Found some interesting articles...As usual I will highlight the interesting bits.Turkey is afflicted with the same bloodsucker trying to latch itself onto the Ukraine.The parasitic EU wants to drain all life from both nations. THE EU NEEDS TURKEY But, does Turkey need or want the EU? Does the Ukraine really want or need to be part of the EU?We have some interesting parallels here-
ISTANBUL — The Turks are increasingly hubristic, and not just in the Middle East. Having seen their total G.D.P. more than double in the past decade, many Turks do not feel that they need the European Union anymore. Turkey’s economy is growing much faster than the European average, so the argument goes, why beg to be part of Europe’s anemic Union?
Indeed, why?
Conversely, many Europeans are increasingly antagonistic toward Turkey’s ongoing bid for European Union membership. Following the huge protests in Istanbul’s Taksim Square last summer, in which millions took to the streets, only to be overpowered by the police, many have argued that Turkey is not a democracy and the Union does not need it. Both are wrong.
Nice spin, but, really a lot of baloney
For Turkey to continue its rise as both a regional power and a global player, it must re-embrace the European Union’s liberal democratic values as accession negotiations resume. A Turkey that is a shallow democracy will neither be welcome in Europe, nor can it serve as a role model for Arab countries.
"Re-embrace the liberal democratic values as accession (keep in mind accede means "yield to another") negotiations resume" So Turkey hasn't been bowing to it's master. I figured something was up during the protests, but, couldn't quite figure it out
And the European Union can help. Indeed, the hope of becoming a Union member has been the key driver of Turkey’s democratization process for decades; the prospect of membership has provided an incentive for major democratic reforms. For instance, the European Union’s 1999 promise to open accession talks with Turkey if it fulfilled the Union’s political expectations led to the elimination of capital punishment and torture across the country.
When Europe shows a serious commitment to Turkey, it responds by liberalizing. In 2000, although public opinion had solidified in support of executing Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of Kurdistan Workers Party (known as the P.K.K.), the Turkish government, under pressure from Brussels, picked the possibility of Union membership over executing the leader of an organization that had killed thousands of people.
When Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came to power in 2002, he at first sought to prove his democratic credentials by aggressively pursuing European Union accession, and reforming his country with that goal in mind. Turkey adopted a liberal penal code and strengthened civilian control of the military, improving its democratic credentials and giving it a green light in 2005 for accession talks.
But Turkey will only reform itself when it believes the prospect of European Union accession is real. This explains why Mr. Erdogan’s government cooled toward the idea of membership around 2005 and began to pursue blatantly illiberal policies at home, like intimidating and imprisoning journalists.
Let's not kid ourselves. This pressure on Turkey has zero to do with 'imprisoning journalists'
When the accession talks opened in 2005, Brussels made them a Sisyphean ordeal, creating 35 rounds, and requiring the consent of all (then 27) Union members to open and close each of these rounds. France and Germany simply did not want to have Turkey as a third power in Brussels. Because the European Union allocates voting power to its members based on population, if Turkey were to join the Union, its voting power would be greater than France’s and just a bit less than Germany’s.
Clearly Germany and France don't want to play fair with Turkey regarding EU membership. For obvious reasons
If Turkey were to join the Union, its voting power would be greater than France’s and just a bit less than Germany’s.
Facing 35 rounds of talks involving 27 members meant that Turkey had to overcome hundreds of possible vetoes to gain membership. Countries opposed to Turkey’s accession, like France, vetoed chapters at will. This rejection prompted Mr. Erdogan’s pivot away from Europe and its liberal democratic ideals.The European Union’s recent progress report on Turkey’s membership harshly criticized Mr. Erdogan’s government. Yet, smartly, Europe has not pulled back, but moved closer. Leaders in Brussels are aware that Turkey will pivot further away if accession does not again become a reality. This would have devastating implications for Europe’s growing community of restless Muslims, many of whom see Turkey’s acceptance or rejection as a Union member as a test of whether there is room for them on the Continent.
And even the staunchest opponents of Turkey’s accession are aware that Europe would be better off with a strong Turkey inside the Union, rather than a belligerent one outside it. After all, today’s Turkey is no longer the “sick man of Europe.” Its economy is poised to overtake the struggling Italian and Spanish economies in size in the coming years.
But Turkey has a window for reform that will not always remain open. Turkey’s creative classes will flee, and those outside will avoid the country, if its leaders cannot provide unfettered freedom of expression, media, assembly and association, and respect for the individual, environment and urban space — all key demands of the Taksim protesters.
