Lessons from the Joint Resignations of the Chiefs of Turkey’s Armed Forces

Turkey’s highest ranking military officers has reportedly resigned en masse.

According to the SFGate,

The chiefs of staff of Turkey's military stepped down Friday as tensions dramatically increased over the arrest of dozens of officers accused of plotting to overthrow the Islamic-rooted government.

The resignation of so many top commanders, a first for Turkey, a NATO member, signals a deep rift with the government, which has confronted a military that once held sway over Turkish political life. The arrests of high-ranking military officers would once have been unimaginable.

The resignations of Turkey's top general, Isik Kosaner, along with the country's navy, army and air force commanders, came hours after a court charged 22 suspects, including several generals and officers, with carrying out an Internet campaign to undermine the government. The commanders asked to be retired, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.

In Brussels, a NATO spokeswoman declined to comment on the resignations. Turkey's military is the second largest in the 27-member alliance. It has about 1,800 troops as part of NATO's 140,000-strong force in Afghanistan.

The Turkish government responded by quickly appointing the remaining highest-ranking commander, Gen. Necdet Ozel, as the new land forces commander and the acting chief of staff, the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced. President Abdullah Gul approved the appointment.

This puts to light the question “who protects us from our protectors?” when men in uniform try to exert political pressure on the civilian government.

Nevertheless, these events can present themselves as windows of opportunities for the Turkish people to even pare down on the vertical hierarchical structure of the world’s sixth largest armed forces that should free up resources for the private sector to use, and importantly, to reduce dependency on so-called ‘protectors’, who in reality signify as instruments of state initiated violence on her people.

Bluntly put, a shrinkage of government equates to the advance of civil liberties.

From Google Public Data

While it isn’t clear in the report on what has prompted for such an incident (except for the charges of plotting to overthrow government), my suspicion is that these protestations could signify adverse reaction to, or symptoms of a resistance to change, to Turkey’s recent transition towards greater economic freedom.

Evidence of this can be seen by the substantial decline of military expenditures as % to GDP.

And coincidental to the diminishing expenditures of Turkey’s government on her military, is the significant liberalization of the economy as shown by the chart above from the Heritage Foundation.

Of course the Turkish people may choose to consider the privatization of national defense route.

As Gustave de Molinari (1818–1912), a prominent Belgian-born French economist, student of Jean-Baptiste Say, and teacher of Vilfredo Pareto wrote in his article “De la Production de la Securité” of February 1849. (bold emphasis mine)

If there is one well-established truth in political economy, it is this: That in all cases, for all commodities that serve to provide for the tangible or intangible needs of consumers, it is in the consumer’s best interest that labor and trade remain free, because the freedom of labor and trade have as their necessary and permanent result the maximum reduction of price.

And this: That the interests of the consumer of any commodity whatsoever should always prevail over the interests of the producer.

Now in pursuing these principles, one arrives at this rigorous conclusion: That the production of security should, in the interests of the consumers of this intangible commodity, remain subject to the law of free competition.

Whence it follows: That no government should have the right to prevent another government from going into competition with it, or require consumers of security to come exclusively to it for this commodity. . . .

Either this is logically true, or else the principles on which economic science is based are invalid. (Gustave de Molinari, Production of Security, J.H. McCulloch, trans. [New York: Center for Libertarian Studies, 1977], pp. 3–4)

Read here for a multi essays or treatises of how national defense can be provided for by the private sector—The Myth Of National Defense: Essays On The Theory And History Of Security Production

Or as the letter below from US founding father Samuel Adams to militia James Warren

A standing Army, however necessary it may be at some times, is always dangerous to the Liberties of the People. Soldiers are apt to consider themselves as a Body distinct from the rest of the Citizens. They have their Arms always in their hands. Their Rules and their Discipline is severe. They soon become attachd to their officers and disposd to yield implicit Obedience to their Commands. Such a Power should be watchd with a jealous Eye. I have a good Opinion of the principal officers of our Army. I esteem them as Patriots as well as Soldiers. But if this War continues, as it may for years yet to come, we know not who may succeed them. Men who have been long subject to military Laws and inured to military Customs and Habits, may lose the Spirit and Feeling of Citizens. And even Citizens, having been used to admire the Heroism which the Commanders of their own Army have displayd, and to look up to them as their Saviors may be prevaild upon to surrender to them those Rights for the protection of which against Invaders they had employd and paid them. We have seen too much of this Disposition among some of our Countrymen. The Militia is composd of free Citizens. There is therefore no Danger of their making use of their Power to the destruction of their own Rights, or suffering others to invade them.

Turkey, The Next Euro Member?

As a currency, the Euro is said to be headed for the gutters.

Yet there seem to be more chatters about having additional members.

Aside from Estonia, which officially adopts the Euro in 2011, (see previous discussion in Three More Reasons Why The Euro Rally Should Continue), now media is talking Turkey.

This from the New York Times, (bold highlights mine)

For decades, Turkey has been told it was not ready to join the European Union — that it was too backward economically to qualify for membership in the now 27-nation club.

That argument may no longer hold.

