#9 I'm still not sure I understand the purpose of Turkey in the EU. I get the distinct impression that the EU is meant to be a superstate on a federal pattern, somewhat like the US model. But a country is more than just a system of common regulations. Sooner or later it is necessary to make some sacrifices for the common good, and you need to have some sense of a common bond. This can be a common tribal identity, common "race," common shared history or language, common religion, or common 'secular' culture (emphasis on CULT in culture) or some combination. Japan unites around a common race and shared history, the US united around a common secular culture and eventually a shared history. I'm not sure just how united India is.
If the EU were simply a grand trading zone, there'd be nothing odd about adding Turkey. But I'm not quite sure how far even the existing states share the same culture, let alone Turkey, which doesn't have an even remotely similar religious tradition. And religion is a fundamental component of culture.
The EU is an interesting experiment; trying to create a country out of a voluntary empire. By comparison creating the US was a peice of cake--we started off with relatively little history of internal conflict, similar versions of the same religion, and a pretty widely accepted secular mission. And even so we suffered from a little set-to about 140 years ago.
A little thought-experiment: would a Danish citizen feel threatened by a bandit attack in Turkey, and be willing to help stop them? Would a Turk feel threatened by an IRA bombing in London? |
Turkey will be an Islamic "Trojan Horse" inside the European Union if it is allowed to join the bloc, to the advantage of Al Qaeda terror chief Osama bin Laden and other extremists, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi said in an interview with Italian radio reported on Thursday. "The Islamic world, including Islamic extremists up to bin Laden, is rejoicing at Turkey's entry. It is their Trojan horse," Qaddafi was quoted as saying by the daily La Repubblica in extracts from the RAI interview published before its broadcast. Qaddafi said he had not opposed Turkey's EU membership but warned of its possible consequences. "I say only that there will be consequences from the entry of this Trojan horse," he added, without elaborating.