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A self-defeating move?

Reader comment on item: Turkey's Radical Turn?

Submitted by Joshua Truax (United States), Aug 6, 2003 at 02:22

Ostensibly the AKP's attempt to rein in the Turkish military is meant to make Turkey a more appealing candidate for EU admission, but it seems to me that the EU would also be reluctant to admit a nation it sees as tilting toward Islamism.

Were Turkey to be admitted to the EU and later turn Islamist, the repercussions would be staggering for all of Europe. Islamists who hold considerable sway over Muslims across the continent even as things are now, would suddenly have an EU-member government to back them up. While this would hardly turn Europe into Saudi Arabia writ large overnight, it would, at the very least, result in an EU divided against itself - and as Abraham Lincoln once warned, such a house cannot stand.

It is for these very reasons that the EU has historically taken a dim view toward welcoming Turkey into the fold in the first place; that the AKP now seems poised to confirm Europe's worst fears about the country certainly won't help Turkey's chances for EU admission any time soon.
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Reader comments (17) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Question [141 words]Bige VonaFeb 14, 2006 01:4735507
Turkey and the EU [339 words]Alex CurrieMar 17, 2004 08:1314236
How islamic is islamic [337 words]Jonathan LambAug 14, 2003 11:4610576
Do we mean what we say? [85 words]Zev SternAug 13, 2003 20:0110568
hope to hear content of the new laws next offering [21 words]William KinneyAug 10, 2003 23:1710501
Mind your own business [144 words]AmericanAug 10, 2003 21:5810499
caution is suggested [35 words]fenixAug 8, 2003 10:3510480
Forewarning of What's to Come? [228 words]Ruth LowryAug 6, 2003 22:2010467
Turkey Boost/Baste? [25 words]John PalubiskiAug 6, 2003 10:2610460
Beyond the Pale [96 words]Brad ReedAug 6, 2003 10:0310459
So goes Turkey [218 words]Glenn KlotzAug 6, 2003 09:5710458
A self-defeating move? [175 words]Joshua TruaxAug 6, 2003 02:2210457
Is it Islamist to reject the Iraqi war? [224 words]PseudoerasmusAug 5, 2003 23:3610455
Two questions [76 words]Randy McDonaldAug 5, 2003 17:5610453
How popular is AKP? [265 words]J. Keen HollandAug 5, 2003 16:1710452
Islam vs. Moderation [167 words]Arlinda DeAngelisAug 5, 2003 16:0910451
FRIEND OR FOE? The stakes are huge. Stay tuned. [84 words]GRAHAM RAEL-BROOKAug 5, 2003 13:5910449

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