Either the country will become a consolidated liberal democracy, taking off politically and socially, or it will remain a partial democracy, trapped where it is. (There are other options) A genuine path to European Union membership is the surest path toward democratization.
Democratization? Or total impoverishment and debt enslaved populaces. Erdogan blames 'international groups' for corruption scandal that rocks Turkey Digression Alert! And of course CIA right hand man Gulen figures large... exiled in Pennsylvannia Erdogan and GulenHT Arevordi who points out to us in this piece that Gulen links back to CIA mouthpiece Graham Fuller who links directly to the Tsarnev brothers and the false flag Boston Bombing
Hailed as an outstanding educator by Graham Fuller and other CIA officials, the reclusive Gulen is semi-literate and lacks a high school diploma.
Flashback- Turkish PM Erdogan threatened/challenged by Fethullah Gulen?Yup, it is looking like connect the dot time!
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan denounced "international groups" and "dark alliances" on Saturday for entangling Turkey in a corruption scandal that has exposed deep rifts between him and a US-based Muslim cleric who helped him rise to power.
Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers and the head of state-owned Halkbank, were formally arrested on Saturday, local media said, in a corruption inquiry that Erdogan has called a "dirty operation" to undermine his rule.
What? A state bank. A publicly owned bank? A bank as a public utility? Can't have that.Not in the contrived/created/connived world of cartel capitalism and global monopolies
The Turkish leader raised the stakes by accusing unnamed foreign ambassadors of "provocative actions." Some pro-government newspapers had accused the US envoy of encouraging the move against Halkbank - a charge denied by the embassy.
"There are extremely dirty alliances in this set-up, dark alliances that can't tolerate the new Turkey, the big Turkey," Erdogan in a speech in the northern town of Fatsa. "Turkey has never been subjected to such an immoral attack."
The furor, which has roiled markets, is seen as reflecting a power struggle between Erdogan and his former ally Fethullah Gulen, who wields influence in the police and judiciary.
Gulen as king maker? And we are going to get to that foreign ambassador shortly
Erdogan has refrained from naming Gulen as the hand behind the investigation when he blamed an internationally-backed conspiracy. But Gulen's Hizmet (or Service) movement has been increasingly at odds with the prime minister in recent months.
"This is an operation ordered by some international groups, and their subcontractors within Turkey are carrying it out, as a step taken against the government. We will not bow down to it," Erdogan said on Saturday.
"When we took power 11 years ago, Turkey's national income was $230 billion, now it's more than $800 billion. Can you increase the income so much in a corrupt country?" he demanded, proudly listing highway and airport construction projects his government has implemented during more than a decade in power.
"A major political struggle has started in Turkey," said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. "Ironically, this battle is being fought within the ranks of the governing party."
Soner Cagaptay- author of the editorial that opened this post
He said the definitive battle would come in March, involving the race for mayor of Turkey's commercial capital Istanbul."If the Gulen movement can now use its influence among voters and financial base to tilt the race in favor of the opposition, it will prove itself an effective power against Erdogan, as well as helping deliver Istanbul to the left," Cagaptay said.
"If, on the other hand, Erdogan wins Istanbul, despite the Gulen movement, he will emerge as Turkey's most dominant political figure in modern history as well as having potentially subjugated the Gulen movement."
"These recent days, very strangely, ambassadors get involved in some provocative acts," he said, telling them not to meddle and warning: "We do not have to keep you in our country."
Several pro-government newspapers accused the US Embassy of encouraging the move against Halkbank, saying the United States wanted the bank to stop its dealings with Iran.
"Get out of this country," read Yeni Safak's headline, with a photo of U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone. It said the Foreign Ministry was considering declaring him persona non grata. Sources at the Foreign Ministry denied such plans.
Ambassador's do get themselves involved in many nefarious dealings- Robert Ford comes to mind
US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone
The US Embassy reacted sharply. "All allegations in news stories are downright lies and slander," it said in a statement.Halkbank's (state bank) general manager, Suleyman Aslan, was formally arrested alongside Baris Guler, the son of the interior minister, and Kaan Caglayan, the son of the economy minister, CNN Turk and other local media reported.A total of 24 people have now been formally arrested and are awaiting trial on corruption allegations.
And just think for a moment about all those bought and paid for killers sitting right at Turkey's border. It does not seem that Erdogan saw this one coming.