Charlie Rose

Dr. Kerim Demirci  10/19/2008 12:21 PM Report

Ali Saygin does not know that Mr. Babacan does not even receive a monthly salary from the government. So, by no means can corruption come closer to him. Plus, Mr. Babacan has continously been traveling around the region and globe to give peace a chance in the Caucases, Balkans and Middle East ever since he was elected. Dependent or independent of his party many people in Turkey admire and endorse his tireless efforts. Thank you Charlie for having him on your show.

Robert. V. Berowed  09/26/2008 07:33 PM Report

On 2nd thought, I actually LOVE the Turkish people. Their judicial and military system is WRONG.

Robert V. Berowed  09/26/2008 07:14 PM Report

P.S. Believe me! I REALLY want Turkey to join the EU, to receive good EDUCATION. It's a disgrace to to prosecute a transsexual for expressing his/her thoughts. Be fair, John!

Robert V. Berowed  09/26/2008 07:07 PM Report

Mr. Jared John:

What has Europe's "aging population" to do with Turkey? You're listening to too much propaganda. The main questions is as follows: What will be Turkey's influence on EU's economy? As I mentioned earlier, Turkish government's barbaric behavior will be VERY costly for the EU. Thanks! FYI, Berowed is my real last name.

Jared John  09/25/2008 11:43 AM Report

Another friend of Turkey, Mr. Robert V. Berowed, has shared his "insights" into the EU psyche. The reason EU is playing this game is for politicos like Sarkozy to seek votes regardless of what is good for EU. EU, with its aging population, needs Turkey. But with the pope chiming in and minorities in EU who want to break up Turkey feeeding the politicos - that has influenced this process. Thank you for your concern for the Kurds, Mr. Berowed - or whatever your assumed name is.

Robert V. Berowed  09/25/2008 09:44 AM Report

The main reason that EU is not accepting Turkey's EU membership is the cost of taming Turks, as well as the cost of aggression against Kurds. EU uses Human Rights issues as a pretext. Having a troublemaker as a member will be expensive for the EU. Turkey MUST change its attitude.

steve  09/25/2008 09:44 AM Report

Minister Babacan puts up a good polished image of Turkey for the uneducated in mediating in a turbulent and sometimes lawless neighborhood.... I expected Charlie to be a little better informed on the facts that much of the problems be they in Georgia, Nagorno Karabakh, Israel, Syria, Iraq or Cypress and the Balkans are problems directly created by the Ottoman Turkish Empire and its successor state the Republic of Turkey, under whose authoritarian yoke all these different nations suffered for as many as six centuries. Let us not forget Turkey's continued shameless multi million dollar campaign of denying the Armenian Genocide and the continued killings of Armenians such as Hrant Dink in Turkey today. Turkey unfortunately continues to operate a terribly discriminatory country against its indiginous christian popluations, not to mention its large Kurdish population. It was almost like watching an advertisement for some fantasy democratic egalitarian fantasy counrty in Asia Minor which simply doesnt exist. Charlie should know that Turkey has done and continues to do much more harm to its own population than Sadam ever did to his!

Thanks

Haluk Demirel  09/24/2008 11:00 PM Report

RE Comment by 'steve': What would the world be like without Armenians seeing everything through their victim eyes? Hatred does not generate peace; it generates terrorism. 73 Turkish diplomats murdered in cold blood by Armenian hatred. Thousandof Turks perished in WWI by their insurgent population. Turkey should never open up the Armenian border until they learn to be a forward looking people. Hatred does not a nation make or unite people!

David  09/24/2008 03:56 PM Report

Russia right now is in the strongest position it can possibly be, while the West and America in particular are in the weakest. This should help to understand who started the Ossetian conflict.

For Russians it was now or never situation, so they grabbed their chance. I hope they will lose.

Ali Saygin  09/24/2008 02:50 AM Report

If you look how his party works and functions in Turkey, you should see he belongs to the autocrats as well. He has a Euro face, but he defends the principles of corrupted Islamic policies. A Neo-Ottoman policy that defies the modernity and welcomes conservative right-wing policies.

Douglass Montrose-Graem  09/24/2008 01:44 AM Report

Is he living in the surreal as well? To maintain his position as a diplomat,he lives in the fantasy world of negotiations with Iran and Russia when we all should know, the terror sponsors in Teheran are negotiating ONLY to play for time, and the autocrats in the Kremlin, like most autocrats, treat attempts to negotiate a weakness.

But I love the Turks - in college I had an world-class Orientalist who taught me Turkish. Turkey belongs to the European Union - has a vital balancing role in the world. Lets pray Babacan does not fall off the balancing rope in the circus of diplomacy.