Re:Turkey is the pinnacle of Islam. (Score 2, Informative)

A very strong statement I have to say. Turkey is a country which is undergoing a lot of changes the last few years. It is torn between the Islamic fundamentalists and the military and its followers which follow the dream Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for a European Turkey. Turkey is also a 100 million people market which means that Europe needs its market. Washington pushes for Turkey to enter the European Union, firstly because they realise that if it happens, the dream of the European Union wont have much hope of being realised any time soon, as the millions of Turks that will spread through out Europe will push Europe centuries back dividing it. This means that Washington does not need to worry about the European Union becoming a super power any time soon. Of course let us not forget that Washington and Turkey no longer have the good relationships they used to have as Turkey denied U.S. soldiers to be based there in 2003 during the Iraq war. Hence the whole talk about the U.S. recognising the Armenian genocide. Also have in mind that Washington's bad foreign policy during the last few years, and its failed war against Iraq and terrorism have divided it as well, and unlike his father's presidency, the current president and his crew have failed to show the appropriate wisdom and responsibility which means the Washington's unity is not as it used to be and the foreign policy should be expected to change in the near future. As for Angela Merkel's stand, although not sure what it is, but as Germany has a big problem with the Turkish population there and the ghettos of Turks in Germany, I guess it is not because she cares about Europe and culture et cetera but about her country, which isn't necessarily wrong though.

Putting the above aside, Turkey is not a country that has anything to offer to Europe apart from a big market. It is a country in a state of chaos, with the military maintaining order, and with out the military's presence, it might even become a possible danger to European countries in the near future, if ruled by Islamic fundamentalists. With The military regime bringing it closer to Europe and not the ideas and values of the people, most of whom are poor and uneducated, we can see that Turkey is neither a traditional Islamic country, neither a European state, but it is surely a country closer to the first than to the second. This is no big secret as even the class of educated people in Turkey realise the need of the army's presence in Turkey, as well as a lot of people outside Turkey.

Is a country which is fundamentally so different ready to enter a union of countries which promote ideas that are not even accepted by the Turkish people. Having ruins of ancient Greeks and the Roman-Byzantine empire does not make you part of the history of Europe it self. It is how you think and what you do in your every day life that does. Even those ruins were not respected till they discovered that not only could they sell them but they could be used to attract tourists. And I do not blame them as the state in which they live is one of a third world country.

The army is a necessity in Turkey at the time being as it is going through all these changes and until it settles in a stable state where Europe will be able to decide whether Turkey is a country that may fully enter the European union. That does not mean the European Union should stop all relationships with Turkey. Although Turkey can not be seen as a reliable ally, it is a bridge between Europe and the Islamic world, Europe needs it as a means to maintain good relationships with the Islamic world. It is a market of 100 million people, and a country developing. It is a country the European union needs to maintain good relationships with and a good economic partnership but as things are, the relationship should stay at that level alone. The gates of Europe are not ready to be opened to Turkey any more than this.

Censoring is a tactic followed by many states which aim to control their people. Censoring in the U.S. for example takes a different form and happens but no one says anything about it. Censoring in a country like Turkey might be needed not because Turkey does not want people to have their own thinking but mainly because such content against the current regime might feed fundamentalists into taking actions against the state and leading the country to a different direction than the one of the European Dream of Kemal Attaturk. Not everything is black and white, and not everything should be seen as if it happened in our society. Censoring is wrong in developed societies that promote free speech and open thinking, such as the U.S., but are sometimes needed in countries such as Turkey, a country divided between the military regime, Islamic fundamentalists, the educated few and minorities such as the Kurds et cetera, and with the current regime trying to keep all of it together and not having it split up and fall into chaos and a possible Islamic regime which will make it both unstable and a danger to Europe and the European Union it self.

Europeans are also lucking a common foreign policy, one of Europe's main problems right now, with Washington promoting this division either through England or other states it influences. The main argument for those opposing the entry of Turkey in the European union is of course Cyprus and the political problem there which is well known that it will not have any solution in the near future. I guess politics is all about using people as means to and end. It might be interesting to read about Cyprus and the current political state. Read from as many sources as possible to get a clear view of the problem.

Just a few thoughts, none are intended as statments