Larissa
7th March 2003, 11:20
Got this from another forum.
Let's see. The U.S. offers Turkey several billion dollars in bribes in exchange for the use of its territory as a launching pad for war. The Turkish government drools at this bribe (how many million dollars was it, exactly?) and recommends that the parliament agree to it. But to everyone's astonishment, the democratically elected parliament turns down the bribe,
siding with most ordinary Turks. Members of parliament who voted against the bribe (not that "bribe" is what this bribe is called) cite their consciences and the opinions of most Turkish voters. People in Turkey are astonished by this vote because they're not used to seeing democracy at work.
The Bush administration does not like the result of the Turkish democratic process and tells the Turks that there must be another vote ("intense American pressure," as the New York Times put it). And lo and behold, General Hilmi Ozok, the chief of the Turkish general staff, makes it crystal clear in a rare public statement that the first parliamentary vote was no good: there has to be another one. Turkey may still go for the bribe. After all, it would be stupid and naive not to.
Not that any of this will stop the Bush war machine.
Paul Frank
Let's see. The U.S. offers Turkey several billion dollars in bribes in exchange for the use of its territory as a launching pad for war. The Turkish government drools at this bribe (how many million dollars was it, exactly?) and recommends that the parliament agree to it. But to everyone's astonishment, the democratically elected parliament turns down the bribe,
siding with most ordinary Turks. Members of parliament who voted against the bribe (not that "bribe" is what this bribe is called) cite their consciences and the opinions of most Turkish voters. People in Turkey are astonished by this vote because they're not used to seeing democracy at work.
The Bush administration does not like the result of the Turkish democratic process and tells the Turks that there must be another vote ("intense American pressure," as the New York Times put it). And lo and behold, General Hilmi Ozok, the chief of the Turkish general staff, makes it crystal clear in a rare public statement that the first parliamentary vote was no good: there has to be another one. Turkey may still go for the bribe. After all, it would be stupid and naive not to.
Not that any of this will stop the Bush war machine.
Paul Frank