US Defence Secretary Gates blames EU for Turkey 'drift'

US Defence Secretary Gates blames EU for Turkey 'drift'

news.bbc.co.uk

Turkey's growing hostility to Israel may have been partly caused by its effective rejection by the European Union, the US defence secretary says.

Robert Gates said Turkey may have been "pushed by some in Europe" away from the EU and into closer partnerships with states like Iran.

Turkey has been put on the path to EU membership, but countries like France and Germany are openly opposed.

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Turkey's President, Abdullah Gul, said relations between the two countries would "never be the same", while Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc accused Israel of "piracy" and "barbarism and oppression".
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Turkey has also strengthened ties with Iran, firmly opposing sanctions over its nuclear programme.

This Gates is such a fool. Just a suggestion: perhaps he should consider the option of Turkey being sick and tired of the US and its eternal approval of crimes committed by the state of Israel:

Turkey angered by muted US reaction after Israeli attack on ships

Erdogan to Obama: Israel risks losing its best friend in Middle East

EU condemns Israeli aid raid, calls for 'impartial' inquiry

US fails to condemn Israel's lethal attack on aid flotilla

Obviously, blaming the EU is the easier way out. Meddling with everything, criticizing everyone, but refusing to look into the mirror.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)




[edit on 10-6-2010 by Mdv2]

reply to post by Mdv2


I am so thankfull it was the fault of the EU...

I had this horrible dream that it was because Israel murdered Turkey's citizens on a boat...

I'm going back to sleep now...

Yeah, because those innocent Israeli victims would NEVER hurt someone for no good reason, those angels

reply to post by Mdv2

Obviously, blaming the EU is the easier way out. Meddling with everything, criticizing everyone, but refusing to look into the mirror.

It's the American way.

But seriously we all know the US government is a vampire, they can't be seen in the mirror. So now they want to blame the EU for single handedly forcing Turkey away from the west, we all know that is an absolute lie.

reply to post by Mdv2


Turkey shouldn't even think of joining the EU, those guys have nothing to offer Turkey.

EU is just a club where members share stuff, then some member's stuff gets stolen, but they continue sharing stuff until couple of days later they realize they had a thief among them and that all their stuff are gone, then Germany starts WWIII just like the last two World Wars.

Nothing to ad to the comments here.

Gotta love the blame game thats one of the biggest things that pisses me off nowadays no one is ever to blame for there own actions it's always someone elses fault.

As for Turkey not getting to be part of the E.U thats not a bad thing they have some of the worst human rights abuses

www.amnesty.org...

[edit on 10-6-2010 by jpmail]

But it's interesting to see how EU is an USA puppet. Created by and for the USA (De Gaulle would have refused this Europe, EU as it is now is a pure USA creation).

reply to post by Mdv2


How is what he said foolish?

Western Europe has been pushing against Turkey being in the EU.

He, SecDef Gates, forgot to mention that Turkey itself has been pushing further into fundamentalism. Thats also part of the problem. All of Ataturk's achievements are about to be derailed by fanantics, something he struggled to prevent.

Originally posted by jpmail
Gotta love the blame game thats one of the biggest things that pisses me off nowadays no one is ever to blame for there own actions it's always someone elses fault.

As for Turkey not getting to be part of the E.U thats not a bad thing they have some of the worst human rights abuses

www.amnesty.org...

[edit on 10-6-2010 by jpmail]

Something failed to be mentioned by Israel's critics is the fact that Turkey's human rights abuses by far surpass Israel's human rights violations.

Turkey is right up there with Sudan and China. Israel has quite aways to go to catch up with them.

reply to post by MikeboydUS


The collective punishment of 1.5 million people is enough of a human right abuse.

Then again I though Human Rights was a Western thing ? I don't know, I just heard it that way ^^

Originally posted by LittleSecret
reply to post by MikeboydUS

 

The collective punishment of 1.5 million people is enough of a human right abuse.

Then again I though Human Rights was a Western thing ? I don't know, I just heard it that way ^^

Are you talking about the Kurds or the Palestinians?

There are less than 500,000 people in Gaza according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics from the 2009 census. Most of the Palestinians live in the West Bank and things are not near as bad there as they are in Gaza.

There are at least 5 million, some numbers place as high as 25 million, Kurds in Turkey and they have been abused, persecuted, and had their rights violated in ways that if Israel did anything like that, the world would be invading Israel.

Turkey has killed tens of thousands of Kurds, denied them to speak their language and even forbid them from giving their children Kurdish names.
Over 30,000 Kurds have been killed. Hundreds of thousands ethnically cleansed.

Israel on the other hand has been harsh on Gaza and strict with the West Bank. Palestinians are treated as second class citizens and Israeli security forces has between the First Intifada and the Gaza War kiled around 7,000 people.

This doesn't excuse Israel, but people need to be objective and honest. Where are the flotillas for the Kurds? I guarantee that Turkey would sink one and kill everyone on it without hesitation.

[edit on 10/6/10 by MikeboydUS]

reply to post by MikeboydUS


Kurds? No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!

You have been watching too much FOX news, I'm sick of Garbage being thrown from one side of ATS to another.

Come up with your own proper arguments when defending Israel.

Here is the difference between the Kurdish and Gazan situation.

See all Gazans are being punished hence collective punishment, hence the blockade due to the resistance against illegal occupation, illegal settlement expansion, illegal wall, murder and killing of innocent Palestinian civilians etc etc

All Kurds are not being punished because of what Kurdish separatists do.

Kurds are not being blockaded.

Innocent Kurds are not being harmed.

Innocent Kurds have the same right as all Turks.

Innocent Kurds are not being locked up.

They don't have separate laws than Turkish laws.

They are not living in Ghettos.

1 out of 5 Kurdish people don't need food handouts.

Turkey won't stop aid ships reaching Kurdish people. And more so won't kill the aid workers. And more so investigate its own crimes.

Turkey won't stop construction materials reaching Kurdish people because separatists might use it as weapons.

Turkey won't stop chocolate reaching Kurdish people because I don't know why ask Israel.

Turkey won't restrict the movement of Kurdish people because the separatists might attack.

Turkey won't divide the Kurdish people in to two small piece of land and slowly push them away from that land by expanding Turkish settlements.

The survey, taken before Israel's recent offensive, showed the territory has a population of 1.4 million people.

news.bbc.co.uk...

reply to post by MikeboydUS




You and I are almost always on the same page, but i think in this instance i disagree with you.

Turkey was a very rough country, but in the last 15 years has moderated quite a bit, and managed to get some level of respect.

The theory by Gates is not very accurate, either. The EU has its own problems, and keeping Turkey happy was beyond their control. Of course they are at fault, but collapsing and becoming a less attractive option for turkey.

But what Israel is doing to the civilians is in violation of the geneva conventions. If it goes far enough that people start dying, expect the East to push for it to be called a Holocaust. Then we are screwed. Last thing we want is to make the Palestinians some kind of protected class or something.

reply to post by LittleSecret


I hate Fox news. I revile them but that is another subject.

Innocent Kurds? Separatist Kurds? Are you Turkish?

Not allowing a people to be educated in their own language is ok with you?

Arresting the first female Kurdish member of parliament for treason after she spoke Kurdish in parliament is ok with you?

The Kurds have as much right to an independent state as the Palestinians.

The Turks are outsiders, people gripe about the Jews being occupiers. The Turkish homeland is in Central Asia. The Armenians, Greeks, and Kurds all have more right to be in Anatolia.

Come on..

The Indians also have right to independent states in north America, are they getting it.?

Lets not derail the conversation about the OP here