The Boston Globe reports:
[T]he citizens of Konya, like those in many Turkish cities and towns, are boiling with anger at the United States, Britain, Israel, and Western civilization in general. They reject the tactics of the suicide bombers who killed 58 people in four massive explosions in Istanbul last month, but express understanding of the bombers' rage. ... Turkish Muslims' attitudes have taken a sharp anti-Western, anti-American turn, and some fear a dangerous new outpost of international terror is being established among the nation's 70 million people.
Part of the problem lies with the government itself: officials helped foster a radical Islamist movement in order to counter Kurdish terrorism; now that the Kurds are quiet, there is no longer a need for the Islamists. Unfortunately, the Islamists aren't going anywhere and the government isn't having much luck in rooting them out - even when they are actually trying.
[T]there are growing questions since the Istanbul bombings about the commitment of the ruling party -- which itself has Islamist roots -- to pursuing Islamic militants. ... [T]op government officials have stopped using terms associating Islamic militants with terror since a recent speech by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he said that "the expression `Islamic terror' offends me." Officials now speak of "religionist terror" and refer far less often to Hezbollah connections to the bombings than they did in the days immediately following the blasts, domestic and foreign analysts note. Also, three leading anti-Hezbollah police commanders recently were transferred to cities with no known militant activities.
You can't encourage extremism one day and then expect it to go away once you no longer need it. People who try to use extremists in order to achieve their own goals usually end up becoming victims of the extremists as well. The Nazi Party in Germany was helped by conservative leaders who thought they could gain power through the popular appeal of Hitler and his thugs, but in the end the Nazis used the money and influence of the conservatives in order to take over the nation and turn it into a criminal enterprise. Reasonable conservatives in America today think that they can use right-wing extremists, not taking seriously what would happen if those extremists were grow more powerful. Turkey is further along this road, and they are likely a bit closer to ruin because of it.
Read More: