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| Europe |
| Turkey's Coming Coup |
| 2006-11-27 |
| I dunno. From what I've read/heard from various french pundits, the army itself is well on its way to being islamized, a reflection of the general re-islamization of turkish society (outside of the westernized elites), starting from grunts and NCOs, and more and more COs; only the very top brass stay true to the kemalist creed. Turkey is a haunted land. too often in its history, the past has been prologue. It may be so again. Almost 10 years ago, the Turkish military ousted a popularly elected Islamist prime minister. The circumstances that produced that coup are re-emerging today. Once again, an Islamist is in power. Once again, the generals are muttering angrily about how his government is undermining the secular state--the foundation of modern Turkey. As I rate it, the chances of a military coup in Turkey occurring in 2007 are roughly 50-50. I saw the last one coming, thanks to a conversation with a senior military officer not long before the events of February 1997. "I asked the Iranian generals after the 1979 revolution why they had done nothing to stop it. By the time they realized how far the Islamists had come, they replied, it was too late," he told me. "We will never let that happen in Turkey." Indeed, this very principle is enshrined in the bylaws of the Turkish General Staff, which declare that the military is "the sole protector" of Turkish secular democracy and of the "principles of Ataturk." |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |