Report claims Meir Dagan’s request to keep his job was rejected.
Photo by: AP
Mossad Chief Meir Dagan is to leave his post in three months, Channel 2 news reported on Friday.
According to the report, Dagan, who has been head of the Mossad for the last eight years, requested to work another year in the role, but was refused.
Dagan was appointed to the position in 2002 by former prime minister Ariel Sharon.
Since then his appointment has been extended twice and is due to expire at the end of 2010.
The decision not to renew Dagan’s appointment is likely related to the fallout from the recent attempt to assassinate Hamas commander Mahmoud al Mabhouh in Dubai.
A number of states who are normally friendly towards Israel were offended by the use of their passports in the killing. Britain has stopped issuing passports in Tel-Aviv and diplomats were expelled from Britain, Ireland and Australia.
IN A SPEECH, he made at the University of Bosporus, 10 days ago, Turkey’s Minister of European Affairs Egemen Bagis, said that Turkey would even discuss the withdrawal of all troops from Cyprus.
“In Cyprus, Greece also has troops and Britain has military bases. If there is a possibility, for all the troops to withdraw, then come and let’s talk about it.”
Agreeing to discuss the full withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus is unprecedented in the history of the Cyprus problem. So much so, it should have become a leading news item in the media. But it was ignored and did not make it into the ongoing Cyprus problem debate.
Had Bagis said “the army will never withdraw from Cyprus”, or had he repeated what Turkish politicians had all been saying until 2002, namely “the Cyprus problem was solved in 1974”, we would never have heard the end of it.
It makes you wonder whether we actually want the withdrawal of the Turkish troops or whether their presence suits us, as it ensure the ethnic purity of half the island. Is re-unification a sincere objective, or is partition preferable to the majority of the people? This is, more or less, the historical dilemma that Cypriots are facing and will need to make a final decision on in the next few months.
In the last eight years Turkey has radically revised its foreign policy. Gone is the view that the country was surrounded by hostile countries, replaced with the doctrine of “zero problems with our neighbours”. Ankara has resolved its disputes with Syria and Russia, improved relations with Greece and has been trying to do the same with Armenia, but it is not making any headway on the Cyprus problem which is poisoning its dealings with the European Union. Turkey wants a Cyprus deal because the net benefits of a solution far outweigh the net losses for maintaining the status quo.
After 40 years of division, there is a Turkish population in Cyprus which accounts for 20 to 25 per cent of the total. With the passing years, these people have acquired rights in the occupied areas that have been acknowledged by the European Court of Human Rights. Consequently, either we will govern the whole island together or we will split it in two.
Turkey could push things in either direction, but it seems that, for many important reasons, she would rather have the participation of the Turkish population in the running of the whole island than have total control of half. But to gain participation in running the whole island, the Turkish side would need to give things in exchange – complete withdrawal of troops, a ceiling on the number of Turkish nationals that would be part of the Turkish Cypriot community, a return of territory and a contribution to the compensation fund for properties are some of them.
The Greek Cypriot side suffers from an inherent weakness by failing to follow this changing Turkish policy and still approaches it with a Cold War mentality. This is why it interprets every change in Turkish positions as a “communications tactic” which nobody else buys.
But instead of being in denial about these changes, the Cyprus government should have set out its priorities, conveyed them and explained them to its EU partners and sincerely committed itself – not take the EU for a ride as it had done in 2004 – to signing an agreement if these conditions were met. It could also have proposed an international conference in which Greece, Turkey and the EU participated, for overcoming any persistent differences.
Of course, the choice may be permanent separation, in which case President Christofias would need to muster the courage to negotiate the terms of partition rather than allow it to be imposed by default. We are heading in this direction thanks to the government’s dogmatic position about a Cypriot solution by Cypriots, “without time-frames and arbitration”. Inevitably, we are arriving at partition under the worst possible terms.
OPINION:Turkey has not become anti-Israel but Israel steadily alienates people around the world by its conduct. Future historians may have a different perspective to the one predicted on these pages recently by the Israeli ambassador
IT WAS only a few months ago that Israel placed the Turkish ambassador in a lower seat and banished the Turkish flag. The incident was childish more than anything else, but Israel had the good sense to apologise for it.
Now, more than a fortnight after the killing of nine compatriots of mine on the high seas aboard the Mavi Marmara , carrying much needed humanitarian aid to the besieged people of Gaza, Israel has yet to apologise. The Israeli government seems to think it does not owe us, at the very least, an apology for what it believes was an act of self-defence.
