Sum of the week (2): US plays ‘genocide’ card to pressure Turkey on NATO missile system; Economist reports on Turkey etc…

A special report on Turkey: Doing it by the book | The Economist

A special report on Turkey: The Davutoglu effect | The Economist

Analysis: Turkey hesitates on missile defense

from Yahoo news
Turkey finds itself once again in an awkward position between fellow NATO members and Iran as it considers a proposal to place a key component of a U.S. missile defense system on its soil. …

Worldview: Turkey leans toward one of its two worlds

from Yahoo news
ANKARA, Turkey – In 2008, when I last visited this hilly capital city in the Anatolian heartland, I talked with top officials about their efforts to mediate between Israel and Syria.

Turkey rebuffs U.S. pressure to slash trade with Iran

from Yahoo news
A top Turkish official says in the U.S. that Turkish firms are ‘free to make their own decisions’ about complying with sanctions aimed at cutting off trade with Iran over its nuclear program. Turkey has rebuffed a U.S. effort to persuade it to scale back its trade ties with Iran despite a persistent U.S. lobbying campaign this week in Washington and Ankara.

Opinion: German president pulls no punches in Turkey | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 20.10.2010

Powerful US Jewish lobby groups helped censure Turkey on Cyprus? – Cyprus Mail

NYT columnist lends support to Turkish foreign policy

from Hurriyet Dailynews
New York Times columnist Roger Cohen reiterated on Wednesday his support for Turkey?s ‘imperfect’ attempt with Brazil to negotiate a low-enriched uranium swap between Iran and the international community.

How do you say Döner in German?

from Mavi Boncuk by M.A.M


Before taking its modern aspect, as mentioned in Ottoman Travelbooks of the 18th century] the döner used to be a horizontal stack of meat rather than vertical, probably sharing common ancestors with the Cağ Kebabı of the Eastern Turkish province of Erzurum.

Mavi Boncuk |

How do you say Döner in German?

Hast du heute gedönnert? Did you get doner(ed) today. / Döner macht schöner/ Döner makes (you) Beautiful.

KLAUS JURGENS – She loves me, she loves me not: Should Turkey continue to court Brussels?

Under normal circumstances five years in politics is a rather long time. When it comes to Turkey?s EU accession talks, which began in earnest exactly 60 months ago, getting used to a somewhat more vague definition of time seems, unfortunately, to be more appropriate.

Greece misreads the new reality

from Bosphorus Diary by Yavuz Baydar

The other night I met with some old friends from Athens. Some of them are linked with the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and keen followers of Turkey?s reshaping foreign policy. For years they have been sincerely engaged in overcoming obstacles which have made Greek-Turkish relations problematic in many areas.

İBRAHİM KALIN – Turks, Germany and multiculturalism in Europe

German Chancellor Angela Merkel?s statement last week that ?attempts at integration have failed? came as no surprise and probably expressed a common feeling felt by many Germans and Europeans.

US plays ‘genocide’ card to pressure Turkey on NATO missile system

from Hurriyet Dailynews
With Turkey-US ties further challenged by NATO plans for a missile defense system, Washington is trying to leverage a touchy issue to gain Turkish cooperation.

Transatlantic Drift

from Istanbul Calling by Yigal Schleifer

Simon Tisdall has an interesting piece up on the Guardian website look at how Washington’s effort to create a NATO-led missile defense program in Europe is, “bringing longstanding tensions over European security into the open, to the potential advantage of Russia and Turkey, the maverick guardians of the EU’s eastern flank.” The full column can be found here.

Also of interest is a new study by the European Council on Foreign Relations that Tisdall links to, titled “The Spectre of a Multipolar Europe.” From the report’s summary:

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