Turkey has recently convicted 325 of its senior military
officers, finding them guilty of a coup plot they codenamed Sledgehammer. After
the 2002 election of a seemingly pro-Islamic government, Turkish military
leaders began planning. The coup would be led up to by an “armed confrontation
with Greece and the bombing during Friday prayers of a famous Istanbul mosque.”
The Turkish military has been historically involved in politics with repeated
coups, but the government currently in power refuses to allow the military into
the political realm of government.
Refusing to allow the military a part in the political aspect
of government seems impracticable. A military has an immense impact on the
politics of any country. Its successes and failures determine the fate of its
country. George Washington is portrayed as one of the best American presidents
(if not the best), because he was a General who successfully carried America to
freedom from Great Britain. Turkey shouldn’t look to other countries for advice
and counsel on what it should do, however. It just needs to look at its own
citizens: the hundreds of senior military officers whom want their voices
heard. If the government of Turkey continues in its selfishness and greediness
of power, refusing to let the military take a part in politics, then the future
will only have more and more coups. The past of a country best tells its
future. Since Turkey is filled with coups in the past, there’s no doubt that
there will be more to come.
"Turkey's Military Politics"
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