Istanbul, not Constantinople

The perennial quest of Turkey to join the EU leads to a lot of gyrations on the part of its' government, but there are other factors at work too. I for one am relieved to see that the idea of a secular Turkey is being defended in relatively large numbers, but I wonder if it'll be enough.

'A sea of flag-waving demonstrators poured into the streets of Ankara Saturday to protest a possible presidential run by the pro-Islamist prime minister, whose party has been eroding secular Turks' longtime grip on power.

A crowd estimated at more than 300,00 chanted 'We don't want an imam as president!' at a rally in Ankara, Turkey on Saturday.
Associated Press

With a crowd estimated at more than 300,000, the protest was one of the nation's largest in decades. Red Turkish flags hung from balconies and windows and fluttered in the hands of protesters, who chanted, "We don't want an imam as president!" and "Turkey is secular and will remain secular!"' (CBC)

The Islamist nonsense continues, and Turkey could easily fall were it a standard democracy. People get the government they deserve for the most part, and whether or not the bulk of the populace there wants to live under sharia, were I the Europeans I'd not be too keen on another enemy of Western civilization being entrenched in a powerful neighbour. I wonder how many people in Turkey really wonder why they'll never be admitted to the EU?

"Never" is a big word, and I shouldn't use it very much. The choice seems to be between democratically elected Islamist fundamentalists or a secular society supported by military coups. Maybe "never" is the right word here; the Islamists scare Europe (with good reason) and the use of the Army to defend human rights is a concept they don't seem capable of getting behind.

Back to the Democracy hobbyhorse again. Lots of crappy governments get in by being elected, so the argument for it as a prerequisite for good order and governance is not so airtight as many would have us believe. We'll see if they take the hint (from the Army) in Turkey or if there will be another putsch. The third option is a NATO country with a government that wants to subjugate the rest of us to their repressive ideology, and I don't like that option much, as "democratic" as it may be.

On another tack, I've been reading Bill Whittle's essays at Eject! Eject! Eject! and there's some good stuff in there. He defends the invasion and occupation of Iraq more than I do (i.e. I have always thought it was a losing proposition, he does not), and they're pretty lengthy, but there's some quality ranting to be had. Of course it's very American, but I'll be interested to hear what any of you think about his "Seeing the Unseen", so let me know.