I was expressing the possibility that our government may be the one to actually push Turkey into chaos
Possibly, although I still don't get your understanding of "chaos".
Bush seems intent at times into forcing Turkey to take actions when they are reluctant.
As he does with the UN, China, and pretty much every country he has ever come into contact with.
The next step has too often been to interfere with the election cycles....
Here you have lost me. Are you suggesting that the US might interfere with the elections in Turkey? How? By destroying the ballots? Installing Jeb Bush as the Mayor of Istanbul so he can manipulate the votes?
...or encourage the military to make rash rescues of "democracy"
Broadbrushing, again.
Turkey's military has the constitutional "right and privilege" to "make rescues of democracy", that is, step in whenever they feel democracy is in danger. They hardly need US "encouragement" to do that, and I sincerely doubt that they would be so susceptible on the subject. Turkish army has seized power twice in recent history, the latest one being in early 1980s, when the country was on the brink of civil war, with ultra-nationalist wackos and their communist counterparts popping each other on the streets on a daily basis. On both occasions, the army stepped aside after a couple of months and gave way to democratic elections.
Turks were so very pleased with this coup d'etat, so happy that the army stepped in and made the streets safe again, that they elected the general who headed it as their President in the following presidential elections. (President has mostly symbolic and some veto power, while real power is held by the Prime Minister).
I realize this system is a bit different than is usual for banana republics where military holds on to power once they get it and they have no legal basis for stepping in. Another reason why it does not help to broadbrush countries according to preconceptions and prejudices if our goal is to understand them and predict their actions in certain circumstances...
By the way, Turkey's parliament recently curbed certain powers of the military, but I don't think they changed the constitution such that it now absolves the army from "protecting the democracy" by seizing power. It is interesting to note that the current parliament is formed of "Muslim democrats", and there is no love lost between them and the army, who has frequently expressed in no uncertain terms that they would not permit a slip into an Islamist rule in Turkey... |
