My name is Brooks Reed and I will be your crisis director for the Turkish Grand National Assembly Specialized  Committee at RTC 2012. I am a sophomore at Florida State majoring in Political Science and International Affairs and this is my second year in the FSU World Affairs Program. I am extremely excited to be your director this year and I look forward to a weekend of productive debate. The committee will be run in General Assembly format, but will be moved along by updates provided by my staff and myself. Delegates will be representing members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and debating issues ranging from Kurdish autonomy movements to EU integration.  The committee will receive update information in the form of press releases or internal memos from the General Staff of the Armed Forces or the Office of the President. The politics of Turkey are very partisan, and so you will be encouraged to work along party lines or in collaboration between and among your respective parties.

            When making decisions, the effect that these decisions have on EU relations, the regional balance of power, and the opinion of the Armed Forces must be taken into account. The Army has deposed many governments in the past, and if the Grand National Assembly makes the wrong decisions, they may face a similar attempt to usurp power.

            I chose to write this committee because I see Turkey as one of the most interesting countries in the Middle East and I hope that over the course of the conference you come to share my view and at the same time have a great time here at FSU. I trust you will all have a great summer and I hope to see you in September! 

            If you wish to contact me with any questions about the committee, you can email me at br11j@my.fsu.edu or direct any general concerns about the conference to rtc@fsuwap.org.

           -Brooks Reed