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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; Erdogan</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/tag/erdogan/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Turkey, Friend or Foe?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/kenneth-r-timmerman/turkey-friend-or-foe-2/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=turkey-friend-or-foe-2</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/kenneth-r-timmerman/turkey-friend-or-foe-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2014 05:40:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kenneth R. Timmerman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[islamic state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=247165</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even Joe Biden is talking about Erdogan's treacherous support for the Islamic State. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/turkish-prime-minister-turkey.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-247168" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/turkish-prime-minister-turkey-436x350.jpg" alt="turkish-prime-minister-turkey" width="369" height="296" /></a>As the battle for the Syrian border city of Kobani raged and prospects of an ISIS-led massacre of thousands of innocent civilians loomed this fall, the BBC interviewed the vice-chairman of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP Party in Ankara.</p>
<p>Why hadn’t Turkey responded to NATO’s request to launch joint military operations to halt the ISIS assault on Kobani? How could Turkey just sit back and watch so many innocent civilians die, BBC correspondent Jonathan Marcus asked.</p>
<p>The replies from Yasin Aktay are telling.</p>
<p>&#8220;Why is Kobani the most important problem?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;There is no tragedy in Kobani as cried out by the terrorist PKK. There is a war between two terrorist groups. You mean we should… favor one terrorist organization over another?&#8221;</p>
<p>The AKP deputy leader <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29555999"><span style="color: #0433ff;">went on to explain</span></a> the calculus of death as seen from Turkey’s point of view. &#8220;Less than 1000 people have been killed in Kobani, but more than 300,000 people have been killed in Syria. Which is more important?”</p>
<p>Aktay’s remarks reveal much more than just a callous disregard for the Kurds, who comprise roughly one-third of Turkey’s overall population, or for the popular Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which broke off peace talks with the Turkish government in October to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/13/world/middleeast/kurdish-rebels-assail-turkish-inaction-on-isis-as-peril-to-peace-talks.html?_r=0"><span style="color: #0433ff;">protest Turkey’s stranglehold</span></a> over the Kurds in Kobani.</p>
<p>According to Vice-president Joe Biden, <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/biden-says-erdogan-admitted-isil-mistake.aspx?PageID=238&amp;NID=72530&amp;NewsCatID=359"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Erdogan himself admitted</span></a> that Turkey had ordered border guards to turn a blind eye as new ISIS recruits flooded across Turkey’s borders to join the battle against Assad in Syria. (Okay, when Erdogan was informed of Biden’s comments, he hit the roof <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/turkey-erdogan-biden-apologize-apology-isis-2014-10"><span style="color: #0433ff;">and demanded that “loose-lips” Uncle Joe retract them</span></a>).</p>
<p>In response to a Harvard University student’s question whether the U.S. could have intervened earlier in Syria, Biden went even further:</p>
<p>“[O]ur allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria. The Turks were great friends – and I have the greatest relationship with Erdogan, which I just spent a lot of time with – the Saudis, the Emiratis, etc. What were they doing? They were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad except that the people who were being supplied were Al Nusra and Al Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world.</p>
<p>“Now you think I’m exaggerating – take a look. Where did all of this go? So now what’s happening? All of a sudden everybody’s awakened because this outfit called ISIL which was Al Qaeda in Iraq, which when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space in territory in eastern Syria, work with Al Nusra who we declared a terrorist group early on and we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them. So what happened? Now all of a sudden – I don’t want to be too facetious – but they had seen the Lord. Now we have – the President’s been able to put together a coalition of our Sunni neighbors, because America can’t once again go into a Muslim nation and be seen as the aggressor – it has to be led by Sunnis to go and attack a Sunni organization.” [h/t to Mark Langfan for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npd4OSPjrt0"><span style="color: #0433ff;">excerpting this Q&amp;A</span></a> from Biden’s speech]</p>
<p>But Erdogan’s treachery goes much deeper.</p>
<p>Kurdish sources tell me that the initial Turkey-al Nusra front agreement was made more than two years ago, and included Turkey’s agreement to help smuggle arms to the Syrian rebels from Benghazi and other parts of Libya.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Turkish and Qatari intelligence officials met with senior ISIS leaders in Jordan to plot the take-over of Mosul and the predominantly Christian Nineveh Plain.</p>
<p>Also at the meeting was a representative of Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) president Massoud Barzani, who has worked closely with the Turkish government and has spearheaded massive Turkish investment in northern Iraq. Barzani apparently believed ISIS would stop their advance after seizing Mosul and the Nineveh Plain, and ordered his peshmerga fighters to withdraw rather than fight the ISIS advance.</p>
<p>The most dramatic events occurred in Sinjar, when 13,000 peshmerga fighters mysteriously “melted away” in August rather than confront an ISIS assault force of around 1000 men. While much of the national media focused on the plight of the Yazidis, a Shiite sect considered heretical by most Sunnis, ISIS continued to march eastward through the Nineveh plain, massacring the Christians who failed to flee.</p>
<p>Not until they began threatening Erbil, the capital of the KRG, did Barzani apparently realize he had been duped and called on the United States to supply heavy weapons so the peshmerga could halt the ISIS advance. As <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/31/kurds-accuse-turkish-government-supporting-isis-278776.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Kobani was falling</span></a>, Barzani authorized Kurdish fighters from the PKK and <a href="http://kentimmerman.com/news/2007_1017-pkk-pjak.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">PJAK, who had bases in northern Iraq</span></a>, to transit through his territory to relieve the besieged city.</p>
<p>A former ISIS communications technician, using the pseudonum “Sherko Omer,” recently sat down with Newsweek reporter Barney Guiton and spilled the beans on Turkey’s deep relationship to the Islamic State.</p>
<p>ISIS fighters traveled regularly back and forth from their stronghold in Raqaa, Syria into Turkey to acquire supplies and new fighters. “ISIS commanders told us to fear nothing at all because there was full cooperation with the Turks,” Omer said.</p>
<p>It was imperative for the Islamic State to establish a secure supply line through Turkey in order to bypass areas in northern Syria controlled by Kurdish fighters from the Democratic Union Party (YPG), which is allied to the PKK.</p>
<p>“ISIS saw the Turkish army as its ally especially when it came to attacking the Kurds in Syria,” Omer said. “The Kurds were the common enemy for both ISIS and Turkey.”</p>
<p>“I have connected ISIS field captains and commanders from Syria with people in Turkey on innumerable occasions,” Omer said.</p>
<p>In the same report, a YPG <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/isis-and-turkey-cooperate-destroy-kurds-former-isis-member-reveals-turkish-282920"><span style="color: #0433ff;">spokesman told Newsweek</span></a> that Turkey was providing ISIS with arms and ammunition, in addition to allowing Islamic State fighters to cross unimpeded back and forth between Turkey and Syria.</p>
<p>His accusations were repeated in Berlin Claudia Roth, a deputy speaker of the German parliament and a Green Party MP.</p>
<p>President Erdogan’s “dealings with the ISIS are unacceptable,” <a href="http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/12102014"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Roth said.</span></a> “I could not believe that Turkey harbors an ISIS militant camp in Istanbul. Turkey has also allowed weapons to be transported into Syria through its borders. Also that the ISIS has been able to sell its oil via Turkey is extraordinary.”</p>
<p>Turkish opposition politician Ali Ediboglu <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/business/2014/06/turkey-syria-isis-selling-smuggled-oil.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">claimed in June</span></a> that ISIS had already exported oil worth $800 million through Turkey through special pipelines and convoys of trucks, without any opposition from the Turkish authorities.</p>
<p>(For more on Turkey’s support for ISIS read <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/14486/turkey-isis"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Daniel Pipes’ summary</span></a> of what Kurdish and Turkish intellectuals have been writing, and this <a href="http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/schanzer-jonathan-bordering-on-terrorism/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">excellent if lengthy report</span></a> from the FDD’s Jonathan Schanzer.)</p>
<p>President Obama once named Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan among his top five <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/obama-names-turkish-pmerdogan-among-trusted-friends.aspx?pageID=238&amp;nid=11897"><span style="color: #0433ff;">“best friends”</span></a> on the world stage, “an outstanding partner and an outstanding friend.”</p>
<p>No longer. According to Erdogan, the two no longer chat on the phone. The time of Obama <a href="http://pjmedia.com/barryrubin/2012/03/26/obama-hearts-turkish-leader-erdogan-as-he-oppresses-his-own-people-and-stabs-america-in-the-back/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">“hearting”</span></a> Erdogan are over.</p>
<p><span style="color: #0433ff;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/no-longer-talk-obama-turkeys-erdogan-100909241.html">Erdogan says</a></span> their falling out began in September 2013, when Obama failed to order unilateral military operations against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad once he faced resistance in the U.S. Congress.</p>
<p>If that’s the case, why is Obama letting Erdogan off the hook for his support for ISIS?</p>
<p>It’s time to let Turkey choose: they can continue to be a NATO ally and join us in the fight against ISIS and other enemies of freedom. Or they can continue to support ISIS and suffer the consequences. Which is it?</p>
<p>*</p>
<p><em>Don&#8217;t miss<strong> Ken Timmerman </strong>discuss his new book<strong>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Forces-Truth-Happened-Benghazi/dp/product-description/0062321196/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&amp;n=283155&amp;s=books">Dark Forces:</a></strong></em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pu5T70blH-I" width="460" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
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		<slash:comments>34</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Should a NATO Member be Hosting a Terrorist Group?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/should-a-nato-member-be-hosting-a-terrorist-group/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=should-a-nato-member-be-hosting-a-terrorist-group</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/should-a-nato-member-be-hosting-a-terrorist-group/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Nov 2014 13:45:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NATO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=246177</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It's like bringing a Communist country into NATO during the Cold War]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Turkey_Hamas_Ties_sff_.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-246178" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Turkey_Hamas_Ties_sff_-450x299.jpg" alt="Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ismail Haniyeh" width="450" height="299" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-240902" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama-450x336.jpg" alt="U.S. President Obama shakes hands with Turkey's PM Erdogan after a bilateral meeting in Seoul" width="450" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>The UK is trying to get rid of its Muslim Brotherhood HQ, but <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/187896#.VHX_AIuooeV">there&#8217;s one NATO member that&#8217;s happy to host</a> and sponsor a Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group.</p>
<blockquote><p>Israel wants NATO to take steps against Turkey for allowing genocidal terror group Hamas to set up its headquarters in Istanbul.</p>
<p>Yisrael Hayom reported Wednesday that Israel sent NATO official messages through several channels, in which it stated that it is unacceptable for a NATO member state to have ties with a terror group.</p>
<p>The head of the Turkish HQ is reportedly Salah al-Arouri, a terrorist whom Israel accuses of a long list of attacks.</p>
<p>A senior Israeli source said that the operation of the Hamas HQ from Turkey was undoubtedly authorized by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.</p></blockquote>
<p>Erdogan has also served as a state sponsor of ISIS and NATO appears to be willing to overlook Turkey&#8217;s collaboration with a terrorist group that NATO is at war with. So Hamas will get an easy pass.</p>
