Bulent Ecevit Quotes
I suggested that we had experience in helping other countries build their military forces, and we would be willing and happy to do the same for Afghanistan, together with the United States.
Ecevit, Bulent. Interview by Margaret Warner. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS, 16 Jan. 2002.
See his defense of this policy to Congress: {631952}
After the French were driven out, Vietnam was supposed to have a national election to choose a government but the people of Vietnam were deeply split between those supporting the Communists and Ho Chi Min (who had led the campaign to oust the French from their colony) on one side and Vietnamese who were more Westernized and favored a democracy. Vietnam was mostly Buddhist but most of the Western oriented leadership of the Democracy advocates were Christians. They wanted to delay the election to give them a chance to organize to catch up with the communists at political organization. Ho Chi Min and the Communists already do facto controlled the North of Vietnam and decided to use force against the Western oriented forces whose military was much smaller than the Communists who had ejected the French. The United States provided financial aid and supplied weapons and Central Intelligence Agency assistance to the South Vietnam forces who were afraid of being overrun by the Communists headquartered in the North. Taylor’s mission was to go to Vietnam, assess the situation and make recommendations to President Kennedy.
The 21st century perception of Pakistani leaders was not new. The same delusional view of the nation’s importance was held by the founder of Pakistan from the start of nation. The perception of American leaders has been on both sides of this question at different times. The reality is that Pakistan and the United States have both profited from the relationship, but there is constant reevaluation in both nations as to whether the price that is paid for the relationship is worth the cost.
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister of Turkey in 1974, 1977, 1978–79, and 1999–2002. He was the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) between 1972 and 1980, and in 1989 he became the leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP).
