I belive Turkey is a giant with clay heels.It is a deeply divided country between the seculars,who wish to live in a progressive and stable western style state and are mainly in the cities on the Aegean city and in the military and on the other side the Islamists who are in the countryside and imagine a new Ottoman empire and are expressed by their current Prime-minister.On top of that one must add the 20 million or so Kurds who want either self-rule or outright independence.
The economy of Turkey is in a boom now,but it reminds me of the Greek economy 10 years ago,when Greece had 20% developement each year...and look where we are now.
Turkey,through the arrogance of its current goverment has put the country in conflict with Israel and Syria,while the goverment has purged almost all the upper echelons of the Turkish military under the pretext of thwarting a coup in 2007.Their armed forces may be in impressive in numbers,630000 men but their performance against the PKK,esp.in the last 18 months and their responses to the Mavi Marmara and the F-4 shootdown were abysmal.I firmly belive,that the path that Erdogan is following will ultimately destroy his country if not dismember it aswell,with whatever consequences it ma have to the near east and the Balkans.
The economy of Turkey is in a boom now,but it reminds me of the Greek economy 10 years ago,when Greece had 20% developement each year...and look where we are now.
Turkey,through the arrogance of its current goverment has put the country in conflict with Israel and Syria,while the goverment has purged almost all the upper echelons of the Turkish military under the pretext of thwarting a coup in 2007.Their armed forces may be in impressive in numbers,630000 men but their performance against the PKK,esp.in the last 18 months and their responses to the Mavi Marmara and the F-4 shootdown were abysmal.I firmly belive,that the path that Erdogan is following will ultimately destroy his country if not dismember it aswell,with whatever consequences it ma have to the near east and the Balkans.