<p>But this does highlight the problem with having Turkey in NATO. It&#8217;s like bringing in a Warsaw Pact country into NATO under a Communist government during the Cold War. It makes no sense and it undermines the core function and integrity of the organization.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Turkey to Teach Muslim Discovery of America in Schools</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/turkey-to-teach-muslim-discovery-of-america-in-schools/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=turkey-to-teach-muslim-discovery-of-america-in-schools</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/turkey-to-teach-muslim-discovery-of-america-in-schools/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2014 14:19:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=245756</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Muslims invented geography. And science. Also making stuff up.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/smart-jihadi.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-245757" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/smart-jihadi.jpg" alt="smart-jihadi" width="360" height="264" /></a></p>
<p>The USSR claimed to have invented absolutely everything. Soviet children were taught that everything from the locomotive to the airplane had been invented in Russia. Muslims<a href="http://weaselzippers.us/205826-turkish-president-erdogan-pissed-everyone-is-laughing-at-him-for-saying-muslims-discovered-america/"> can&#8217;t seem to stop jumping headlong</a> into the same xenophobic delusional propaganda.</p>
<blockquote><p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday hit back at ridicule of his claim that Islamic explorers discovered the Americas three centuries before Columbus, accusing his Muslim critics of lacking “self-confidence”.</p>
<p>In an aggressive rebuttal of the criticism heaped in some quarters on his comments, Erdogan also suggested that the purported “discovery” of the Americas by Muslims should be taught in schools.</p>
<p>“A big responsibility falls on the shoulders of the national education ministry and YOK (higher education board) on this issue,” Erdogan said at a ceremony in Ankara.</p>
<p>“If the history of science is written objectively, it will be seen that Islamic geography’s contribution to science is much more than what’s known,” Erdogan said in televised comments.</p></blockquote>
<p>Muslims invented geography. And science. Also making stuff up. Muslim explorers discovered America and immediately flew the planes they had just invented into it.</p>
<blockquote><p>Erdogan, a pious Muslim who has been in power for more than a decade, stirred up controversy on Saturday when he claimed the Americas were discovered by Muslims in the 12th century, nearly three centuries before Christopher Columbus.</p>
<p>He cited as evidence for his claim that “Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast.”</p></blockquote>
<p>The AFP doesn&#8217;t bother to clarify that Columbus was talking about <a href="http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/did-columbus-find-an-ancient-mosque-in-cuba">a hill that looked like a mosqu</a>e, not a mosque. The indigenous Cubans engaged in ancestor worship. They were quite obviously not Muslims. If Muslims had encountered them, they would have beheaded them.</p>
<p>But congratulations to Erdogan who after having picked fights with</p>
<p>1. Egypt</p>
<p>2. Syria</p>
<p>3. Cyprus</p>
<p>4. Israel</p>
<p>has really gone out of his way to p<a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/187526#.VG7bo_mooeU">ick a fight with Cuba</a>.</p>
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		<slash:comments>21</slash:comments>
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		<title>ISIS Commanders Claimed to Have &#8220;Full Cooperation&#8221; w/Turkey in Kurdish Genocide</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/isis-commanders-claimed-to-have-full-cooperation-wturkey-in-kurdish-genocide/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=isis-commanders-claimed-to-have-full-cooperation-wturkey-in-kurdish-genocide</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/isis-commanders-claimed-to-have-full-cooperation-wturkey-in-kurdish-genocide/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 15 Nov 2014 15:19:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=245066</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A so-called US ally is not only allied with terrorists, but is involved in genocide.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-240902" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama-450x336.jpg" alt="U.S. President Obama shakes hands with Turkey's PM Erdogan after a bilateral meeting in Seoul" width="450" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>Turkey may be a member of NATO, but as much as 60 percent of the country, which has repeatedly voted in Islamist governments, hates NATO and is allied with ISIS. The evidence of that continues to pile up.</p>
<p>A so-called US ally is not only allied with terrorists,<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/isis-and-turkey-cooperate-destroy-kurds-former-isis-member-reveals-turkish-282920"> but is involved in genocide</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>A reluctant former communications technician working for Islamic State, now going by the pseudonym ‘Sherko Omer’, who managed to escape the group, told Newsweek that he travelled in a convoy of trucks as part of an ISIS unit from their stronghold in Raqqa, across Turkish border, through Turkey and then back across the border to attack Syrian Kurds in the city of Serekaniye in northern Syria in February.</p>
<p>“ISIS commanders told us to fear nothing at all because there was full cooperation with the Turks,” said Omer of crossing the border into Turkey, “and they reassured us that nothing will happen, especially when that is how they regularly travel from Raqqa and Aleppo to the Kurdish areas further northeast of Syria because it was impossible to travel through Syria as YPG [National Army of Syrian Kurdistan] controlled most parts of the Kurdish region.”</p>
<p>“While we tried to cross the Ceylanpinar border post, the Turkish soldiers&#8217; watchtower light spotted us. The commander quickly told us to stay calm, stay in position and not to look at the light. He talked on the radio in Turkish again and we stayed in our positions. Watchtower light then moved about 10 minutes later and the commander ordered us to move because the watchtower light moving away from us was the signal that we could safely cross the border into Serekaniye.&#8221;</p>
<p>Until last month, NATO member Turkey had blocked Kurdish fighters from crossing the border into Syria to aid their Syrian counterparts in defending the border town of Kobane. Speaking to Newsweek, Kurds in Kobane said that people attempting to carry supplies across the border were often shot at.</p>
<p>Omer explained that during his time with ISIS, Turkey had been seen as an ally against the Kurds. “ISIS saw the Turkish army as its ally especially when it came to attacking the Kurds in Syria. The Kurds were the common enemy for both ISIS and Turkey. Also, ISIS had to be a Turkish ally because only through Turkey they were able to deploy ISIS fighters to northern parts of the Kurdish cities and towns in Syria.”</p>
<p>“ISIS and Turkey cooperate together on the ground on the basis that they have a common enemy to destroy, the Kurds,” he added.</p></blockquote>
<p>It&#8217;s time to kick Turkey out of NATO. As long as Turkey remains in NATO, then NATO remains complicit in genocide.</p>
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		<slash:comments>20</slash:comments>
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		<title>Turkey&#8217;s Diminished Influence in the Middle East</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/joseph-puder/turkeys-diminished-influence-in-the-middle-east/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=turkeys-diminished-influence-in-the-middle-east</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/joseph-puder/turkeys-diminished-influence-in-the-middle-east/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2014 05:05:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joseph Puder]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[influence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jihad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=244797</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How Erdogan’s authoritarianism has damaged Turkey’s appeal and influence. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/erdogan.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-244914" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/erdogan.jpg" alt="erdogan" width="260" height="195" /></a>Not long ago, at the height of the Arab Spring, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (now President of Turkey) enjoyed the adulation of the masses throughout the Arab world, and a close friendship with U.S. President Barack Obama. A revival of a neo-Ottoman Empire was not far from the mind of Erdogan and his Foreign Minister (now Prime Minister) Ahmet Davutoglu. It was Davutoglu who proclaimed neo-Ottomanism as a policy, and a new order in the Middle East.</p>
<p>As the year 2014 comes to a close, Turkish influence in the Middle East has seen a sharp decline. It was outvoted in its quest for a seat at the United Nations Security Council despite its intensive lobbying of the UN’s 193 member nations. Turkey lost out to Spain. Counter lobbying by Egypt and Saudi Arabia helped defeat Turkey’s efforts. Turkey’s reluctance to take action against the Islamic State (IS) has put it under international pressure. Its refusal to help the besieged Syrian Kurds in the city of Kobani (on the Turkish border) resulted in violent Kurdish demonstrations in Turkey offsetting the gains made by the AKP party with the large Kurdish minority. In addition, Turkish passivity in the face of Kurdish suffering engendered contempt for Turkey.</p>
<p>In March, 2013, Davutoglu claimed that for the first time, Turkey has been back to the lost lands that once made the Ottoman Empire. He suggested that it’s time for Turkey to take the lead to set an order for these lands and re-connect them once again. He charged that “Last century was only a parenthesis for us. We will close the parenthesis. We will do so without going to war, or calling anyone an enemy, without being disrespectful to any border, we will again tie Sarajevo to Damascus, Benghazi to Erzurum, to Batumi. This is the core of our power, These may look like all different countries to you, but Yemen and Skopje were part of the <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/turkey-davutologu-ottoman-new-order-mideast.html">same country</a> 110 years ago, or Erzurum and Benghazi. When we say this, they call it ‘new Ottomanism.’ The ones who united the whole Europe don’t become new Romans, but the ones who unite the Middle East geography are called new Ottomanists. It’s an honor to be reminded with the names of ottoman, Seljuks, Artuklu or Eyyubi, but we have never or will ever have an eye on anyone’s land based on an historic background.”</p>
<p>Since Davutoglu’s bombastic words, the AKP leadership overestimated the potential of political Islam best exemplified by the surge of the Muslim Brotherhood parties during the Arab Spring in the region, and control of governments particularly in Egypt and Tunisia. The tens of millions of Egyptians who demonstrated against the Morsi (Muslim Brotherhood) government resulted in the military takeover, and the subsequent election of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as President of Egypt on June 8, 2014. The Turkish government’s unqualified support for Mohammad Morsi’s government has caused a deep breach in Turkish-Egyptian relations. Turkey’s relations with Egypt reached a breaking point and Ankara does not even have its ambassador in Cairo. A similar freeze in diplomatic relations exists between Turkey and Israel, where there is no Turkish ambassador in Israel.</p>
<p>On a visit to Antalya in Southern Turkey last July, Erdogan accused Israel of “dishonesty.” He went on to say “Israel apologized to Turkey for what it did to the Mavi Marmara ship four years ago, and we were close to restoring normal relations with it if our conditions were fulfilled. But it was not <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/12749-turkeys-erdogan-normal-relations-with-israel-unlikely-if-its-aggression-on-palestine-continues">honest</a>.” In fact, Erdogan initiated the Navi Marmara provocation that sought to break Israel’s Gaza blockade, using violence against Israeli naval commandos enforcing the blockade. It resulted in nine Turks getting killed. Israel did, nevertheless, agree to compensate the families.</p>
<p>Erdogan’s conditions for restoring normal relations with Israel included compensation to the families of the victims, an apology to Turkey, and lifting the Gaza blockade. Encouraged by U.S. President Obama, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized to Turkey. Erdogan, however, was not satisfied despite Obama’s urging to restore the relationship. Gaza remains a pretext for Erdogan to maintain his deep seated hostility towards the Jewish state. Turkish opposition presidential candidate Ekmelettin Ihsanoglu criticized the stance, claiming that Turkey should stay neutral vis-à-vis Palestine.</p>
<p>Umit Pamir, Turkey’s former ambassador to the UN, pondered Turkey’s deteriorating relations with its neighbors. He posited that “We came from a policy of having <a href="https://johnib.wordpress.com/tag/prime-minister-ahmet-davutoglu/">zero problems</a> with our neighbors (Davutoglu’s heralded policy), and now we’re having problems with almost everyone.”</p>
<p>In the years before the Arab Spring, Turkey, Syria, and Iran cooperated in suppressing the Kurds, and eliminating any Kurdish call for self-determination. In 1998, Hafez Assad, Syria’s dictator, cut off his relations with Abdullah Ocalan’s PKK, following Turkey’s threat to invade Syria. What followed was a warming of relations. Then, in March, 2011, the Syrian civil war began. Bashar Assad (Hafez’s son) wasted no time, and began butchering his mainly Sunni opposition. Erdogan became the loudest voice calling for regime change in Syria. Taking sides against the Alawite (Offshoot of Shiite Islam) Syrian dictator brought about a chilled relation with Assad’s protector, Shiite Iran.</p>
<p>Turkey’s relations with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad have become downright hostile. A strong economic relationship between Ankara and Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has infuriated Baghdad, particularly Turkish investments in the KRG, and Turkey’s purchase of oil shipped from Kurdistan.</p>
<p>Erdogan’s support for the MB has brought Ankara to conflict not only with Egypt but with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The MB vision of a Caliphate threatens the Saudis position as the guardians of the Islamic holy places.</p>
