Re: Will Fairfax County Accept 40 Female Bovid Refugees From Turkey
Posted by:
Mark W
()
Date: March 15, 2017 02:57PM
Erdogan once held promise as an enlightened Muslim leader. Turkey was a beacon to other Islamic countries; decent economy, tolerance of other cultures, and progress.
But as is often the case with leaders of any religion, he became obsessed with his own personality and fell in love with himself. He started by changing the terms of his rule, destroying free press, playing to Muslim hardliners, to the point that he now has a tiger by the tail.
There was no coup, it was staged for pretext of dismantling the last vestiges of Ataturk's grand reforms that saved Turkey. So Erdogan blackmails Europe. All perfectly legitimate statecraft.
But he should be careful for what he wishes. While he emulates Putin's rise, his popularity will shrink once a full blown recession hits his country. I agree that Europe treated Turkey with disdain and took them for granted. Now the question is who can be the bigger person, a true statesman like Ataturk and bring Europe and Turkey back together. Erdogan has all the skills. Will he use them? This deportation was not the watershed moment the world was looking for.