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The End of Erdogans Cave of Wonders
Turkey is coming apart. The Islamist coalition that crushed the secular military and political establishmentbetween Tayip Erdogans ruling AK Party and the Islamist movement around Fethullah Gulenhas cracked. The Gulenists, who predominate in the security forces, have arrested the sons of top government ministers for helping Iran to launder money and circumvent sanctions, and ten members of Erdogans cabinet have resigned. Turkeys currency is in free fall, and thats just the beginning of the countrys troubles: about two-fifths of corporate debt is in foreign currencies, so the cost of servicing it jumps whenever the Turkish lira declines. Turkish stocks have crashed (and were down another 5% in dollar terms in early trading Friday). So much for Turkeys miracle economy....For the past ten years we have heard ad nauseum about the Turkish model of Muslim democracy. The George W. Bush administration courted Erdogan even before he became prime minister, and Obama went out of his way to make Erdogan his principal pal in foreign policy. ...Now the hashish smoke has cleared, Erdogans Cave of Wonders has turned back into a sandpit, and the foreign policy establishment has nothing to show for years of propitiation of this Anatolian wannabe except a headache. Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-12-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=382513 |