<p>Just before the Arab Spring arrived, Turkey appeared to be a model of Islamic democracy. However, Erdogan’s authoritarianism has dimmed Turkey’s image as an open and tolerant society. The crackdown on demonstrators in Istanbul’s Gezi Park in 2013, and Erdogan’s move to censor the Internet created a backlash, particularly among urban and educated youth. His open quarrel with Turkey’s most influential Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who helped him remove the army from politics, widened the opposition against him.</p>
<p>Erdogan decided to phase out schools run by Gulenists that prepare students for university exams. In response, Gulen called Erdogan a “pharaoh”. Erdogan retaliated by removing Gulen loyalists from the security services and the judiciary, accusing Gulen of creating a “parallel state.” The Gulenists, in turn, possess evidence of AKP linked corruption. Erdogan’s shielding of his AKP associates from investigation of corruption has soured Turkey’s image abroad and angered Turkish audiences.</p>
<p>Soner Cagaptay, (Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy) writing in <em>The Atlantic</em> (December 11, 2012) suggested that “Turkey’s two halves are like oil and water; though they may not blend, neither will disappear. Turkey’s Islamization is a fact, but so is secular and Westernized Turkey. The historical roots and current manifestation of this synthesis indicate it is a model that will be <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/12/why-turkey-cant-be-a-model-for-the-future-of-the-arab-spring/266116/">difficult to replicate</a> elsewhere in the region, as Islamist governments rise to power after the Arab Spring.”</p>
<p>Cagaptay was wrong about “Islamist governments rise to power after the “Arab Spring.” Egypt and Tunisia disprove his theory. What is rising in the Middle East is sub-governmental agents such as ISIS (or IS). Turkey however, is no longer a model for the region, and not just for the reasons given by Cagaptay. Erdogan’s authoritarianism and heavy hand in domestic and foreign relations has diminished Turkey’s appeal and influence.</p>
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		<title>Turkish Cops Say Superiors Protected ISIS Weapons Smuggling</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/turkish-cops-say-superiors-protected-isis-weapons-smuggling/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=turkish-cops-say-superiors-protected-isis-weapons-smuggling</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/turkish-cops-say-superiors-protected-isis-weapons-smuggling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Nov 2014 13:03:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=244783</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["All of us are now a target for al-Qaeda." ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-192625" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama-450x336.jpg" alt="U.S. President Obama shakes hands with Turkey's PM Erdogan after a bilateral meeting in Seoul" width="450" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>Turkish acrobats<a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/latest-news_policemen-claim-they-were-prevented-from-pursuing-al-qaeda-suspects_363669.html"> are the best in the world</a>. Its AKP regime manages to be in NATO and ISIS at the same time. If Turkey ever enters the EU, it can balance it out with joining the Islamic State.</p>
<blockquote><p>Detained policemen standing trial on charges of wiretapping have claimed that they were prevented from putting suspects linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization and other groups affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) under close surveillance.</p>
<p>Muhammed Suad Çelen, one of the policemen who delivered his defense statement, said all the wiretapping activities were conducted legally and with a court decision, adding that there was no way the policemen could have benefitted from the wiretapping.</p>
<p>Çelen said the police intelligence unit ordered them not to conduct surveillance regarding al-Qaeda after Syria-bound trucks carrying weapons were intercepted in the southern province of Adana in January. He claimed that one Turkish police officer and one soldier were killed in Niğde by al-Qaeda militants because the terrorists could not be wiretapped.</p>
<p>&#8220;All of us are now a target for al-Qaeda,&#8221; Çelen said.</p>
<p>Çelen&#8217;s lawyer, Ali Aksoy, said the primary reason for the trial is his client&#8217;s investigation of ISIL. He added that the intelligence unit chief blocked him from conducting work to expose ISIL militants.</p></blockquote>
<p>An alliance with Turkey is an alliance with Al Qaeda. The rise of ISIS and its easy access to Turkey reminds us that the road to terror leads through Istanbul.</p>
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		<title>Is Turkey Participating in Kurdish Genocide w/Planes Sold by Obama?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/is-turkey-participating-in-kurdish-genocide-wplanes-sold-by-obama/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=is-turkey-participating-in-kurdish-genocide-wplanes-sold-by-obama</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/is-turkey-participating-in-kurdish-genocide-wplanes-sold-by-obama/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 22:06:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barack hussein obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=243063</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Obama even enabled Turkey to use its F-16s to attack Israel.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-240902" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama-450x336.jpg" alt="U.S. President Obama shakes hands with Turkey's PM Erdogan after a bilateral meeting in Seoul" width="450" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>Turkey, a state sponsor of ISIS is currently doing its part for Kurdish genocide<a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/instead-of-bombing-isis-turkey-bombs-kurds-wus-planes/"> by bombing Kurdish border villages</a> using F-16s while obstructing the US war against ISIS.</p>
<p>Turkey has had an indigenous F-16 manufacturing operation for some time. An obvious mistake on our part. But it <a href="http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/turkey-orders-30-f16c-block-50s-et-al-for-29b-02671/">ordered 50 more F-16s</a> in 2012, recently got a number of upgrades <a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/_turkey-to-rewrite-software-source-codes-of-204-f-16-fighters_261418.html">including F-16 software access</a>.</p>
<p>What that essentially means is that <a href="https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/20111104.aspx">Obama enabled Turkey to use its F-16s to attack Israel</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>In particular, Turkey wants control over the aircraft’s identification friend or foe (IFF) system in order to offer more flexibility with regard to how its fleet identifies foreign air force jets. The default setting of the original U.S. software for Turkey’s F-16 fleet, for instance, identified Israeli air force jets as exclusively friendly. To overcome the problem, ASELSAN, one of Turkey’s leading defense companies, developed a new IFF system, which was finalized in September 2011 and is now operational on Turkey’s F-16 fleet. The new system allows Turkish fighters to bypass the original software restrictions, allowing Turkish pilots to determine whether to recognize Israeli fighters as either friendly or hostile.</p></blockquote>
<p>That&#8217;s a fundamentally hostile act by Obama. But there are no software problems when it comes to using F-16s to massacre Kurds. And that&#8217;s what Erdogan, the Islamist Butcher of Istanbul, is currently doing with his F-16s.</p>
<blockquote><p>F-16 jets bombed PKK targets in the village of Daglica in the Kurdish-majority Hakkari province near the border with Iraq, a security source said.</p>
<p>Attack helicopters also struck at PKK targets around the village of Geyiksuyu in the Tunceli province of eastern Turkey following raids by the PKK.</p>
<p>Airstrikes have failed to stop Islamic State from reaching the centre of Kobane, which was in danger of falling, as commanders from the US-led coalition prepared to meet overnight in Washington to discuss halting the group’s advance in Iraq and Syria.</p></blockquote>
<p>So while the US tries to stop ISIS from massacring Kurds, Turkey is massacring Kurds using F-16s. And Obama has enabled Turkey to carry out similar massacres even against American allies.</p>
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		<title>It&#8217;s Time to Kick Terrorist Turkey Out of NATO</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/its-time-to-kick-terrorist-turkey-out-of-nato/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=its-time-to-kick-terrorist-turkey-out-of-nato</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/its-time-to-kick-terrorist-turkey-out-of-nato/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 20:27:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=242711</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Turkey is determined to drag the US into war by using ISIS terrorists to massacre Kurds and Christians. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Erdogan-Signed-Internet-Control-Act-Turkey.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-242712" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Erdogan-Signed-Internet-Control-Act-Turkey-450x337.jpg" alt="Recep Tayyip Erdogan" width="450" height="337" /></a></p>
<p>While the US tried to stop ISIS from killing Kurds in Syria, Turkey, the state sponsor of ISIS across the border sat, watched and killed some Kurds inside their own country.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t the first time Turkey has been involved in genocide. This isn&#8217;t the first time that it&#8217;s been involved in ethnic cleansing even as a member of NATO.</p>
<p>The original excuse for keeping Turkey on board was the USSR. But the USSR is gone. The alliance with Turkey collapsed long ago. With the rise of the AKP, Turkey has become a Jihadist state that vacuums up loans to build an empire of terrorist oligarchs funneling money to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.</p>
<p>NATO may have outlived its purpose, but Turkey&#8217;s role in it certainly has. Turkey is obstructing the US fight against ISIS the way that it obstructed the US fight against Saddam. And this time it&#8217;s even more serious.</p>
<p>Turkey is determined to drag the US into a war against Syria by using its ISIS terrorists to massacre Kurds and Christians. While Turkish spies trawl the US, its ISIS allies commit mass murder.</p>
<p>NATO stands for very little if it can include a member state that is engaging in armed occupation, that has jails filled with political dissidents and that actively sponsors genocide.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s time to kick terrorist Turkey out of NATO. There&#8217;s no room for a genocidal thug like Erdogan in any organization dedicated to protecting peace, democracy and freedom.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<slash:comments>169</slash:comments>
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		<title>Islamic State/ISIS Opens First Consulate in Islamist Turkey</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/islamic-stateisis-opens-first-consulate-in-islamist-turkey/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=islamic-stateisis-opens-first-consulate-in-islamist-turkey</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/islamic-stateisis-opens-first-consulate-in-islamist-turkey/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2014 14:23:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=242078</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Turkey should be expelled from NATO]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-240902" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama-450x336.jpg" alt="U.S. President Obama shakes hands with Turkey's PM Erdogan after a bilateral meeting in Seoul" width="450" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>Al Qaeda has operated openly in Turkey for years. A top adviser of Erdogan, the country&#8217;s Islamist tyrant, had Al Qaeda links. ISIS openly operates in Turkey, its fighters travel through its cities and utilize its hospitals.</p>
<p><a href="http://awdnews.com/top-news/9885-isis-to-open-its-first-consulate-in-istanbul.html">Why not open a consulate there</a>? Qatar would be even more welcoming, even the Taliban have a consulate there, <a href="http://www.aydinlikdaily.com/Detail/ISIS-Opens-A-Consulate-In-Turkey/4576#.VCrEfvlr7J8">but Turkey is more convenient</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>The so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) intends to inaugurate its first diplomatic mission in Istanbul in order to provide consular services for all who wish to join the extremist group in Iraq, reported Turkish daily Aydinlik as saying.</p>
<p>Abu-Omar Al-Tunisi, the ISIS de facto head of foreign relations issued a statement, saying that the Islamic Caliphate is determined to launch its first diplomatic mission in a friendly and Muslim country. He further noted that the ISIS hopes that the bilateral relations with Ankara will witness more developments under the aegis of newly-elected president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</p>
<p>ISIS also claims that its consulate in Istanbul will pay the hospital bills of all wounded Islamist militants who traveled to turkey to receive medical treatment.</p>
<p>CHP (Republican People&#8217;s Party) , a leading Turkish opposing party issued a communique condemning Turkish government decision to allow ISIS to open a legal diplomatic office  in Çankaya &#8211; the central and elegant metropolitan district of the city of Istanbul.</p></blockquote>
<p>If this turns out to be true, Turkey should be expelled from NATO. And it goes without saying that it should be barred from the EU and its dual citizens should be expelled back to their homeland from Austria, Germany and other parts of Europe.</p>
<p>Their Caliph Erdogan, whom they cheered enthusiastically on his visit there, can cover their welfare instead of German taxpayers.</p>
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		<slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
