Better Forum?

Submitted by GWK (United States), May 3, 2008 at 22:17

Dr. P --

General Hayden just expressed his concerns on the population explosion within the world's poorest societies as his #1 concern. In many cases, these places are filled with muslim youths with little hope of breaking out of a rut, a predestined likelihood that they will have large families, and madrassahs more than willing to care for the poor children of today's muslim youths, to teach then (brainwash them?) that they can steal from the non-believers and enrich themselves.

Turkey today sits astride a cultural rift that holds out a key to what will happen in the geopolitical world over the next 50 years. Turkey's birthrate is relatively lower than the rest of the muslim world's, but still far greater than any European country's and its population trend is on track to surpass Germany's population. (By 2050, could Turkey even pass Russia in population?)

The point is that ADK is reaching out to Turkey;'s poor and focusing on the population game to beat Europe. The military is still reaching out to Europe and trying to be heir to Ataturk's moderation and secularism. Which part of Turkey's culture will win?

My bet is that BOTH win (and that doesn't bode well for our interests, unless we learn how to diminish the theocratic leaning elements, and to energize the multicultural and Christian and Jewish friendly parts of Turkey's society). By allowing the military and moderate segments of the bureaucracy and elites to engage the west, Turkey may open the EU to its citizens and continue to infiltrate EU political bodies.

By allowing the theocrats to intimidate women and internally focused secularists, the theocratic forces within Turkey are building up the population of Turkey's poor and more submissive minded followers of Islam. And in about 25-30 years, when Turkey's population is almost twice as large as it was in 2000, and larger than Germany's everything in Europe and NATO will become topsy turvy.

If you ever have a eyes only seminar on this topic, I would love to be there. And if you ever write an analysis of the situation, I would appreciate a copy of the report. It certainly is very complex.

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