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| Europe |
| Turkish army crucial to EU power hopes |
| 2004-12-17 |
| Brussels leaders name a date for final talks on admitting the European Union's first Muslim member. Advocates of the European Union as a fully fledged superpower have predicted that the addition of Turkey's military would make it a true global player. Ankara's forces are greater than those of France and Britain combined, with 514,000 men under arms and 380,000 in reserve, plus a robust air force with American fighters. A NATO official described the forces as "very experienced and well-trained", after years of battles against Kurdish guerillas. EU leaders reached a historic agreement this week to offer Turkey negotiations, starting in October next year, to join the bloc. But they insisted that Ankara must act towards recognising Cyprus by then. If the negotiation succeeded, Turkey would become the first Muslim member of the 25-nation European Union and one of the largest. Europe's borders would be expanded to Iraq and Syria. If it failed, another way would be sought to anchor the mostly Muslim NATO ally, viewed by Washington and others as a key Western ally, to Europe. "Tonight the European Union has opened its door to Turkey," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told an EU news conference on Thursday. AdvertisementAdvertisement Earlier, the Turkish Prime Minister had indicated that he would all but recognise Cyprus. "It will be resolved tomorrow," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis. Mr Erdogan hinted that Turkey was prepared to sign a protocol extending Ankara's customs union to cover all EU states, thereby indirectly recognising the status of the island. The Turkish Government knows that its chances of joining improved dramatically when the EU launched its defence and foreign policy drive with the 1999 Amsterdam Treaty. The new geopolitical calculations turned Turkey from likely burden to potential asset almost overnight. Turkey is regarded as central to the EU's drive for global status, given Europe's lack of brawn. British EURO MP Charles Tannock said Turkey's size and military strength were keys to why so many Euro MPs backed its entry. "They see Turkey as being so useful for the anti-American, anti-Israel agenda that they are willing to sweep all the allegations of human rights abuses under the carpet," he said. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #12 I've not seen anything to believe Charles Tannock is anti-American. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-12-17 11:37:30 PM |
| #11 This is one of the more ridiculous articles, and threads, I've seen on Rantburg. Turkey is a member of the US-dominated western military alliance, NATO. The US strongly supports Turkish membership in the European political and economic union. So now we have anti-American euro-idiots claiming that the entry of America's military ally, Turkey, into the political union will help that union's members stand up militarily to their American military ally. Huh? |
| Posted by: lex 2004-12-17 11:24:23 PM |
| #10 RWV> No offense, but if we suffered so much from anti-USA obsession then we'd be intentionally disobeying Bush's recent stated desire to see Turkey get membership in the Union. Once again, you can't have it both ways. You can't say that all those MEPs are so willing to see Turkey enter because of anti-Americanism, and yet ignore that Turkey's entry is exactly what Bush urged for (inappropriately IMO but that's a different issue). In my experience most far-left anti-US people see Turkey as an American Trojan horse in the Union, and would therefore vote *against* its entry. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-12-17 9:51:37 PM |
| #9 Could be the Euros just appreciate the way the Turks backstabbed the US by keeping the 4th ID floating around with nothing to do during the Iraq invasion. Also, they could be hoping that with a little encouragement, the Turks might actually be dumb enough to try and invade northern Iraq in the spring under the guise of sending 20,000 troops to protect Turkish interests. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-12-17 9:43:51 PM |
| #8 I think it's hilarious that what the FrankenReich(tm) is saying to Turkey boils down to: "We only want you so far as we can use you. We don't like you, but you have what we want to use, with you paying for it, so we don't have to. How's about we let you halfway in if we can use your army to do what we want to do?" It's like the big kids sneering at the little kid who owns the ball, bat and gloves. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-12-17 9:32:48 PM |
| #7 Valentine> "Aris are ya having a problem with reading comprehension skills? " I think my comprehension skills are better than yours on this subject -- unless you think there's a magical reason why MEPs would have a different view on the effects of Turkey's membership than Prime Ministers would. Think of it reasonably. Among the countries that most object to Turkey's entry are France, Germany, Austria, and until recently Greece (and Greece's objections were waived for tactical reasons, not because the Greek establishment really wants Turkey in). Among the countries that most support it are the United Kingdom and the United States. Does that seem consistent to you with Charles Tannock claim that it's anti-Americanism and anti-Israel politics that have made so many MEPs back Turkey's entry? Wouldn't you then expect to see the most anti-American nations offer the most support, and the most pro-American nations offer the least support? |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-12-17 9:22:37 PM |
| #6 Because you've got more than two brain cells, mucky? ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-12-17 8:44:26 PM |
| #5 Well ain't that just dandy? It's the TURKS that get to do all the grunt work... how come that isnt suprize me. |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-12-17 8:32:41 PM |
| #4 EU leaders reached a historic agreement this week to offer Turkey negotiations, starting in October next year, to join the bloc. Doesn't mean anything. Negotiations do not necessarily lead to, nor do they guarantee, membership. Turkey is regarded as central to the EU’s drive for global status, given Europe’s lack of brawn. Well ain't that just dandy? It's the TURKS that get to do all the grunt work... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-17 8:21:42 PM |
| #3 Aris are ya having a problem with reading comprehension skills? "British EURO MP Charles Tannock said Turkey’s size and military strength were keys to why so many Euro MPs backed its entry" Many is not 2 people, nor are Bush or Blair Euro MPs. |
| Posted by: Valentine 2004-12-17 8:06:05 PM |
| #2 "They see Turkey as being so useful for the anti-American, anti-Israel agenda that they are willing to sweep all the allegations of human rights abuses under the carpet" I thought that Bush and Blair also supported Turkey's entry into the European Union? Is that also because of Bush's and Blair's anti-American and anti-Israel agenda? |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-12-17 7:21:32 PM |
| #1 The EUroweenies think the Turkish military is HOT! The Turks have actually used guns! Niiiiiice! |
| Posted by: Brett_the_Quarkian 2004-12-17 7:11:39 PM |