Word: turkeys
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...There was little joy at their release last week. The military is Turkey's most revered institution; every 18-year-old male is required to complete an army tour. Because Turkish soldiers are widely upheld as heroes, the former hostages were vilified by the public for not choosing death over the dishonor of capture by the enemy. With nationalist fervor at a peak, some right-wing pundits accused them of being Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) moles. One was of Kurdish origin, others pointed out. Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said he could not "accept the fact that they went with...
...Although Turkey's army chief of staff Yasar Buyukanit initially said there was no evidence against the men, they were later detained under military...
...episode lays bare the hard-line psychology of Turkey's military, a powerful political player. It does not brook public scrutiny. The hostage-taking incident, in which 200 PKK guerrillas stormed a heavily protected unit, killing 12 soldiers, is still shrouded in mystery. How did so many guerrillas manage to infiltrate a heavily guarded area? Why did it take so long to get reinforcements to the scene? How did the guerrillas and hostages leave? In their testimony, the men - all of whom were in different positions in a mountainous region near the Iraqi border - said they found themselves under fire...
...geopolitics, even the best of friends sometimes fall out. Consider the case of the U.S. and Turkey, whose Prime Minister met with President Bush on Nov. 5. The U.S. initiated the Truman Doctrine in 1947 to provide Turkey and Greece with the economic and military support necessary to keep them out of the Soviet sphere of influence. Turkey fought side by side with the U.S. in the Korean War. And the two nations have been NATO allies since 1952. But recently the relationship has come under strain. First the U.S. Congress threatened to pass a controversial resolution condemning Turkey...
...more congenial leaders gain power. France's newly elected President Nicolas Sarkozy spent his summer vacation in New Hampshire and even visited the Bush family in Maine. Until such thaws come, allies at odds have to be honest--and vigilant for areas of common ground. While the U.S. and Turkey may be at loggerheads now, they should remember that doesn't have to last forever...