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		<title>Time to Part Ways with Erdogan</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/time-to-part-ways-with-erdogan/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=time-to-part-ways-with-erdogan</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/time-to-part-ways-with-erdogan/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2014 04:36:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ari Lieberman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ankara]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hezbollah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NATO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=238980</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The death of a "moderate" Muslim state. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/erdogan.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-238981" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/erdogan.jpg" alt="erdogan" width="249" height="187" /></a>There is no question that Turkey, because of its size and geo-strategic location maintains a pivotal role in NATO. Its armed forces are NATO’s second largest and its troops had acquitted themselves well during the Korean War. Turkey had also played a constructive role in bridging relations between Israel and the Muslim world acting as an effective interlocutor. But with the ascent of the Islamist Justice and Development party in 2002 and the rise of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as party boss, things have taken a stark turn for the worse.</p>
<p>Under the stewardship of an increasingly unbalanced Erdogan, Turkey has renounced secularism in favor of Islamist dogma and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/05/28/turkey-alcohol/2366649/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-r1.FCsJcmGWrVqecMqACzg"><span style="color: #0433ff;">creeping <i>sharia</i></span></a>. Turkey’s new <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/turks-cast-votes-in-presidential-election-with-erdogan-primed-for-win-1407658125"><span style="color: #0433ff;">president elect</span></a> has, through intimidation and strong-arm tactics, usurped control of Turkey’s judiciary and press. Indeed, Turkey holds the dubious distinction of being the world’s <a href="http://cpj.org/reports/2013/12/second-worst-year-on-record-for-jailed-journalists.php"><span style="color: #0433ff;">largest incarcerator of journalists</span></a> followed only by Iran and China.</p>
<p>An increasingly paranoid Erdogan has also declared war on social media and in March <a href="http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/07/turkey-pm-erdogan-in-threat-to-ban-facebook-and-youtube-over-immorality-and-/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">threatened to ban</span></a> Facebook and YouTube, accusing the sites of “every kind of immorality and espionage for their own ends.” Erdogan had already banned YouTube for two years though the restriction was lifted in 2010.</p>
<p>Erdogan’s disloyalty to the United States and NATO began early in his term of office as prime minister but his betrayals have only increased in recent years.</p>
<p>In March 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Turkey <a href="http://www.cfr.org/iraq/iraq-us-turkey-relations/p7795"><span style="color: #0433ff;">refused to allow</span></a> the deployment of US troops on Turkish soil which would have enabled the US to open a second front against Saddam Hussein. Turkey also refused to allow the US to utilize Turkish airspace and airbases to launch strikes against Iraqi forces.</p>
<p>In 2010, Turkey was one of only two nations in the UN Security Council (the other being Brazil) <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/world/middleeast/10sanctions.html?_r=0"><span style="color: #0433ff;">that voted against</span></a> imposing sanctions against Iran in connection with its nuclear proliferation activities. Turkey (along with China) is currently taking a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9091736/Turkey-and-China-helping-Iran-evade-UN-sanctions.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">lead role</span></a> in helping the Islamic Republic circumvent sanctions, often fronting for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and instituting <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/28/turkey-and-iran-accused-of-oil-for-cash-sanctions-scheme.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">various other schemes</span></a> to bypass legal obstacles.  Turkey’s stance on Iran has even <a href="http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/12/23/341544/turkey-rejects-unilateral-iran-sanctions/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">drawn praise</span></a> from mullah’s official propaganda outlet, Press TV.</p>
<p>It is clear that Turkey, acting as Iran’s conduit to Europe has become the Islamic Republic’s premier enabler. Turkey’s outreach to Iran represents a disturbing pattern by Erdogan to curry favor with nations and entities whose interests substantially diverge from Washington’s. Turkey has established itself as the world’s foremost supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are listed as terrorist organizations by the United States.  Turkey has also <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/turkeys-erdogan-quietly-wooing-americas-enemies-2846"><span style="color: #0433ff;">opted to purchase</span></a> air defense platforms from a Chinese firm already on a designated sanctions list for violating embargoes against Iran and North Korea. Moreover, the Chinese systems are incompatible with NATO platforms but to Erdogan, NATO’s defense needs play second fiddle to his disconcerting policy of thumbing his nose at the West.</p>
<p>Central to any defense pact and cooperation between allies is trust. But Erdogan has proven that he is anything but trustworthy. In fact, he has established himself as the premier betrayer of trust when, in violation of all norms and protocol within the intelligence community, he <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-turkey-blows-israels-cover-for-iranian-spy-ring/2013/10/16/7d9c1eb2-3686-11e3-be86-6aeaa439845b_story.html?hpid=z4"><span style="color: #0433ff;">betrayed a network of spies</span></a> working to compile data on Iran’s proliferation activities.</p>
<p>Israel and Turkey have had numerous understandings and agreements with respect to intelligence sharing dating back to the 1950s and it was thought that despite strained ties between Ankara and Jerusalem, the intelligence protocols which had withstood the test of time, would remain intact. Erdogan’s perfidious actions torpedoed those assumptions. Intelligence and security officials from across the political spectrum termed Turkey’s act of betrayal, “despicable” and intimated that Turkey could no longer be trusted with sensitive data.</p>
<p>With every passing day, Erdogan appears more irrational and unbalanced. Protests against his authoritarian style are met with cryptic claims that the unrest was sparked by the “<a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-06-27/erdogan-s-paranoia-and-turkey-s-economy"><span style="color: #0433ff;">interest rate lobby</span></a>” and just in case anyone had any doubts about what he meant, his deputy prime minister, Besir Atalay put them to rest when he blamed the “<a href="http://forward.com/articles/179717/turkish-official-blames-jews-for-stoking-street-pr/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Jewish Diaspora</span></a>” for the strife.</p>
<p>The Turkish leader’s vitriolic hate toward Israel has veered uncomfortably close to outright Jew-hatred. In September 2011, he absurdly claimed that Israel had killed “<a href="http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=1278"><span style="color: #0433ff;">hundreds of thousands</span></a>” of Palestinians in Gaza and adopting a classic anti-Semitic canard, boorishly stated that Israel used the Holocaust as a mechanism to gain world sympathy. In February 2013 Erdogan compared Zionism to fascism and further declared Zionism to be a “<a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/erdogan-calls-zionism-a-crime-against-humanity/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">crime against humanity</span></a>.” He also bizarrely accused Israel of <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/bernard-henri-levy-conspiracy-theories/2013/09/11/id/525134/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">engineering the coup</span></a> that deposed Erdogan’s Muslim Brotherhood ally, Mohammed Morsi prompting the State Department to issue a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/20/us-turkey-egypt-israel-usa-idUSBRE97J0S820130820"><span style="color: #0433ff;">stern rebuke</span></a> terming Erdogan’s histrionics, “offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong.”</p>
<p>During Israel’s recent counter-insurgency efforts against the Hamas terrorist group, Erdogan accused the Jewish State of committing genocide, lamented the fact that not enough Jews had been killed during the conflict and compared Israelis to Adolph Hitler.</p>
<p>These examples just scratch the surface when it comes to Erdogan’s Judeophobia. His hatred of Jews is ingrained and is inspired by a convoluted and radical interpretation of Islam, an interpretation with roots firmly embedded in the teachings of the fascist Muslim Brotherhood. But where there is hatred of Jews, there invariably is hatred of other minorities and misogynistic proclivities. In August, Erdogan <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183857"><span style="color: #0433ff;">lashed out</span></a> at a female journalist telling her that she “should know [her] place.” That very month, he made <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-pm-erdogan-under-fire-over-ugly-called-154221717.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">pejorative and deprecatory</span></a> references to Armenians.</p>
<p>There can no longer be any doubt that Erdogan is rabidly xenophobic. His war against social media and cryptic references to international conspiracies to dethrone him are indicative of a delusional mind, one wracked by extreme paranoia and fantasy. His efforts to distance Turkey from the West and undermine American foreign policy are demonstrative of a nefarious agenda. His betrayal of intelligence agents crystalizes the fact that so long as Erdogan maintains the reins of power, Turkey cannot be trusted as a reliable NATO partner. It is time for the United States to reevaluate Turkey’s role in NATO and make clear to Erdogan that there are consequences for his actions.</p>
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		<title>Turkey&#8217;s Islamist Deputy Prime Minister Warns Women Not to Laugh in Public</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/turkeys-islamist-deputy-prime-minister-warns-women-not-to-laugh-in-public/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=turkeys-islamist-deputy-prime-minister-warns-women-not-to-laugh-in-public</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:07:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[akp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The murder rate for women in Turkey increased 1400%]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Turkey-Protest_Horo7-e1370354962545-635x357.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-237346" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Turkey-Protest_Horo7-e1370354962545-635x357-450x252.jpg" alt="Turkey-Protest_Horo7-e1370354962545-635x357" width="450" height="252" /></a></p>
<p>Under Erdogan&#8217;s Islamist AKP thugs, the murder rate for women in Turkey <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/turkeys-murder-rate-of-women-skyrockets-117093538/170517.html">increased an unprecedented 1400%</a>.</p>
<p>Now one of Erdogan&#8217;s boys <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkey-women-shall-not-laugh-public-says-erdogans-deputy-1458847">has some orders for women</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>Women should not laugh in public in Turkey, the Deputy Prime Minister has said in a speech on “moral corruption” in the country.</p>
<p>Bülent Arınç used a meeting for Eid al-Fitr on Monday to condemn perceived moral regression, consumerism and even excessive mobile phone use.</p>
<p>&#8220;She will not laugh in public. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness,” Mr Arınç said.</p>
<p>He called for Turkish people to rediscover the Koran and stop moral regression.</p>
<p>Targeting women once more, Arınç said women talk about unnecessary things on the phone.</p>
<p>“Women give each other meal recipes while speaking on the mobile phone. ‘What else is going on?’ ‘What happened to Ayşe’s daughter?’ ‘When is the wedding?’</p></blockquote>
<p>Unlike AKP Deputy PMs who insist on babbling about what women talk about on the phone.</p>
<blockquote><p>Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, who is running against the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in August’s presidential elections, took to Twitter to argue against Mr Arınç‘s statement.</p>
<p>Turkey needed women to laugh, he said, and the country needs to hear laughter more than anything.</p></blockquote>
<p>Also it needs Erdogan and his AKP thugs in the prison that they put so many of their political opponents.</p>
<p>Turkish women meanwhile responded to the Deputy Prime Minister <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/photos-turkish-women-in-laughing-protest-in-spite-of-deputy-pm.aspx?pageID=238&amp;nID=69763&amp;NewsCatID=339">with a social media protest of themselves</a> laughing using <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/direnkahkaha?src=tren">the #direnkahkaha resist</a> and laugh hashtag.</p>
<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/article-2579241-1C3B497200000578-73_964x640.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-237347" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/article-2579241-1C3B497200000578-73_964x640-450x298.jpg" alt="article-2579241-1C3B497200000578-73_964x640" width="450" height="298" /></a></p>
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		<title>A NATO Member on the Edge</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/a-nato-member-on-the-edge/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-nato-member-on-the-edge</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Mar 2014 04:40:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ari Lieberman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Turkey's Islamist Erdoğan takes an erratic turn. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2013-06-03-basbakan_erdogan.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-220723" alt="2013-06-03-basbakan_erdogan" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2013-06-03-basbakan_erdogan.jpg" width="308" height="231" /></a>Reeling from a series of embarrassing public disclosures involving </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/03/3971911/erdogans-party-leader-concedes.html">embezzlement</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, bribery, undue influence and strong-arm tactics, Turkey’s neo-Ottoman, Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, threatened to </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/07/turkey-pm-erdogan-in-threat-to-ban-facebook-and-youtube-over-immorality-and-/">ban</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> the popular social media sites of Facebook and YouTube, accusing them of encouraging “every kind of immorality and espionage for their own ends.” Erdoğan has recently resorted to a series of desperate measures, including sacking hundreds of police officers, prosecutors and judges, in a frantic effort to keep a growing corruption scandal centered on him and his cronies from spiraling out of control.</span></p>