This is exactly where the crux of the problem lies: Israel’s self-image and its doctrine of self-defence. The reaction of the Israeli authorities to this grave event has been appalling. Instead of showing genuine remorse for what took place in international waters in the early hours of May 31st, and not even feigning concern, they initiated a wide-ranging campaign to depict the activists as terrorists with links to al-Qaeda.
A 19-year-old boy and men in their 50s and 60s hardly make for a terrorist gang.
Are we not to feel strongly any more about anything, without the threat of being labelled as terrorists? After all, the urge for a humanitarian aid flotilla was already there as world opinion continued to witness the perilously deteriorating conditions in the open-air prison that is Gaza.
A year ago, the Middle East quartet – the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia – called for the unimpeded provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where even house plants, cocoa powder and coriander are banned from entry for reasons that are anyone’s guess.
The victims had multiple gunshot wounds, they were shot in the back or in the back of the head. A total of 32 bullets were extracted from their bodies. It took more than an hour for medical help to arrive while the wounded bled. The ship was carrying no weapons at all. There was absolutely no need to employ the Shaiatet 13 elite commandos.
Thanks to recent research, we now know that even bottlenose dolphins use short vocal bursts to send messages to avoid conflict at times of high excitement and aggression. But Israel stormed a civilian vessel 72 nautical miles off Gaza, nowhere near the blockade zone.
Hours passed, and the Israeli authorities did nothing to alleviate the gravity of the situation. They handcuffed everyone, and imposed a blackout on communications. This is why we did not see the video footage of Dr Uysal on the Mavi Marmara cleaning and treating the bruises of an Israeli commando.
Contrary to what Israel is saying, Turks from all walks of life and of different political persuasions were part of the humanitarian aid group. It is not that the Turks are becoming more radical vis-a-vis Israel, but that Israel steadily alienates large segments of public opinion, almost everywhere, including Turkey.
Now, if we are to believe the general tone emanating from Israel, Turkey is no longer a member of the comity of western nations, just on account of its diplomacy. Pretty much nonsense!
There is nothing un-western or un-European in asking for the lifting of the inhumane blockade on Gaza.
Neither is it un-western to try to exhaust diplomacy and all legitimate means at the international community’s disposal before punishing Iran, which would be a step with unpredictable consequences.
In its defence, the government of Israel refers to an obscure document called the San Remo manual.
This is not an international convention. Nobody was requested to sign up to it, and it relates specifically to legal practice in time of war. Israel is not at war with Turkey, but it attacked a ship flying the Turkish flag in international waters. This is precisely why there must be an international commission of inquiry. Then we can talk of credibility and transparency.
Only in 2008, the Israeli-Turkish trade reached a record high of $3.5 billion. Only in 2008, Turkey was just about to broker a historic political deal between Israel and Syria. One should wonder what took place to warrant this crisis. Israel’s assault on Gaza in December 2008 that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, 431 of them children, lies at the centre of this chasm. Sadly, it has deepened even further with the killing of nine innocent Turks.
Historians may well ask what kind of hubris, what degree of intransigence and what levels of indifference caused Israel to lose Turkey, a land where Jews have felt a genuine welcome for so many centuries, and a traditional friend.
Whether May 31st, 2010, comes to signify a positive or a negative turning point for this important relationship, as well as for the whole region, depends on what Israel chooses to do now.
Immigrants are making Germany ‘dumber’, according to a board member of the country’s central bank.
Thilo Sarrazin claimed the ‘limited education’ of immigrants – coupled with their high birth rate – meant Germans ‘are becoming dumber in a simple way’.
He said: ‘There’s a difference in the reproduction of population groups with varying intelligence.’
It is not the first time the 65-year-old member of the Bundesbank has caused controversy since he joined last year.
In October he described Muslim children as ‘underclass’ citizens.
‘I don’t have to accept someone who lives off a state they reject, doesn’t properly take care of the education of his children-and keeps producing more little girls in headscarves,’ Mr Sarrazin said.
‘That goes for 70 percent of the Turkish and 90 percent of the Arabic population of Berlin.’ He added that they were not fit for much other than ‘fruit and vegetable selling’.
After Israel’s Gaza flotilla raid, is Turkey rejecting Europe?
Israel’s Gaza flotilla raid prompted a response in Turkey that rattled some Europeans. Turkey has been rebuffed in its efforts to join the European Union for years, and is now forging a more independent international course.
