" The AKP and Other Turkish Islamists Attempt to Block Secular General From Top Military Post
Despite three military coups in the past decades, the Turkish military is the most respected and trusted institution in the country, as the guardian and guarantor of the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - a pro-Western, secular Turkish republic.
But in the view of Turkey's Islamists, a strong and hawkish chief of general staff would pose a threat to their efforts to move Turkey from secularism to Islamism.
Turkish military commander Gen. Mehmet Yasar Buyukanit, an outspoken and tough-on-terrorism anti-Islamist, is expected to become the next chief of general staff in August 2006. Since last year, a campaign has been waged to tarnish Gen. Buyukanit's reputation, in order to block him from this post."
More:Special Dispatch Series - No. 1136
