BY FATIH BOHURLER
STAR- The US is considered the world’s most developed country socially, economically, legally, militarily, politically and scientifically. However, Americans are complaining about the economy. What’s more, it’s the most heavily indebted country in the world. Its legal protections eroded following the Sept. 11 attacks. Its political system is controlled by special interest lobbies, not the people. Cutting-edge science is also falling out of US control and becoming global. However, no one can deny its military might. It has the world’s most powerful army. Professor Stefanos Yerasimos defined the Ottoman state structure as follows: a central feudal system based on military might. Don’t you think that the US is similar? The more the Ottoman Empire expanded, the more it raised taxes. As the US is expanding, its income from oil and natural resources is increasing. Technological investment and know-how aren’t transferred to its peripheral and occupied territories.
Everybody says that that money is an important power. However, it’s only pieces of paper. For example, say the state is indebted to you. What can you do when it says that it won’t pay up? You can’t threaten it because it’s not a person, but the state. If the mob owes you money, likewise, you can do nothing. So, the more weapons you have, the stronger you are. The situation is the same for states. The important thing is military power, becoming the world’s policeman.
One could say, ‘If you have money, you can buy weapons.’ However, it’s not as simple as that. You can neither buy the weapons you want nor produce them. You have to get permission from one of world’s policeman. Iran’s situation is clear. It says that it doesn’t produce nuclear weapons, and inspectors, the West and Russia have all confirmed this. However, the US says it’s concerned and doesn’t want them to do nuclear research. So, their economic power means nothing. Then what’s the key criterion? An indispensable plank of the Copenhagen criteria is the absence of the death penalty. Now, the US has the penalty and carries it out regularly. EU candidate countries must comply with the following political criteria:
- The existence of a stable and institutionalized democracy
- Respect for human rights
- A state of law and the rule of law
- Respect for human rights
- Protection of minorities
Do you think the US could ever join the EU? Will the Sept. 11 criteria or the Copenhagen criteria take precedence? The US has no friends except for a handful of countries which it protects. It has no intention of becoming real friends with any country.