woman attends the funeral of her son, a Kurdish rebel allegedly killed
by Turkish soldiers. Many Turks view the US as not doing enough about
Kurdish rebels operating out of northern Iraq. [Justin Vela/SETimes]
In a recent poll by Metropoll, which is alleged to have
connections with Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP),
23.7% of the 1,500 respondents cited Israel as the country’s biggest
threat. However, more than 42% cited the United States.
In comparison, 3% of Turks named Iran, 2.3% said Greece, 2.1% cited Iraq and 1.7% said Russia.
The survey appeared to give credence to the frequently espoused
view that Turkey, a longtime NATO member, is drifting away from the
West. Since the AKP first took power in 2002, the party has been accused
of harboring a secret plan to establish an Islamic state within Turkey,
orienting the country eastward, and increasing relations with Iran.
Little evidence has appeared to substantiate this. The AKP’s plans
are likely exaggerated as the world struggles to create a new
vocabulary to discuss the rapid changes taking place with the rise of
emerging countries and power shifts within Turkey.
“It is no longer possible to sustain the current world order,
which, based as it is on a skewed notion of centre-periphery relations,
merely produces injustice and inequality,” Turkish Pr… >>>
