think of them? Do you believe they would ever let Erdogan consort with islamists?

Seriously, I'd love to read your analysis to this sensitive question. All I know of Turkey is from reading and mostly 2nd hand experience. The Turks I met through the navy were very professional, very anti-communist, and a certain bit anti-Greek. But they never struck me as islamists.

Your analysis of the spill over of muslim fundamentalism within Turkey's borders would be helpful (but perhaps we don't want the real intel disclosed?) . Is it the same spill over as was experienced world wide among the Umma after 1973? Is it the same extremism as had been seeping into all muslim communities since the late 1980s?

In Europe, one gets the impression that the average Turk wants to distance him or herself from the radical Arabs from Arabia, Egypt or Algeria. They would prefer to be equated with Europeans. Is there something to which we can hang a hat here?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

VR
gwk

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