Actually, I think a big part of Old Europe's problem with Turkey is that they're not white enough. I saw a lot of racism when I was stationed in Europe. The Aryan myth isn't far below the surface in Germany - virtually all of those billboards feature blond haired blue eyed people for a reason. It doesn't reflect the population in general, only how they see themselves.

Turkey has been a loyal ally. To turn their backs on them when Turkey is in danger of attack is an act of betrayal, and Turkey won't forget it. The entire justification for NATO in the first place is mutual defense. Turkey asked for purely defensive systems - antiaircraft missiles, AWACS planes, and chemical/biological protection. The fact the Belgium, France, and Germany left Turkey swinging in the breeze undermines the whole reason for having NATO in the first place. That these countries would do it for short-term political benefit is even more contemptable.

Don't think the other NATO members and those wanting to be part of NATO aren't paying attention to all this. They now know who they can trust and who they can't.

WWI was started by cascading stupidity from ignorant European diplomacy playing nations against one another, usually for temporary political benefit. They turned a minor incident into the worst war the world had seen to that point. Following WWI, they compounded their earlier stupidity by establishing the conditions that allowed despotism to rise across Europe, not just in Germany but in Spain and Italy, too. That stupidity lead to the worst war ever. It's hard to see how morons with that track record should have any credibility.