Army leader plays the victim again…

Turkish general warns of a ‘confrontation’
Turkish Daily News
Başbuğ’s message directly refers to the prosecutors of the Ergenekon case, which focuses on two alleged coup attempts in 2003 and 2004.

Top general says army ‘hurt’ by pscyhological operation
Today’s Zaman
… was perpetrated by groups related to Ergenekon, a clandestine gang with members inside the military charged with plotting to overthrow the government.

Army chief’s harsh remarks draw ire of intellectuals
Today’s Zaman
They talk about Ergenekon. They are not pointing to the TSK. There is a trial going on. There are civilians as well as military officials who are facing

Ergenekon Prosecutors Investigate Killing of 33 Soldiers
Bianet
Private Özdemir stated to the prosecutor that in his opinion the killing of 33 soldiers in Bingöl in 1993 was related to the Ergenekon organization

[CONFESSIONS OF A NOT SO YOUNG TURK] A Turkish elitist?s dilemma in dealing with the AK Party government by DOĞAN ŞENOCAK

?Our country is a bridge between the East and the West,? we were told in primary school by our enthusiastic young teachers.

Ergenekon report

Interview on leftism in Turkey with Ozan Örmeci

Ozan Örmeci is a PhD candidate in Political Science at Bilkent University (Turkey) and his thesis title is ?Portrait of a Turkish Social Democrat: İsmail Cem?. He is currently associate member of Usak University and he has published on the history of leftism in Turkey and Turkish political history from Ittihat Terakki to Justice and Development Party.

AKP Is Not Islamist, But Somewhat Muslimist

[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News] Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip ErdoÄ?an visited President Obama in the White House the other day. It was, apparently, a good meeting. Obama praised Turkey’s efforts at home and abroad, and even said Ankara could be an “important partner” in resolving the growing crisis with Iran’s nuclear program. Yet we all know that Turkey’s stance on Iran is actually a concern for many people in Washington. ErdoÄ?an recently irritated them by declaring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as his “friend,” and seeming to almost avocate Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He also employed an obvious double standard in his approach to Israel and Sudan. While bashing Israel’s war crimes in Gaza in the strongest possible terms, he dismissed Sudan’s war crimes in Darfur in quite apologetic tones.

Rocky road back to growth

by Simon Tilford

There is no doubt that governments had to take exceptional steps in response to the financial crisis. Without such unprecedented action, many economies would have slipped into slump and probably deflation. With both public and private debt levels so high, deflation would have been crippling. But the point is approaching where stimulus and other monetary measures could become counter-productive. New asset price bubbles are inflating and there are signs of a return to excessive risk-taking in the financial markets. Fiscal positions are now terribly weak in many European countries. Deficit spending on this scale risks depressing rather than simulating economies, if investors lose faith in the sustainability of countries’ fiscal positions and borrowing costs rise.