Can we come out now? Have the storms passed?
If you have read my diaries you know that I generally write about what’s happening in Turkey.
These are a few things which have caught my eye over the past few days.
President Clinton was setup by Mossad.
One of the biggest daily newspapers ran a story that said that President Clinton was set up by Mossad in the Lewinsky scandal to keep him in line in his policies towards Israel.
Note: President Clinton is still very popular in Turkey. When he visited Turkey in November, 1999 after the big earthquake he walked around among the people and got a huge reception. When GWB came in 2004 the police had to close about a fourth of Istanbul down at the request of the Secret Service.
Now Israel is against boycotting Turkey.
Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, has called for Israeli supermarkets to stop their boycotts of Turkish goods. According to Turkish newspapers he said that politics and economics have to be kept separate.
JINSA thinks Turkey should be kicked out of NATO.
Turkish newspapers also report that JINSA, who used to help develop relations between the Turkish and Israel militaries, now says that Turkey should be kicked out of NATO because Turkey is now a security threat.
Turkish Public Opinion
There is no growing anti-Israeli feeling right now in the general public. There are a few grumblings and people are still concerned about the situation of the people in Gaza. In general people just wish that Israel would stop being such a problem and start learning how to get along with its neighbors.
The Turkish government's handling of the Gaza Aid Flotilla doesn't seem to be winning it any public support. People seem to feel that the government doesn’t really know what it wants to do or how to do it.
But at the same time there is widespread support for the PEOPLE on the flotilla and a hope that their sacrifices will bring at least a loosening of the Israeli stranglehold on Gaza.
The Next Gaza Aid Flotilla and IHH
A new flotilla to Gaza has been announced. It will be in the middle of July. IHH has not made any announcements about whether or not it will participate in this flotilla. IHH has only announced on its web site that they 'will be organizing other larger aid flotillas to the region.'
Philip Stephens’ Article in the Financial Times - West must offer Turkey a proper seat
I don’t agree with everything in the article but it is interesting.
http://www.ft.com/...
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, blames Europe. The European Union has pushed Turkey eastwards by dragging its feet on Ankara’s application for membership. If Turkey had an "organic" link with the west, Mr Gates postulated the other day, it would have been less inclined to look eastwards.
Mr Gates is right that the EU in general, and France and Germany in particular, have done all they can to rebuff Turkey’s European aspirations. Even Turkey’s most ardent Europhiles are losing patience. After all, it is half a century since Ankara first lodged a membership application.
But the US defence secretary is wrong to suggest Turkey faces a binary choice between east and west; and he is being economical with the truth in implying that Washington’s handling of the relationship has lately been much better.
If one was looking for a moment when things soured, there is none better than the peremptory demand of George W. Bush administration’s that Turkey serve as a jumping-off point for the invasion of Iraq.
The Israeli cabinet's battle against the State of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talking at an Israeli cabinet meeting said....
We find ourselves in the midst of a difficult and continuous battle against the State of Israel.
I saw this sentence in a dairy by hillpeople. Is it awkward wording or is the Israeli cabinet really in a battle against the State of Israel?
http://www.dailykos.com/...
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Do you think I should do a regular summary of news and views from Turkey?
If so, do you have any catchy suggestions for a name?
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UPDATE: In the future I will probably use a title something like:
"Turkish News Round-Up: President Clinton Was Setup by Mossad, Israeli Boycotts and JINSA"
Thanks for the suggestions. They are always welcome.