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Editorial Team: Atlantic-community.org would like to thank its members for contributing to and commenting during its special analysis week on Turkey. After a week of intensive debate, it is now time to draw some important conclusions and take the discussion to the next level. We invite your views.

Richard Gowan and Daniel Korski: The potential rewards the EU might reap from improved trade in Iraq are huge, but the risks of instability remain highly problematic. By coordinating efforts, both within the Union and with NATO, Europe will win gratitude in Washington and a fruitful market in Baghdad. Yet, if the EU wants to develop trade, it needs to contribute to security now.

Franz Josef Jung, Germany's former defense minister and current labor minister, resigned on Friday over his handling of a controversial airstrike in Afghanistan. Germany's top soldier Inspector General Schneiderhan and Deputy Defense Minister Wichert resigned on Thursday, reports Spiegel (in English).

The Bundestag's defense committee will most likely establish a parliamentary investigation into the affair, which could erode public support for the Afghanistan mission even further.

The good news is that Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, Germany's current defense minister, has had a promising start since taking over in early October and has started making the necessary changes. "From referring to the Afghanistan mission as a 'war' to announcing a slight increase in troop numbers, he has gained the support of the military," writes Spiegel (in English) in another article.

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Gretchen Peters: The drug trade in Afghanistan is benefiting the insurgency, begging the question: What do Taliban leaders intend to do with the profits? The international intelligence community would be wiser to focus its efforts on identifying and disrupting flows of money to insurgent, extremist, and terror groups.

Alex Jackson: Current fears that Turkey is moving away from its Euro-Atlantic orientation are misguided. Ankara is indeed strengthening ties with its Muslim neighbors but it is also improving relations with Russia and Armenia. The West should, instead, focus on the benefits that Turkey's multilateral foreign policy can bring.

Marc William Zedler: As Turkey is getting increasingly disillusioned with the EU, momentum could build up for the establishment of a Turkic Union. A Turkic Union would not only be beneficial to Turkey, as it could take up a leading role, but also to the EU, as such a union could serve to counter Russian dominance in the region.

Mensur Akgün: Recent media reports on Turkey's alleged foreign policy fail to acknowledge major positive achievements on behalf of the AKP government, notably Ankara's attempts at reconciliation with its neighbors. Western pundits should ask themselves what this "western identity'' that Turkey is supposedly moving away from, really is.

Basak Yavcan Ural: Public opposition to Turkey's accession to the EU has largely been ignored, although it represents a real threat to the negotiation process. Europe needs to reconstruct its identity, by emphasizing diversity and multiculturalism. Turkey also needs to address existing misperceptions.

A few weeks ago, Poland's defense minister made the following appeal, reported in the Telegraph:

Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister, said he was alarmed by recent military exercises conducted by the Russian army in Belarus, a country that borders Poland, and wanted the US military as a counterweight.

"We would like to see US troops stationed in Poland to serve as a shield against Russian aggression," he said.

"If you can still afford it, we need some strategic reassurance."

It is hard to see why Sikorski would be so deeply worried by a military exercise featuring 900 tanks when Poland itself has more than that at hand. In an interview for Czech television, Zbigniew Brzezinski told East Europeans to grow up:

East Europeans should stop behave like small children, start to deal with their own problems by themselves and not to go to the United States complaining about Russian aggressiveness, for instance, Zbigniew Brzezinski said in in interview for the public Czech Television

Countries like Poland and the Czech Republic should be able to take care of their own - conventional - defence concerns to a large extent. Especially if they cooperate. They are both richer than Russia per head, they're not too small, and they have access to superior conventional technology. Meanwhile, the SIPRI database shows that Poland spent 2% of its GDP per year on defence in 2007, and the Czech Republic 1.4%. This compares to 3.5% for Russia and 4% for the United States.

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Die britischen Konservativen wollen nach einem Wahlsieg im kommenden Jahr die Truppen der britischen Rheinarmee aus Deutschland abziehen. Liam Fox, der verteidigungspolitische Sprecher der Partei, der im Falle eines Wahlerfolges Verteidigungsminister im Kabinett des jetzigen Oppositionsführers Cameron werden könnte, kündigte in einem Zeitungsgespräch weitreichende Veränderungen für die britischen Streitkräfte an. Die Aufwendungen für Verwaltung und Truppenstäbe sollten in den ersten zwei Jahren nach dem Machtwechsel um ein Viertel sinken.

Mehr hier: http://getaccess.posterous.com/britische-truppen-in-deutschland-tories-wolle