Today, Turkey is a fast-rising economic power, with a core of internationally competitive companies that are turning the youthful nation into an entrepreneurial hub, tapping cash-rich export markets in Russia and the Middle East while attracting billions of investment dollars in return.

For many in aging and debt-weary Europe, which will be lucky to eke out a little more than 1 percent growth this year, Turkey’s economic renaissance — last week it reported a stunning 11.4 percent expansion for the first quarter, second only to China — poses a completely new question: who needs the other one more — Europe or Turkey?

chart from tradingeconomics.com

“The old powers are losing power, both economically and intellectually,” said Vural Ak, 42, the founder and chief executive of Intercity, the largest car leasing company in Turkey. “And Turkey is now strong enough to stand by itself.”

It is an astonishing transformation for an economy that just 10 years ago had a budget deficit of 16 percent of gross domestic product and inflation of 72 percent. It is one that lies at the root of the rise to power of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has combined social conservatism with fiscally cautious economic policies to make his Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P., the most dominant political movement in Turkey since the early days of the republic.

Indeed, so complete has this evolution been, that Turkey is now closer to fulfilling the criteria for adopting the euro — if it ever does get into the European Union — than most of the troubled economies already in the euro zone. It is well under the 60-percent ceiling on government debt, at 49 percent of G.D.P., and could well get its annual budget deficit below the 3 percent benchmark next year. That leaves reducing inflation, now running at 8 percent, as the only remaining major policy goal.”

So there you have it, Turkey’s turnaround has been due to…

fiscal conservative cautious policies (or reduced government spending)

and importantly,

“turning the youthful nation into an entrepreneurial hub” or the other way to say it is—greater economic freedom

Turkey’s leap to increased economic freedom can be seen in the chart above from the Heritage Foundation.

Now as for the Euro, qualified and able members should give her a boost and reduce the odds for her vanquishment.

Global Economy: Will Turkey Eventually Overtake Germany?

While everyone seems focused on the prospects of the emergence of China as one of the world's top economic and political behemoth, one interesting headline that caught my eye is ``Turkey Overtaking Germany No Wishful Thinking on Paradigm Shift"

This from Bloomberg, (all bold emphasis mine)

``Erda Gercek spent 20 years outside Turkey, identifying stock market winners as a fund manager at Citigroup Inc. and Legg Mason Inc. Now he has moved back to his homeland, saying it’s a buy.

“In the time I was away, Turkey went from a highly volatile, boom-and-bust economy to one that’s relatively stable as inflation and interest rates came down,” Gercek, 44, said in an interview from Izmir, south of Istanbul. He said he’s “nurturing future talent,” teaching courses in fund management at Istanbul’s Bilgi University and Izmir Economy University. ``The paradigm shift, as market strategist John Lomax of HSBC Holdings Plc calls it, was engineered by a government that the military and prosecutors say is trying to turn Turkey into an Islamic state. As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan fought off pressure from secularist generals who ousted four governments since 1960 and also a lawsuit to shut his party, he reined in government spending, sold state-owned companies and crisscrossed the region to open trade doors for Turkish business."

``The payoff has been average economic growth of 4.4 percent since he was first elected in 2002. Gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, lagging behind only China among the Group of 20 nations, the government said last week. Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said April 2 the economy may have expanded by more than 10 percent in the first quarter.

``Turkey’s $620-billion economy could move ahead of Germany’s to become the third-biggest in Europe by 2050, behind Russia and the U.K., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Ahmet Akarli wrote in a report published in 2008."

Again we see the same source of bullishness, Turkey has essentially been embracing economic freedom.

Turkey is currently ranked 67th in the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation and has manifested continuing interests to adapt openness since 2004 (shown below-courtesy of heritage).

More from Bloomberg...

``It’s the youth of Turkey’s 73 million people that drives much of the optimism. More than a quarter are under 15 years old and 6.3 percent are over 65, according to the 2009 census. In the U.S., 19 percent are under 15 and over-65s make up 13 percent of the 316 million population, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

``Turkey is also younger than China, where 19 percent of 1.4 billion people are under 15 and 8.4 percent over 65. In countries that share the euro, 17.5 percent are over 65 and 16 percent are under 15.

``Turkey’s demographics “can sustain very high levels of growth,” and there’s “ample potential” to put more young people to work in industries that are more productive, Gercek said. Sustaining 6 percent growth “seems to me to be perfectly achievable,” he said."

So economic freedom looks likely to convert Turkey's demographic trends as a key favorable critical factor for her economy.

Read the rest here

As for Turkey's potential to overtake Germany-that actually depends if current conditions will be sustained or improved. Nevertheless, Turkey should be a good recruit for the European Union.

Turkey Talk And The Message Of US Thanksgiving

Mintlife's interesting trivia on the US Thanksgiving celebration.

For a crispier view, please click on the image.

Personal Finance – Mint.com

Some noteworthy Thanksgiving messages from:

(Pls. click on link to read the articles...)

-Dr. Richard Ebeling: The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving: The Triumph of Capitalism over Collectivism

-Wall Street Journal's Editorial: And the Fair Land

``But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere--in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.

``We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.

-Steven Landsburg: Giving Thanks

``We can be thankful too for the system that channels all that potentially destructive greed into life-sustaining brilliance."