We would like to introduce you to Sibel Edmonds - a great freedom fighter, and someone who's story introduces you to the sad state of Turkish politics, and what difficult days lie ahead for the good citizens of Turkey. Our interest is underlined when US whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg says "..the Sibel Edmonds case is more important than the Pentagon Papers."

Turkey as a U.S. Security Partner
by: F. Stephen Larrabee 2008

Upon our examining the Larrabee's thesis, he outlines the factors that has given rise to the erosion of the commonality of interests that once constituted the foundation of the US Turkish partnership.

Larrabee explains how for the first time (since the late 1960's when the Johnson administration openly demanded that Turkey shut down its heroin industry, and subsequently was targeted with an arms embargo in 1974 over its invasion of Cyprus,) Turkey’s relations with both Washington and Brussels has tended to become more strained.

The simultaneous deterioration of relations with the United States and the European Union has reinforced a growing sense of vulnerability and triggered some typical nationalist reactions in Turkey.

Two important events that we should become familiar with are:

[1] the Sursurluk incident of late 1996 - where some governing members of the Turkish State were implicated with organized narcotic crime syndicates.
With the judiciary heavy burdened, no one was ever convicted, even though investigations at the highest levels - tied the syndicates to a Turkish Heroin exporting industry worth an estimated US$50 billion yearly [1998 dollars] .

[2] the Sibel Edmonds case of 2002 - implicating Turkish diplomats, in bribery, narcotics, and nuclear proliferation. [discussed above]