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan (c.) pressed for EU membership while visiting France’s Nicolas Sarkozy (r.) in April. Mr. Sarkozy is opposed, saying Turkey is not part of Europe. After Israel's flotilla raid earlier this month, Turkey may be reconsidering its relationship with Europe. Jacques Brinon/AP
By Robert Marquand, / Staff writer / June 15, 2010
Paris
Europe has watched with some dismay Turkey’s strident reaction to the fatal Israeli flotilla raid – part of what many see as a larger Turkish “repositioning” of itself on the world stage.
While Europe also condemned the flo tilla attack, in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish citizens seeking to break the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, there’s wariness here over Tur key’s emerging persona under an Islamic-rooted party and murmurs about whether it wants to reassert an old Ot to man Empire sphere of influence.
In the past few years, Ankara has mended ties with its neighbors, including Iran. On June 9, Turkey was one of only two countries (Brazil was the other) on the United Nations Security Council to vote against fresh Iran nuclear sanctions.
Yet part of Turkey’s shift is due to the European Union’s steady rebuff of the mainly Muslim state. Turkey first applied to join the EU in 1987 and waited 18 years for the process to start, which could drag past 2020. “A majority of Turks say they want to join Europe, but … also feel it will never happen,” says a senior US diplomat.
Membership has been essentially nixed by Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, who says Turkey is not part of Europe. “Sarkozy has few deeply rooted beliefs, but this is one of them,” says François Heisbourg of the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research. “He would only cave under unanimous European pressure, which won’t happen.”
Organic link
After the flotilla fallout, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized Europe for “refusing to give Turkey the … organic link to the West that Turkey sought.”
Advocates of Turkish-EU integration – and there are many here – say it would help mitigate religious extremism, strengthen Turkish civil reform, and give greater strategic depth to Europe. “By showing Turkey our defiance, we reject it into a universe where it could … become dangerous,” argued former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard in the Paris journal ENA recently. “We need on our southeastern flank the hope for a social democracy mixed with rapid growth … but for that we need Turkey to be admitted to the Union.”
Yet Europeans have become more fearful of welcoming Turkey. After the flotilla raid, shouts of “Death to Israel” on Turkish streets looked un-European. The Continent, unsettled by Muslim immigration, is in a populist mood – as seen by politician Geert Wilders’s anti-Islam party nearlytripling its seats in recent Dutch elections.
“The primary responsibility for pushing Turkey away lies in attacks on the process by populist politicians in France, Germany, Austria, and the Greek Cypriot government,” says Hugh Pope of the International Crisis Group in Istanbul. “They use it for domestic political purposes to play on people’s fears, and this has done a great deal to make Turks angry towards Europe.”
Since 1994, the EU has enlarged from nine to 27 members, bringing in former Warsaw Pact nations. Yet like a bouncer at an exclusive club, the EU stiff-armed Turkey – a NATO member that modernized and democratized in hopes of joining the European party.
Noses out of joint
“The last [Ottoman] sultans sought German and French counseling on the renovation of armed forces and laws,” says Mr. Rocard. “Turkey has gone through the process of modernization in an obvious reference to Europe, and we are presently slamming the door on their nose because they don’t sufficiently look like us.”
After French and German rebuffs in 2006, Turkey calculated it would not be admitted to the EU and pursued a more independent path. Under skillful new Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey has smoothed relations with Syria, Iran, Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, and even Armenia.
“What Turkey has achieved in the past six months is spectacular – on a par with Deng Xiaoping’s decision to make China a status quo power .. and to mend ties with Vietnam, India, and South Korea,” says Mr. Heisbourg, who disagrees that Turkey harbors Ottoman-style ambitions.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently blasted critics who say Turkey has turned its back on Europe as “intermediaries of an ill-intentioned propaganda.”
More than 50 percent of Turkish exports go to European states, and 90 percent of investment in Turkey is European.
“Turkey has no interest in turning its back to Europe,” said former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine in a Monitor interview. “Would we lose Turkey if the [membership] negotiations failed? I don’t think so…. I can’t see Turkey forging an alliance with China against Europe just for spite. Turkey’s strategic interest is to maintain relations with everyone: the US, Europe,… Central Asia, the Arab world.”
Youths reportedly shouted “Juden Raus” (Jews Out) as they attacked the dancers of the Chaverim (“Friends” in Hebrew) dance troupe last weekend.
Agreeing to discuss the full withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus is unprecedented in the history of the Cyprus problem. So much so, it should have become a leading news item in the media. But it was ignored and did not make it into the ongoing Cyprus problem debate.
Immigrants are making Germany ‘dumber’, according to a board member of the country’s central bank.