<p>Erdoğan’s AKP government, once touted by President Obama as a shining example of Islam’s compatibility with democracy, has turned out to be as, if not more xenophobic than the autocracies currently governing the Arab and Islamic worlds. As for Erdoğan, he has proven himself to be nothing more than a petty, paranoid thug, full of hubris and delusions of grandeur.</p>
<p>Under Erdoğan, Turkey has become the world’s leading <a href="http://cpj.org/reports/2013/12/second-worst-year-on-record-for-jailed-journalists.php">incarcerator of journalists</a> followed by those democracy stalwarts of Iran and China. He has successfully usurped control from the once independent Turkish judiciary and has imposed <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/05/28/turkey-alcohol/2366649/">creeping <i>sharia</i></a><i> </i>on secular Turks.  But it is Erdoğan’s rhetoric concerning Jews and Israel where his penchant for the bizarre truly comes to fore.</p>
<p>It began in December 2009 when Erdoğan made a spectacle of himself at the World Economic Forum in Davos after moderator David Ignatius noted that Erdoğan had gone over his allotted time to speak. Erdoğan then turned to Israel’s president Shimon Peres and bellowed, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/world/europe/30clash.html?_r=0">“When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill.”</a> Then he stormed off the stage like a spoiled child. His theatrics played well in the Arab world but left most westerners scratching their heads.</p>
<p>In September 2011 Erdoğan outrageously claimed that Israel had killed <a href="http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=1278">“hundreds of thousands”</a> of Palestinians in Gaza and in classic anti-Semitic fashion boorishly stated that Israel used the Holocaust as a tool to gain world sympathy.</p>
<p>In February 2013 Erdoğan compared Zionism to fascism and further declared Zionism to be a <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/erdogan-calls-zionism-a-crime-against-humanity/">“crime against humanity.”</a></p>
<p>In June 2013 while facing mounting protests against his autocratic rule and brute thuggery, Erdoğan suggested that the “<a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-06-27/erdogan-s-paranoia-and-turkey-s-economy">interest rate lobby</a>,” (a convenient euphemistic catch-all phrase for the all-powerful Jewish banking cabal) was behind the unrest. If there were any lingering doubts about Erdoğan’s gist, his deputy prime minister, Besir Atalay, taking cue from his boss, put them to rest when he blamed the “<a href="http://forward.com/articles/179717/turkish-official-blames-jews-for-stoking-street-pr/">Jewish diaspora</a>” for the strife. It is shocking that the leader of the second largest army in NATO can – not unlike Germany under Hitler – lay blame for his own faults on the Jews and actually get away with it without so much as even a mild reprimand. The EU’s Catherine Ashton must have been too busy condemning Israel to pay any mind to Erdoğan’s anti-Semitic rant.</p>
<p>If anyone still had any doubts about Erdoğan’s sanity, he put them to rest with his zaniest conspiracy theory yet, that French-Jewish intellectual <a href="http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/bernard-henri-levy-conspiracy-theories/2013/09/11/id/525134">Bernard-Henri Levy</a> and Israel orchestrated the military coup that deposed Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohammed Morsi. That outrageous claim proved too much to bear even for the State Department which termed Erdogan’s histrionics as <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/20/us-turkey-egypt-israel-usa-idUSBRE97J0S820130820">“offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong.”</a></p>
<p>Turkey maintains NATO’s second largest army, borders three very problematic Mideast nations (Iran, Iraq and Syria), is in close proximity to Crimea and secures a substantial portion of NATO’s southern flank. But Turkey under Erdoğan has cozied up to Iran’s mullahs, has <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/turkeys-erdogan-quietly-wooing-americas-enemies-2846">opted to purchase Chinese arms</a> that are incompatible with NATO’s defense systems and has established itself as the <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-spy-boss-rails-against-turkeys-reported-betrayal-of-mossad/">premiere betrayer of intelligence agents</a>.</p>
<p>Considering Turkey’s strategic importance, an unbalanced, erratic and unpredictable Erdoğan should be a source of concern for the free world. Should Erdoğan’s AKP maintain or expand its parliamentary hold on power in the next general elections, NATO should give serious consideration to reassessing Turkey’s role in the alliance.</p>
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		<title>&#8220;We Came Here to Die with You&#8221;: Islamists Chant in Support of Corrupt Turkish Dictator</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/we-came-here-to-die-with-you-islamists-chant-in-support-of-corrupt-turkish-dictator/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=we-came-here-to-die-with-you-islamists-chant-in-support-of-corrupt-turkish-dictator</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Feb 2014 14:23:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[akp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=219709</guid>
		<description><![CDATA["My advice to you is either flee the country, take your helicopter, or resign."]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/anti_erdogan_protest_in_New_York.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-219710" alt="anti_erdogan_protest_in_New_York" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/anti_erdogan_protest_in_New_York.jpg" width="450" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>If the tape that was released is genuine, then it may be the silver bullet that takes down Turkey&#8217;s Islamist overlord and terrorist supporter Erdogan. The Gulen Movement was always alleged to have had a rich trope of blackmail material. And now that the Gulen Movement has turned on Erdogan, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/25/turkey-erdogan-idUSL6N0LT48U20140225">it does appear to be paying out</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>The main opposition Republican People&#8217;s Party (CHP) played the entire recording at a parliamentary group meeting with the alleged words of Erdogan and his son displayed on a screen behind leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu head Kemal Kilicdaroglu.</p>
<p>The recording is purportedly of Erdogan and his son Bilal discussing how to reduce the funds to &#8220;zero&#8221; by distributing them among several businessmen. At one point, the voice supposedly of Bilal says some 30 million euros ($40 million) remain to be disposed of.</p>
<p>Names of two businessmen were also mentioned.</p>
<p>The tapes stirred a virtual uproar on Twitter and turned an Ankara protest against the opening of a highway into an anti-government demonstration. Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse several hundred people, mainly students who chanted &#8220;Government resign&#8221; and &#8220;Thief Tayyip Erdogan&#8221;. There were similar scenes in Istanbul&#8217;s Kadikoy neighbourhood.</p>
<p>Turkey&#8217;s Prime Minister accused political enemies of hacking encrypted state communications to fake a phone conversation suggesting he warned his son to hide large sums of money before police raids in a graft inquiry that reached into government.</p>
<p>The head of the main parliamentary opposition insisted the conversation was genuine, telling Erdogan: &#8220;My advice to you is either flee the country, take your helicopter, or resign.&#8221;</p>
<p>Supporters of Erdogan, locked in a power struggle with Gulen whom he accuses of contriving a graft scandal to topple him, chanted &#8220;Tayyip, we came here to die with you.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Erdogan controls the media and as in Egypt, this is a context between the illiterate backward followers of the Islamists and a more modern middle and upper class.</p>
<p>Unlike Morsi, Erdogan had a long time to get his hooks into Turkey and his supporters are making it clear that they won&#8217;t accept defeat, but at the same time Erdogan has to be nervous about putting his fate in the hands of the police, who have begun to turn on him due to their ties to the Gulen Movement, and the military, which he has locked up on fraudulent Deep State conspiracy charges.</p>
<p>This site claims to offer<a href="http://erdogansdollars.blogspot.se/2014/02/how-erdogan-pm-of-turkey-asked-his-son.html"> a transcript of the Erdogan tape&#8217;s</a> contents.</p>
<blockquote><p>The alleged tapes of Prime Minister on Dec 17, the day the comprehensive graft operation began. It is about the 1 billion USD that PM allegedly hid in several relative&#8217;s homes.</p>
<p>Dec 17, 2013 08:02 a.m.</p>
<p>RTE: Are you home son?<br />
Bilal E(son): Yes father<br />
RTE:  Now! This morning [they] made an operation. <a href="http://www.agaoglu.com.tr/" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Ali Agaoglu</a>, <a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/news-334277-87-billion-euros-in-suspicious-transfers-from-iran.html" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Reza Zerrab</a>, <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/erdogan-bayraktar-corruption-resignation-gulen-chp.html#" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Erdogan&#8217;s [Bayraktar-ex minister]</a> son, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25514579" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Zafer&#8217;s [Caglayan – ex-minister]</a> son, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25514579" rel=" noreferrer">Muammer&#8217;s [Guler – ex-minister]</a> son, etc.. All their houses are being searched now.<br />
BE: Tell again, daddy<br />
RTE: I&#8217;m saying that Muammer&#8217;s son, Zafer&#8217;s son, Erdogan&#8217;s son, Ali Agaoglu, Reza Zerrab etc they are searching the houses of 18 people under a big corruption operation thing.<br />
BE: yes<br />
RTE: OK? Now, what I say is, you take everything that you have in the house out. OK?<br />
BE: What can I have on me dad! There is your money in the safe<br />
RTE: That&#8217;s what I am saying. Now, I am sending your sister. OK?<br />
BE: You are sending who?<br />
RTE: Your sister, I&#8217;m saying.<br />
BE: Eh, OK<br />
RTE: Then,&#8230; She has that information, OK. Talk with your big brother<br />
BE: Yes<br />
RTE: On him,,, Let&#8217;s do&#8230;, talk with your uncle too, he should also take out, also talk to your  [maternal] uncle, he should also&#8230;<br />
BE: What should we do with these daddy, where should we put them?<br />
RTE: To specific places, to some specific places&#8230; do it<br />
(A woman&#8217;s voice on background saying “Berat”)<br />
BE: Berat also has some<br />
RTE: That&#8217;s what I am saying. Now, get together, go get your uncle, I don&#8217;t know if Uncle Ziya has some, OK? Also immediately [inform] your brother <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Turkey/comments/1u07gb/sevim_tan%C3%BCrek_classical_musician_was_killed_by/" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Burak</a> too.<br />
NE: OK father. You mean<a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/news-339528-chp-takes-erdogans-daughters-villa-conversation-to-parliament.html" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer"> Sumeyye</a>, I mean take out, Sumeyye will tell me where to take them?<br />
RTE: Yes, fine. C&#8217;mon now, do [it] think about yours among yourselves with your uncle, etc<br />
NE: on what to do?<br />
RTE: Yes, yes, let&#8217;s contact fast, until 10.00. Because the issue is&#8230;<br />
NE: OK father<br />
RTE: OK? Keep in touch<br />
NE: OK daddy</p>
<p>2nd call 11.17</p>
<p>NE: Father, We got together with Brother Hasan etc. Brother Berat, my uncle, we are together, thinking about it. Berat has another idea. He says that let&#8217;s give some of it to<a href="http://www.kalyongrup.com/en-us/homepage.aspx" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Faruk [Kalyoncu]</a> for the other “business/thing” so he can process them like the previous ones. Shall we do it, we can solve a big amount with this.<br />
RTE: That may be<br />
NE: OK. For the other part, because we started a business partnership with <a href="http://ortadogugrup.com.tr/en" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Mehmet Gur</a>, we thought of giving it to him saying “keep it, as the projects come you can use from that. This way, we will be able to dissolve and move the rest to somewhere else.<br />
RTE: OK, fine, as long as you do&#8230;<br />
NE: OK<br />
RTE: Did Sumeyye arrive?<br />
NE: She arrived home, she&#8217;ll now come here. OK daddy, we will sort this out today, inshallah (with God&#8217;s permission). Anything else?<br />
RTE: It would be good if you do&#8230; If you can dissolve them all.<br />
BE: Yes, we will dissolve them all, inshallah</p>
<p>3rd call 15.39<br />
RTE: Did you do the other tasks I gave you?<br />
BE: We will finish them in the evening. We sorted some out; We sorted the Berat part, now we will first handle the part with Mehmet Gur and the rest, we will do that when it gets dark.<br />
RTE:&#8230;.<br />
BE: Inshallah<br />
RTE: What did Sumeyye do?<br />
BE: She took them out, brought, we talked, etc.<br />
RTE: Did she sort both sides?<br />
BE: I think so daddy, she said she emptied both.<br />
RTE: Both sides<br />
BE: Yes, she said both of them, but you mean this by saying both sides, right?<br />
RTE: Whatever. OK, fine<br />
BE: What time will you arrive?<br />
RTE: About 12<br />
BE: Have a safe journey<br />
RTE: Do not talk on the phone</p>
<p>4th call 23.15<br />
BE: Hi daddy, I am calling to&#8230; we did [it] mostly. Eee, did you call me daddy?<br />
RTE: No I did not, you called me<br />
BE: I was called from a secret number<br />
RTE: By saying mostly, did you fully dissolve it<br />
