Recep Tayyip Erdogan Shoots Off His Mouth

      Just what the Middle East needs: a president without verbal restraint.  case in point: the President of Turkey accuses Germany of using "Nazi" tactics when it prevented demonstrations preceding referendum votes on constitutional changes that would grant Mr. Erdogan sweeping new powers.   Germany is home to 3.4 million emigrants from Turkey, the largest diaspora of its kind in Europe.   Prime Minister Angela Merkel of Germany issued a rebuke of Mr. Erdogan's statements.
     Relations between the two nations have been strained since the arrest in Turkey of a German/Turkish journalist in Turkey as part of a larger Turkish government effort to stifle media in general and journalists in particular.   This follows a crackdown in Turkey on tens of thousands of civil servants and teachers after a failed coup attempt in Ankara last summer.  The action also follows an agreement between the EU and Turkey to stem the flow of refugees from Syria and North Africa who have fled the region's war and turmoil.   The EU promised to pay Turkey over 5 billion Euros to set up refugee centers and care facilities for those from war-torn regions.   Turkey has given Turkish expats the right to vote and Erdogan has sought their vote.   However, Germany retains the right to control foreign intervention in political activities within its borders.
      Modern Turkey is wrestling with its current situation: is it a secular nation or will it revert to its former status as a religious fundamentalist theocracy.   With Mr. Erdogan at the helm, it appears that Turkey will have to endure his explosive decision making for some time to come.