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An Implosion Down the Road?

Reader comment on item: Erdoğan's Decade as Prime Minister of Turkey

Submitted by Ron Thompson (France), Mar 14, 2013 at 12:33

In recent historical reading - Guy Arnold's sweeping and impressive 1,000p Africa: A Modern History (2005), I am struck by the contrast between Erdogan's decade of driving Turkey away from the secular ideal of Ataturk, and the history of Algeria in the 1990's. At the time, one was tempted to deplore the Algerian army's decision to refuse to abide by the election which brought fervent Islamists to the brink of power. Although the country paid a terrible price - over 100,000 killed, most of them civilians - yet Algeria is certainly much less of a threat to the West because of that decision and quite probably its people are better off. The current Algerian leader Bouteflika has been in power a little longer than Erdogan, and I don't recall reading anything about him being an Islamist threat.

One wonders where the West, and in particular israel, would be if the Turkish army had followed the Algerian example, and stayed true to the message of Ataturk? It bears remembering, I think, that Ataturk was the only leader in 1400 years who tried to take a country out of Islam. I wonder if we'll ever see another?

Ron Thompson

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Daniel Pipes replies:

Yes, the mid-1990s were a terrible time in Algeria but things came out relatively decently.

That said, the country is ripe for an Islamist upheaval.

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Reader comments (21) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Erdogan's "Neo-Ottoman" Ambitions [121 words]Scott CraigSep 17, 2020 09:42260469
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1TURKEY İS GUİLTY OF THE GENOCİDE COMMİTTED İN WEST ARMENIA. [755 words]HakiApr 9, 2013 09:08205041
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Islamism could win [125 words]mythMar 20, 2013 09:34204527
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to bongo watson [5 words]moMar 17, 2013 11:20204371
5Astounding failure of US Middle East policy [215 words]SoloviewMar 14, 2013 18:18204340
Who Knows [128 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
john w. mcginleyMar 14, 2013 17:04204332
1You asked about The Gatekeepers [322 words]Ron ThompsonMar 15, 2013 08:34204332
5Nothing but a Thug [49 words]Michael Hanni MorcosMar 14, 2013 14:57204325
4Erdo [25 words]Steven LMar 14, 2013 14:56204324
5Saving Turkey -- Saving Western Civilization? [560 words]GWKMar 14, 2013 13:47204322
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2Erdogan is the biggest liar among the Turkish Prime Ministers [64 words]Quasi democracyMar 15, 2013 02:39204322
1Great Summary [19 words]Turkish secularMar 15, 2013 03:26204322
Irony of Restating the Obvious [115 words]M ToveySep 17, 2020 22:00204322
3An Implosion Down the Road? [197 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Ron ThompsonMar 14, 2013 12:33204319

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