BE: We did not zeroized it yet daddy. Let me explain.. We still have a 30 million euros that we could not yet dissolve. Berat thought of something.. There was an additional 25 million dollars that <a href="http://www.calik.com/en" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Ahmet Calik</a> should receive. They say let&#8217;s give this [to him] there. When the money comes, we do [something], they say. And with the remaining money we can buy a flat from <a href="http://www.sehrizar.com/" target="_blank" rel=" noreferrer">Sehrizar</a>, he says. What do you say, father?<br />
RTE: &#8230;.<br />
(background soun: Ayyy)<br />
BE: Daddy<br />
RTE: Is Sumeyye with you?<br />
BE: Yes with me, should I call her?<br />
RTE: No, there was another sound, that&#8217;s why I asked<br />
BE: Umm.. I mean, he can transfer 35 million dollars to Calik and buy a flat from Sherizar with the remaining.<br />
RTE: Whatever, we will sort it<br />
BE: Should we do it like this?<br />
RTE: OK do it<br />
BE: Do you want them all dissolved father, or do you want some money for yourself<br />
RTE: No, it cannot stay, son. You could transfer that to the other, with Mehmet you could transfer it there&#8230;<br />
BE: Yes, we gave to them. We gave 20 to them<br />
RTE: For God&#8217;s sake, first you should&#8217;ve transferred you could then do&#8230;<br />
BE: we were able to give this much for now, it is hard already, it takes too much space. We are putting some of it to another place, we gave part of it to Tunc, and then&#8230;<br />
RTE: did you transfer all to Tunc?<br />
BE: (Sumeyye, can you come) Where, father?<br />
RTE: To Tunc, I say, did you transfer all to Tunc?<br />
BE: They asked, I guess he said that he could take 10 million euros.<br />
RTE: Whatever. Do not talk this like this on this.<br />
BE: OK, then, we will sort it as such<br />
RTE: Ok do it. I am not able to come tonight, I will stay in Ankara<br />
BE:OK, we are sorting it out. You do not worry</p>
<p>5th call<br />
18.12.2013 10.58<br />
RTE. I wondered if everything is fine, so I called<br />
BE: No, nothing. We finished the tasks you gave us, with the help of the God<br />
RTE: Is it all zeroed?<br />
BE: Fully, I mean saying zeroed, how should I put it? I had Samandira and Maltepe&#8217;s money, 730.000 USD and 300.000 TL. I will handle these too. We owe 1 million TL to Faruk İsik (AKP MP); I will give those to him and tell him to transfer the rest to the academy.<br />
RTE: Do not talk openly<br />
BE: Should&#8217;t I talk?<br />
RTE: Do not talk, OK?<br />
BE: OK daddy<br />
RTE: I mean, do not keep anything on you, whatever it is Samandira or whatever&#8230; Send it to where it needs to be, where do you keep it?<br />
BE: OK daddy, but I think currently we are under surveillance<br />
RTE: What have I been telling to you since the very beginning!<br />
BE: But is it the bodyguard team? Who is following us father?<br />
RTE: Son, you are being tapped<br />
BE: But they are also visually monitoring, they say<br />
RTE: That may be true. Now, we did some things (meaning intervention) in Istanbul security</p></blockquote>
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		<title>Why Turkey Is Gone for Good</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/caroline-glick/why-turkey-is-gone-for-good/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=why-turkey-is-gone-for-good</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Feb 2014 05:46:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Caroline Glick]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[islamist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=218921</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another jihadist world power rises. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Turkey-Protests_Horo-31-e1381964471291.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-218922" alt="Turkey-Protests_Horo-31-e1381964471291" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Turkey-Protests_Horo-31-e1381964471291-450x333.jpg" width="315" height="233" /></a>Originally published by the <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Column-one-Why-Turkey-is-gone-for-good-341421">Jerusalem Post</a>. </em></p>
<p>Last Thursday, two Turkish businessmen stopped for lunch in a fish restaurant during a business trip to Edirne in the Babaeski region.</p>
<p>At some point during their meal, the restaurant owner figured out that they were Jews.</p>
<p>Rather than show them the hospitality Turkey is renowned for, he said he won’t serve Jews, and began cursing them and the Torah. He then took a long knife off the counter and threatened to kill them.</p>
<p>The men ran for their lives.</p>
<p>Anti-Semitic attacks have become regular events in Turkey. In December, after leaving an anti-corruption rally in Istanbul, a young woman was attacked by 10 to 15 supporters of Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan who had just left a support rally for the premier.</p>
<p>They accused her of being a Jew, as they beat her up.</p>
<p>In an interview with The Times of Israel, Turkish opposition MP Ayken Kerdemir said that Erdogan has cultivated Turkish anti-Semitism. “He is not only capitalizing on the existing sentiments, Kerdemir explained. Erdogan is “fueling some of that anti-Israel and anti-Semitic feeling… with his rhetoric, conspiracy theories, campaign slogans and actions.”</p>
<p>Kerdemir explained that Erdogan’s cultivation of anti-Semitism in Turkish society will continue to affect Turkey’s behavior and social values long after he is gone. “Even after Erdogan and AKP are gone, even if [the opposition party] CHP comes to power, it will take us quite some time to mend inter-societal relations through dialogue, awareness raising and sensitivity training.”</p>
<p>Once you let that genie out of the bottle, it is very hard to stuff it back inside.</p>
<p>Erdogan’s anti-Semitism is not opportunistic. He isn’t simply exploiting a popular prejudice for his own benefit. He is an anti-Semite. And his anti-Semitism informs his behavior toward Israel.</p>
<p>In Kerdemir’s view, Erdogan’s uncontrollable hatred of Jews makes it impossible for him to agree to reconcile Turkey’s relations with Israel.</p>
<p>As he put it, “Erdogan’s core values vis-à-vis Jews and Israel prevent him from dealing with this issue in a tolerant, embracing and sustainable way.”</p>
<p>Against this backdrop it should surprise no one that this week Erdogan sunk prospects for a renewal of Turkish ties with Israel.</p>
<p>Immediately after he took office 10 years ago, Erdogan began systematically downgrading Turkey’s strategic alliance with Israel. This process, which began gradually and accelerated after Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian elections, reached its peak in 2010.</p>
<p>In May 2010, Erdogan sponsored the pro-Hamas flotilla to Gaza whose aim was to undermine Israel’s lawful maritime blockade of the terrorist-controlled Gaza coast. The flotilla’s flagship, the Mavi Marmara, was controlled by the al-Qaida-aligned IHH organization. Its passengers included terrorists who, armed with iron bars, knives and other weaponry tried to kill IDF naval commandos when they boarded the Gaza-bound ship to enforce the blockade. In the ensuing battle, the commandos killed nine IHH terrorists.</p>
<p>Erdogan used the incident on the Mavi Marmara as a means of ending what remained of Turkey’s ties to Israel. For three years, he insisted that he would only restore full diplomatic relations if Israel ended its blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, apologized for its forces’ actions on board the Mavi Marmara, and paid reparations to the families of the IHH terrorists killed in their assault on the IDF commandos.</p>
<p>In March 2013, Erdogan relented in his demand that Israel end the blockade and acceded to a reconciliation deal offered by US President Barack Obama in a three-way telephone call with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that took place during Obama’s visit to Israel.</p>
<p>Following the phone call, Netanyahu apologized for “operational errors,” by IDF sailors aboard the Mavi Marmara and offered to compensate the families.</p>
<p>Negotiations toward the reinstatement of diplomatic relations were to ensue immediately.</p>
<p>But just after Netanyahu made his required gesture of appeasement, Erdogan began delaying the talks, while continuing his anti-Semitic assaults.</p>
<p>Talks eventually did start. And according to Israeli sources, they were about to conclude this week.</p>
<p>Netanyahu was beginning to build political support for his decision to agree to Turkey’s demand for a massive $20 million settlement of claims against Israel by the dead terrorists’ families.</p>
<p>But then Erdogan walked away.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Erdogan reinstated his initial demand that Israel must end its lawful naval blockade of terrorist-controlled Gaza before he restores ties to the Jewish state.</p>
<p>In many quarters of the Israeli media, Erdogan’s action was met with surprise. Reporters who for years have insisted that Israel can make the problem go away by bowing to Erdogan’s demands are stumped by his behavior.</p>
<p>But they shouldn’t have been.</p>
<p>It isn’t simply that Erdogan cannot reconcile with Israel because he hates Jews. As is almost always the case with anti-Semites, Erdogan’s anti-Semitism is part of his general authoritarian outlook informed by a paranoid mindset.</p>
<p>Erdogan sees a Jewish conspiracy behind every independent power base in Turkey. And his rejection of Israel is an integral part of his rejection of all forces in Turkey that are not dependent on his good offices.</p>
<p>Over the past 10 years, and with ever increasing brutality, paranoia and intensity, Erdogan has sought to destroy all independent power bases in the country. He purged the military by placing hundreds of generals in prison in his delusional Ergenekon conspiracy in which they were accused of seeking to overthrow his Islamist government.</p>
<p>He has destroyed most of the independent media in the country and sent hundreds of journalists and editors to prison.</p>
<p>The same is the case with independent businessmen.</p>
<p>Over the past year, Erdogan destroyed whatever remained of the plausible deniability he initially fostered between himself and the systematic abrogation of civil rights and the rule of law in Turkey.</p>
<p>This week, 17 people were sentenced to two years each in prison for “deliberately insulting the premier and not regretting their actions,” during a small demonstration in 2012 protesting the government’s health policy.</p>
<p>Also this week, Erdogan acknowledged that he calls television broadcasters in the middle of news shows and orders them to stop the broadcast of information he doesn’t want the public to know.</p>
<p>This has included ending the live broadcast of a speech in parliament by the opposition leader, ending coverage of the mass anti-government demonstrations last summer, and removing a news ticker that reported on the corruption scandals surrounding Erdogan and his cronies. Erdogan has also reacted to the corruption investigations of his cronies by firing the public prosecutors and police officers involved in the investigations.</p>
<p>To maintain the public’s support for his burgeoning dictatorship, Erdogan has adopted populist economic policies that have sunk the Turkish economy. To buy the public’s allegiance, Erdogan has borrowed heavily internationally and artificially lowered Turkey’s interest rates, even as the local currency dropped in value in international markets and Turkey’s current accounts deficits outpaced Greece’s on the eve of its economic meltdown.</p>
<p>As David Goldman explained last week in a financial analysis of Turkey’s incipient economic meltdown in The Asia Times, rather than raise consumer interests rates, Erdogan has blamed the Jews by railing against “the interest rate lobby.”</p>
<p>Indeed, since he first invoked the term during the anti-government demonstrations last August, Erdogan has taken to blaming the interest rate cabal for all of Turkey’s woes.</p>
<p>Goldman argues that part of Turkey’s credit crisis owes to its apparent reliance on interbank loans from Saudi Arabia. In part due to their anger at Erdogan for his support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the Saudis have apparently stopped loaning to Turkish banks.</p>
<p>The Saudis’ action has pushed Erdogan into the waiting arms of Iran’s ayatollahs. In an interview with Business Insider,Australia, terror financing expert Jonathan Schanzer said Turkey and Iran were able to minimize the impact of the international sanctions on Iran’s energy sector. Between June 2012 and June 2013, the Turkish-Iranian “gas for gold” sanctions-busting scheme brought Iran $13 billion in hard currency.</p>
<p>Erdogan’s hatred of Jews, his authoritarian mindset and his Islamist ideology informed his decision to transform Turkey into one of the leading sponsors of terrorism. In addition to its massive support for Hamas, beginning in the 2006 First Lebanon War Turkey began providing assistance to Hezbollah.</p>
<p>Then there is al-Qaida. Turkey has long harbored al-Qaida financiers. And according to IDF Intelligence head Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Turkey hosts three al-Qaida bases on its territory that enable terrorists to transit between Europe and Syria.</p>
<p>Erdogan’s ideological underpinning directs his embrace of Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaida. But his decimation of Turkey’s economy has made him view Iran as Turkey’s economic savior. And that in turn pushes Turkey even deeper into the jihadist camp.</p>
<p>Obviously in this situation, the chances that Turkey will agree to reconcile with Israel, at any price, is inconceivable.</p>
<p>The surprise that many Israeli journalists have expressed over Erdogan’s seeming about-face on the reconciliation deal brings us to the larger lesson of his transformation of Turkey.</p>
<p>These journalists believe that Israel’s bilateral relations with other countries are based on tit for tat. If I do something to upset you, you will get upset. If I apologize and try to make things right, then you will be satisfied and everything will go back to normal.</p>
<p>This simplistic view of the world is attractive because it places Israel in a position of power. If the only reason that Turkey is mad at Israel is that Israel will not apologize for its response to Turkey’s illegal aggression, then Israel should apologize and pay whatever damages Erdogan demands.</p>
<p>Moreover, Israel should make Erdogan believe the sincerity of its apology by maintaining faith with the myth that he is a responsible actor on the world stage, rather than a prominent sponsor of terrorism and the hangman of Turkish democracy and economic prosperity.</p>
<p>Appeasement is a seductive policy because it is gives its purveyors a sense of empowerment. And at times, when faced with a simple, limited dispute it can work.</p>
