Like High School With Nukes

Turkey has tried for several years to gain acceptance into the popular crowd, the European Union (EU). Turkey applied for membership in 1987 and finally began negotiations for admission this past October. Blair is a strong supporter of Turkey joining the EU, while Madam Merkel (Germany) is not for admission, a process which could take 10 years, but she does support a "limited partnership." If Turkey keeps playing nice, the EU will invite them to the prom. If Turkey agrees to more cooperation, the US will give them a class ring. It's all carrots and sticks (or money and location.) An 18 year long international hazing of Turkey.

Turkey (a Muslim nation but secular) does not hold a good record on individual rights, human rights, nor can they be considered in any way a torch bearer for freedom of expression; they arrest writers regularly who write less than good things about the country. Such charges as defaming ''Turkishness and Turkish national institutions," usually for making public remarks about historical events (such as the Turks killing 30k Kurds and up to 1 million Armenians decades ago).

I have a friend who lived several years in Ankara (capital). She has little good to say about the country, but Turkey today is touted as a tourist mecca, one foot in Europe and one in the Middle East. Unrivaled the brochures will tell you, for hospitality. Cuisine to die for, the coastline is a dream, and spectacular mosques and castles. One thing I discovered years ago, however, is that touristing a "developing" nation is definitely not the same as living there. The perceptions (99% of the time) will be completely opposite.

Turkey is wooed by rightwing conservative governments in the US/EU only because of its location (a land bridge between Europe and Iran, Iraq, Syria). They claim Turkey could be the force behind stability in the Middle East (currently the Turks have taken over the international peacekeeping forces in Kabul). Turkey is an excellent locale for more and bigger Anglo bases and operations. The US currently maintains Incirlik Air Base, in southern Turkey, considered a prime staging area since 1955. In 1997 the base hosted Operation Northern Watch, the mission of enforcing the no-fly zone over northern Iraq, and has grown to meet other recent commitments to EU/UK/NATO, etc.

Recently Porter Goss (CIA) and Robert Mueller (FBI) visited Turkey and supposedly warned the Turks "to be ready for a possible U.S. aerial operation against Iran and Syria." That's from a Syrian source but also repeated in the Turkishpress. For all I know both sources could be reporting out of the Pentagon or Hollywood.

But I also noticed this from Hurriyet which claims to be the Turkish newspaper of truth : "Ankara is preparing to host another important guest next week in the wake of the visits of FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA chief Porter Goss. New Israeli Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz will come to Turkey next Thursday for a one-day visit. Halutz will meet with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, and is also expected to have talks with Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul."

Lieutenant Dan was appointed the IDF Chief last July, and according to Jinsa "dramatic changes are afoot for IDF." Halutz was the IDF deputy once in hot water over his "perfect execution" remark.

I'm not saying anything is afoot with Goss, Mueller, and Lt. Dan all dropping by to visit Turkey within a couple of weeks of one another, but you never know with these guys and who knows how far Turkey will go to please the world jocks in its quest to be part of the "in" crowd.