<p>But Turkey’s rejection of Israel is not a linear response to a specific Israeli action. It is a consequence of the nature of Erdogan’s regime, and due to his anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incitement, it is increasingly a consequence of the nature of Turkish society.</p>
<p>Kerdemir argued that Turkish anti-Semitism does not necessitate a rejection of Jews and Israel. And that’s true.</p>
<p>The problem is that when anti-Semitism is tied to several other political and economic pathologies, as it is in the case of Turkey, it is impossible as a practical matter for any accommodation to be reached.</p>
<p>THE SWORD-WIELDING restaurateur who responded to the mere presence of Jewish diners in his establishment with murderous rage is no more exceptional than lynch mobs in Ramallah. And as Erdogan’s economic plight worsens and his embrace of Iran and jihadist groups tightens, Turkey’s behavior will only become more extreme, unappeasable and dangerous.<br />
<em><br />
Caroline Glick’s book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Israeli-Solution-One-State-Peace-Middle/dp/0385348061/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1392309373&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+israeli+solution" target="_blank">The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East</a> will be released on March 4.</em></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
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		<title>The Diminishing Erdogan</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/joseph-puder/the-diminishing-erdogan/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-diminishing-erdogan</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jan 2014 05:03:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joseph Puder]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[secular]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214621</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A downward spiral.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/erdogan.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-214624" alt="erdogan" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/erdogan-450x281.jpg" width="315" height="197" /></a>Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in trouble, and on a downward spiral. The graft scandal that gripped Turkey recently, which involved his government ministers, will have a significant impact on his continued leadership as the head of the AK Party, and his presidential aspirations. Erdogan’s Islamist coalition with the influential Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen and his large movement has fallen apart. Al-Jazeera called it, “the AKP-Gulen <a href="http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/roger-waters-the-professional-liar">power struggle</a>.”</p>
<p>According to Al-Jazeera (December 24, 2013):</p>
<blockquote><p>“There is a consensus in Turkey that the graft <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/turkish-probe-marks-akp-gulen-power-struggle-2013122473646994231.html">crackdown</a> is linked to the recent tensions between the United States based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen’s movement and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), that many analysts say, used to be allies in the past in their struggle against Turkey’s politically dominant military.”</p></blockquote>
<p>On December 18, 2013, Turkish police announced that it had found $4.5 million in shoe boxes in the home of detained state-owned Halkbank general manager, Suleyman Aslan.</p>
<p>The sons of three ministers were arrested, and eight days later their fathers resigned from their government posts. Among them was a close friend and ally of PM Erdogan, the Minister of Urban Planning, Erdogan Bayraktar. The latter posited in an interview with a private news channel that PM Erdogan should step down as well. He revealed that the majority of construction plans, at issue in this corruption probe, were approved on PM Erdogan’s orders.</p>
<p>PM Erdogan, being on the defensive, reacted to the probe with vehemence, and called it a “dirty operation” aimed at smearing his administration. He was quick to blame the Gulenists in veiled references such as “those behind the investigations were trying to form a state within a state.” Apparently, the Gulen movement has many supporters among leading members of the judiciary and police. Like many dictatorial figures, Erdogan also blamed what he called “foreign backed elements” for the “dirty plot against Turkey.” He charged that “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/10545990/Erdogan-blames-foreign-backed-elements-for-dirty-plot-against-Turkey.html">circles</a> uncomfortable with Turkey’s successes, its growing economy, its active foreign policy and its global-scale projects, implemented a new trap set against Turkey.”</p>
<p>The Gulenists, on their part, have been uncomfortable with Erdogan’s authoritarianism.  They are also not in accord with his policies. Gulenists are unhappy with Erdogan’s deliberate upping of tensions with Israel and his unmitigated support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Many in the Gulen movement believe that Erdogan’s problematic foreign policies led Turkey to become internationally isolated, and damaged the Turkish economy. Domestically, they have criticized Erdogan’s handling of the Gezi Park affair.</p>
<p>Erdogan is used to having his way in Turkey as a result of winning three consecutive national elections, and in the process he has undermined the Kemalist legacy of secularism. Together with the Gulen movement, he has managed to eviscerate the leading military brass, which has been the preserver of Turkey’s secularism, established by the father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. Erdogan, likewise, transformed the secularist judiciary.</p>
<p>Although Erdogan’s early political career was not entirely smooth, he managed to survive a ban from office while he completed his term as Mayor of Istanbul (1994-1998). He was arrested and sentenced to 10 months in prison in 1998, but served only four. He was accused of incitement, of reciting an Islamist poem during a public address in 1997. The poem declared: “The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2270642.stm">mosques</a> are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers…” And, because of his criminal record, he was barred from standing in elections or holding political office (parliament has subsequently changed the law, which enabled Erdogan to run and be elected in 2002).</p>
<p>Erdogan’s Islamist sentiments found expression in the Necmettin Erbakan’s Islamist National Salvation Party (MSP). In 1976, Erdogan headed the local youth branch of the party. When Erbakan later founded the Saadet (Felicity) Party, Erdogan was there.  Following the 1980 coup, Erbakan regrouped to form the Islamist Welfare Party (RP), and Erdogan became one of its stars. He won a seat in Parliament from the RP, but the election board cancelled his election on a technicality.</p>
<p>Becoming Prime Minister (PM) in 2003, Erdogan has gradually implemented Islamic laws, he has placed restrictions on the sale of alcohol, promoted Islamic religious schools, established Muslim-oriented institutions of learning, and has placed Islamists in key positions in the public sector.</p>
<p>Last June, when widespread anti-government demonstrations against plans to redevelop Istanbul’s Gezi Park took place in central Istanbul, Erdogan called it a conspiracy. He blamed (not for the first time) the Jews. In veiled reference to Jews, he called the demonstrators “<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/turkey-s-erdogan-a-smart-man-with-jews-on-the-brain.html">interest-rate lobby</a> dual loyalists, and rootless cosmopolitans,” a euphemism for Jews. His deputy, Besir Atalay, was more direct. He blamed the protests on “the Jewish Diaspora.” Erdogan has also accused “the <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/08/20/erdogans-anti-semitic-obsession/">Jews</a>” of the overthrow of Mohammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood President, removed by the Egyptian military.</p>
<p>For President Obama, anchoring US policy in the region on Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been at best, a bad gamble. There is little to show for the US investment. Erdogan’s Turkey is clearly not a model of an Islamic democracy, as it is being unraveled politically and economically. Erdogan demonstrated that Islamists are not democrats, and that Turkey is not a rising economic power.</p>
<p>Turkey’s alleged “economic miracle” was a hoax built upon vast credit expansion. It left Turkey with a current account deficit of 7% of its GDP, and an overblown pile of short-term foreign debt. The Gulf States, it appears, financed Erdogan’s import bill in the hope that Sunni-Muslim Turkey will serve as a counterweight to Shiite-Muslim Iran. The Gulf states and Saudi Arabia have grown disillusioned with Erdogan’s double-dealing with Iran. Internally, the Kurds and Alawis in Turkey will amount to more than half of the population, and although conservative in outlook, these minorities will not necessarily tie their future with Erdogan or his AK party.</p>
<p>UniCredit reported in December, 2013 that “Turkey’s economic activity is <a href="http://www.unicreditbulbank.bg/weblayout/groups/bulbankwebsite/documents/bbproductdocument/en_bulgaria_dec_2013.pdf">slowing</a>, as captured by credit growth and import volumes. Fiscal policy may not be able to support activity as it has in the past, though the busy election period ahead poses risk to fiscal performance.” UniCredit forecasted Turkey’s GDP growth of 2.1% for the year 2014, which is considerably below the government’s projection.</p>
<p>Erdogan’s AK Party stands in the local parlance for “pure, clean, and unblemished.” The graft scandal has shown it to be not so pious, certainly not so pure, and with many blemishes. Erdogan’s leadership is now in question as never before, and the AK future is on the line, depending on the outcome of the current political crisis. Municipal elections are scheduled for March, 2014, and later in June, Presidential elections will be held. The results are likely to foster change in Turkey. What is most unsettling for Erdogan, but good for the West, is an alliance between conservative secular elements and the Gulenists. This combination, after more than 10-years in power, might be able to oust the evermore diminishing, and arrogant Erdogan.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>.   </b></p>
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		<title>Islamist Turkey Replaces Iran as Hamas&#8217; Sugar Daddy</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/islamist-turkey-replaces-iran-as-hamas-sugar-daddy/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=islamist-turkey-replaces-iran-as-hamas-sugar-daddy</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/islamist-turkey-replaces-iran-as-hamas-sugar-daddy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Dec 2013 14:24:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214089</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Turkey it the only NATO member to recognize Hamas]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/erdogan-terrorism.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-214090" alt="A masked member of Hamas stands in front of a banner during a protest in Central Gaza Strip" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/erdogan-terrorism-450x323.jpg" width="450" height="323" /></a></p>
<p>If any of the police investigators in Turkey who still haven&#8217;t been fired by the Erdogan regime a<a href="http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/12/22/turkey-replaces-iran-as-primary-funding-source-for-hamas/">re looking to track down where some o</a>f the stolen money went, they might want to look at the same place the Egyptian cops are looking; Gaza.</p>
<blockquote><p>Israel’s intelligence community has determined that Turkey became the lead financier of Hamas. Israeli sources said Turkey replaced Iran as the leading financial backer of Hamas since 2012.</p>
<p>The sources said the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has overseen the transfer of up to $250 million a year to Hamas, particularly the Islamic regime in the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>“The money is channeled mostly through private sources, but with full coordination with Erdogan and his aides,” a source said.</p>
<p>The sources said Turkey has coordinated the cash transfers with another ally of Hamas. They said Erdogan was working with Qatar, which has been hosting the Hamas leadership since its expulsion from Syria in late 2011.</p>
<p>Turkey has been deemed the only NATO member to recognize Hamas. The sources said Ankara has hosted a Hamas presence, led by Salah Al Arouri, that facilitates operations and cash transfers, mostly to the West Bank.</p>
<p>In 2012, Qatar pledged $400 million to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. But the sources said most of the money failed to arrive because of Doha’s crisis with the new military-backed regime in Cairo.</p>
<p>Turkey was also said to have provided training to Hamas security forces. They said the Turkish training, provided by non-government elements aligned with Erdogan, was touted as efforts to enhance order in the Gaza Strip.</p></blockquote>
<p>The fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Sunni-Shiite war over Syria has alienated Hamas from its traditional funding sources. If Erdogan falls in Turkey, a new government may prove to be just as hostile to his old terrorist allies as the new Egyptian government was to Morsi&#8217;s Hamas allies.</p>
<p>And that will leave Hamas with no one to rely on except Qatar.</p>
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		<title>Who is Turkey&#8217;s PM Erdogan Blaming for his Corruption Scandal?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/who-is-turkeys-pm-erdogan-blaming-for-his-corruption-scandal/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=who-is-turkeys-pm-erdogan-blaming-for-his-corruption-scandal</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/who-is-turkeys-pm-erdogan-blaming-for-his-corruption-scandal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Dec 2013 03:21:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[akp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=214142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Possibly Zionist telekinetic assassins. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/erdoganmohammed3.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-179455" alt="erdoganmohammed3" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/erdoganmohammed3.jpg" width="397" height="311" /></a></p>
<p>To no one&#8217;s surprise the entire Turkish government has been caught with its hand in the country&#8217;s pocket. And even less surprising, the Erdogan regime is blaming absolutely everyone and everything except themselves.</p>
<p>1. The United States &#8211; this is an easy one. Turkey is xenophobic and the AKP&#8217;s base tends to be hard core Islamic and really loathes America. Not that anyone in Turkey really likes America. The strategy worked in Egypt, so perversely Morsi&#8217;s biggest ally is now using it.</p>
<p>2. Israel &#8211; This one is barely worth mentioning. If a stray pigeon flies across the border, it&#8217;s probably an Israeli spy.</p>
<p>3. The interest rate lobby &#8211; Some combination of a vast Jewish conspiracy, America and everyone who has a big chunk of the huge debt that Erdogan ran up funding his &#8220;economic miracle&#8221;.</p>
<p>4. Telekinesis -  Erdogan&#8217;s <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/08/22/i-thought-so-of-turkey-and-telekinesis/">chief adviser blamed telekinetic</a> assassins. Possibly Zionist telekinetic assassins.</p>
<p>5. The Deep State- With most of the Turkish military in prison, this should have been a bit passe, but European leftists go wild for it. Tell them the Deep State is behind it and they&#8217;ll give Erdogan their unlimited backing.</p>
<p>6. The Gulen Movement &#8211; The Gulen movement is actually behind it, but everyone inside Turkey is being careful about not blaming them too loudly. That&#8217;s smart considering the sheer amount of blackmail material they have on everyone. Enough perhaps to finish bringing down Erdogan.</p>
<p>7. The police &#8211; The cops clearly are to blame. That&#8217;s why Erdogan is purging them and banning the media from police stations.</p>
<p>8. Alcoholics &#8211; This one plays well with Erdogan&#8217;s base. The non-drunk part. Erdogan was pushing to sideline liquor in Turkey. Now the drinkers have struck back.</p>
<p>9. Mysterious foreign powers &#8211; They&#8217;re powerful, mysterious and deliberately vague. How you can go wrong with that?</p>
<p>10. A vast Ameri-Zionist conspiracy of telekinetic interest lobbies run by the Deep State and the alcoholic police &#8211; That&#8217;s the one Erdogan will eventually go with.</p>
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		<title>Turkey: Erdogan Says Erdogan Should Step Down</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/turkey-erdogan-says-erdogan-should-step-down/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=turkey-erdogan-says-erdogan-should-step-down</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/turkey-erdogan-says-erdogan-should-step-down/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2013 14:28:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[akp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=213884</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[550 police officers, including senior commanders, had been dismissed]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-005.gif"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-183451" alt="Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-005" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-005.gif" width="375" height="280" /></a></p>
<p>Unfortunately Erdogan has chosen not to listen to Erdogan&#8217;s advice even though Erdogan is a member of his own cabinet.</p>
<p>These two Erdogans are not the same person. Erdogan Bayraktar, the Environment Minister, one of three ministers to resign over a corruption probe, said that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country&#8217;s brutal Islamist Prime Minister, should resign.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s<a href="http://blazingcatfur.blogspot.com/2013/12/turkish-pm-faces-resignation-call-as.html"> a major breach in the solidarity of the Erdogan</a> regime. Erdogan was supposed to take a hit for Team Islam. Instead he left while strongly suggesting that his bayonet mosque was responsible and should have resigned.</p>
<blockquote><p>Erdogan Bayraktar, the environment minister, said the prime minister should also step down, in the television interview in which he confirmed he was quitting.</p>
<p>He said a great proportion of the construction contracts being investigated by the police were approved by his boss.</p>
<p>“For the sake of the wellbeing of this nation and country, I want to express my belief that the esteemed prime minister should also resign,” Mr Bayraktar said.</p>
<p>The investigation focuses on a find of the equivalent of $4.5 million (£2.75 million) found stashed in shoe boxes in the home of the chief executive of the state-run Halkbank. Among the at least 25 people arrested were Salih Khan, the son of the economy minister, Zafer Caglayan, and Baris Guler, the son of the interior minister, Muammer Guler, in whose house a further $1 million (£600,000) was found.</p></blockquote>
<p>Erdogan is about as likely to voluntarily resign as Stalin was. So<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-12-25/turkey-cabinet-ministers-quit-after-sons-jailed-in-graft-probe#p2"> he&#8217;s doing the usual thing</a>s, going after the police who are investigating his crimes and blaming the United States.</p>
<blockquote><p>Erdogan, in a speech to members of his ruling party today, described the probe as “an ugly conspiracy.” He said the party has a “tough stance on corruption” and called on Turks to maintain their trust in his government.</p></blockquote>
<p>Yes, one of those vast conspiracies. The last time he detected one of those, he locked up half the officers in Turkey. But if he locks up all the cops in Turkey, who will do the locking up?</p>
<p>Qatar&#8217;s Special Forces just aren&#8217;t that big.</p>
<blockquote><p>The 14-month probe was conducted largely in secret. At the weekend, the Erdogan government changed regulations for the police, requiring officers to report evidence, investigations, arrests and complaints to commanding officers and prosecutors. Crime reporters have further been banned from police stations.</p>
<p>Hurriyet newspaper said as many as 550 police officers, including senior commanders, had been dismissed nationwide by Guler over the last week.</p></blockquote>
<p>Guler w<a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-challenged-as-three-turk-ministers-quit-over-scandal/1817186.html">ould be one of the ministers who</a> just resigned.</p>
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		<title>An Islamist Civil War Begins in Turkey</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/an-islamist-civil-war-begins-in-turkey/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=an-islamist-civil-war-begins-in-turkey</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/an-islamist-civil-war-begins-in-turkey/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Dec 2013 14:32:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fethullah gulen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=213725</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It's Erdogan vs Gulen]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/BUSINESS-GULEN-ERDOGAN.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-213730" alt="BUSINESS-GULEN-ERDOGAN" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/BUSINESS-GULEN-ERDOGAN-450x308.jpg" width="450" height="308" /></a></p>
<p>The road to the Caliphate is a long one mainly because the wannabe Caliphs can&#8217;t stop stabbing each other in the back. Erdogan had succeeded in doing the seemingly impossible, suppressing and destroying Turkey&#8217;s military leadership and turning the Islamist AKP into an unchallenged power.</p>
<p>Almost.</p>
<p>Lurking behind the curtain was the strange and bizarre Gulen movement. If Prime Miister Erdogan&#8217;s blend of crony capitalism and Islam was similar to the relatively familiar Muslim Brotherhood variety, the Gulen movement combines even wackier beliefs, women with blonde hair and enough blackmail material to sink everyone.</p>
<p>Erdogan had avoided fighting Gulen with good reason. And then, just as he was tangled up with&#8230;</p>
<p>1. Blowback from the Syrian Civil War, including regional isolation by the countries like Egypt whose takeover he backed and domestic anger from Alevis which he stoked</p>
<p>2. The rising threat of an expanding Kurdistan</p>
<p>3. Domestic secular youth protests resembling those of the Arab Spring</p>
<p>4. Way too much debt</p>
<p>&#8230; he decided it would be a good time to take on the man who knows where all the bodies are buried and has deep levels of influence.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Erdogan-blames-international-groups-for-corruption-scandal-that-rocked-Turkey-335727">How badly is it going? This badly</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;A major political struggle has started in Turkey,&#8221; said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. &#8220;Ironically, this battle is being fought within the ranks of the governing party.&#8221;</p>
<p>Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan denounced &#8220;international groups&#8221; and &#8220;dark alliances&#8221; on Saturday for entangling Turkey in a corruption scandal that has exposed deep rifts between him and a US-based Muslim cleric who helped him rise to power.</p>
<p>Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers and the head of state-owned Halkbank, were formally arrested on Saturday, local media said, in a corruption inquiry that Erdogan has called a &#8220;dirty operation&#8221; to undermine his rule.</p>
<p>The furor, which has roiled markets, is seen as reflecting a power struggle between Erdogan and his former ally Fethullah Gulen, who wields influence in the police and judiciary.</p>
<p>Dozens of police chiefs have been removed from their posts since the detentions of bribery suspects began.</p></blockquote>
<p>Erdogan responded to this with the usual grace and dignity that you expect from a howling lunatic.</p>
<blockquote><p>Erdogan, just as he did when he faced a wave of protests in the summer, has pointed to foreign hands in the crisis.</p>
<p>Several pro-government newspapers accused the US Embassy of encouraging the move against Halkbank, saying the United States wanted the bank to stop its dealings with Iran.</p>
<p>&#8220;Get out of this country,&#8221; read Yeni Safak&#8217;s headline, with a photo of U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone.</p></blockquote>
<p>So on top of everything else, Erdogan is picking a fight with the United States.</p>
<p>In the best case scenario, Erdogan and Gulen tear each other apart with the Gulen Movement leaking everything they have on Erdogan&#8217;s people, while Erdogan runs around like a mad tyrant spreading more conspiracies and locking everyone up.</p>
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		<title>Islamist Turkey PM Threatens to Expel US Ambassador for Corruption Comments</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/islamist-turkey-pm-threatens-to-expel-us-ambassador-for-corruption-comments/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=islamist-turkey-pm-threatens-to-expel-us-ambassador-for-corruption-comments</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Dec 2013 14:34:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Point]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Erdogan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=213651</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Four ministers face allegations of bribery and wrongdoing]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-192625" alt="U.S. President Obama shakes hands with Turkey's PM Erdogan after a bilateral meeting in Seoul" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013-05-09-Erdogan-and-Obama-450x336.jpg" width="450" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has all the self-control of a dachshund with rabies and the leeway given to him by Europe and America <a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/news-334605-erdogan-implies-to-expel-us-ambassador.html">has only made him more arrogant</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has implied to expel US Ambassador to Ankara for his alleged remarks regarding a major graft probe in which four ministers face allegations of bribery and wrongdoing, and the state bank Halkbank is accused of links to suspicious money transactions and gold-smuggling from Iran.</p>
<p>According to a report appeared on the pro-government Yenişafak daily, the US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone told EU ambassadors in Ankara in a meeting on Dec. 17, the beginning of the graft probe, that the US had asked Turkey to cut Halkbank’s financial ties with Iran.</p>
<p>“We requested end of financial ties of Halkbank with Iran. But they didn’t listen. You are watching collapse of an empire [Turkey],” said Ricciardone, according to the Yenişafak report, regarding the ongoing investigation into alleged bribery and tender rigging.</p>
<p>Speaking at a rally in northern province of Samsun on Saturday, Erdoğan again struck a defiant tone, adamantly rejected any wrongdoing, deeming the corruption case as an international plot to weaken Turkey’s growing economic and diplomatic clout, and topple the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.</p></blockquote>
<p>Erdogan responds to everything by calling it a conspiracy. He locked up half the Turkish military and half the Kurds in the country on conspiracy charges. So naturally investigating his corrupt Islamist influence network is&#8230; a conspiracy.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;These recent days, very strangely, ambassadors get involved in some provocative acts. I am calling on them from here, do your job, if you leave your area of duty, this could extend into our government&#8217;s area of jurisdiction. We do not have to keep you [Ricciardone] in our country,&#8221; Erdogan told supporters in the Black Sea province of Samsun, implying to expel US ambassador.</p>
<p>The US Embassy to Turkey has denied any role in the investigation. &#8220;All allegations in news stories are downright lies and slander,&#8221; it said in a statement.</p>
<p>The statement said massive corruption probe in Turkey has nothing to do with the United States, denying reports appeared in pro-government dailies. He warned that nobody should put Turkish-US ties at jeopardy with such false claims.</p>
<p>The Embassy also denied existence of such a meeting between Ricciardone and EU ministers in Ankara on Dec. 17.</p>
<p>Erdoğan&#8217;s remarks would likely to fuel tension between two allies amid ongoing corruption investigation.</p></blockquote>
<p>Erdogan and his AKP allies control much of the media and it would be in their interest to manufacture such remarks in order to shift attention from their corruption to an American conspiracy.</p>
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