<http://tinyurl.com/ybe7stuc> washingtontimes.com
Now Turkey wants to buy Russian SU-57s
May 27, 2018
It's time to tell the truth about Turkey. ..
Then let's talk Turkey:
ALSO: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/270209/erdogan-unhinged-ari-lieberman
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The Turkey of today is vastly different than the Turkey that existed prior
to the ascension of Erdoğan. The nation is currently led by a neo-Ottoman,
heavy-handed, authoritarian Islamist who shares nothing in common with his
NATO partners, and who works at cross-purposes with NATO to frustrate its
objectives. Rather than being an asset, Turkey has become a hindrance to
NATO. The time has come for NATO to part ways with Erdoğan. Here’s why:
Human rights abuses: On April 20, the U.S. State Department released a
report detailing significant human right abuses in Turkey. These included
arbitrary detentions and mass arrests, torture, press censorship,
curtailment of free speech and forced disappearances of political opponents.
Authoritarian Erdoğan has transformed Turkey into a near-dictatorship where
one can be arrested for dubious crimes like “insulting the president.”
Political opponents and members of the press are routinely arrested on
contrived “terrorism” charges based on the flimsiest evidence. The once
independent judiciary has been thoroughly corrupted and is now staffed by
Erdoğan cronies and party hacks.
Use of foreign nationals as bargaining chips: In October 2016 Turkish
authorities arrested and detained an American pastor named Andrew Brunson on
contrived terrorism charges. The identities of the witnesses who testified
against Brunson were obscured. In February 2017, Turkish police arrested
German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, accusing him of engaging in terrorist
propaganda. Turkish police also detained two Czech nationals it accused of
aiding Kurdish guerillas, and in March 2018 the Turks seized two Greek
soldiers, who due to inclement weather, mistakenly strayed across the border
at Evros River. In the former case, the Turks are demanding that the Czechs
extradite a Kurdish leader currently in Prague in exchange for the two Czech
nationals and in the latter case, the Turks are demanding that Greek
authorities hand over Turkish soldiers who fled Turkey following the failed
2016 coup attempt. In this regard, Turkish behavior is no different than the
behavior of Iran and North Korea both of which routinely snatch foreigners
for potential use as bargaining chips. The only difference is that Turkey is
a member of NATO and is seizing the nationals of allied partners.
Support for ISIS: It seems absurd to suggest that Turkey supported ISIS in
light of the terror attacks perpetrated by ISIS on Turkish soil but this was
in fact the case. The Erdogan government initially believed that it shared
common interests with the terrorist group. Both were Sunni, and shared
hatred for the Kurds, the Shia and Assad. As such, Erdogan was instrumental
in propping up ISIS during its formative years. Turkish intelligence
officials assisted ISIS terrorists with arms and logistics and the Turkish
government purchased ISIS oil thus providing the terror group with a steady
stream of funding to support its activities. The Turks also permitted known
ISIS operatives to freely cross their borders and hindered U.S. efforts to
support the Kurds against ISIS during the battle of Kobani. Of course, the
Turks soon bitterly learned that they could not control the beast they
helped create. Nevertheless, Erdogan and his henchmen were partly
responsible for the group’s ascendancy.
Support for Hamas: Hamas is a terrorist organization fully recognized as
such by the U.S., Israel the European Union, Canada, Japan, Egypt and Saudi
Arabia without the fraudulent distinction between its military and
“political” wings. Yet Turkey has fostered excellent relations with the
blood-thirsty group. This is due to the fact that both the AKP and Hamas are
closely affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and profess similar
ideologies. Turkey has permitted Hamas terrorists to freely operate, recruit
and fundraise within its borders. The murder-kidnapping of three Jewish
youths from the Gush Etzion junction in the summer of 2014 was the product
of a plan hatched and funded by Hamas operatives in Turkey. Hamas continues
funnel money to its operatives in the West bank and Gaza via its offices in
Turkey as evidenced by the recent arrest by Israeli undercover commandos of
Omar al-Kiswani, a Hamas terrorist who received €150,000 from his Hamas
handlers in Turkey.
Deceptive and untrustworthy: Turkish-Israeli ties, never good under Erdogan,
experienced a marked decline following the 2010 seizure of the
blockade-running Mavi Marmara vessel and the killing of 10 Turkish IHH
terrorists who attempted to attack Israeli naval commandos during the
operation. Political ties were all but severed. Nevertheless, there was
limited cooperation between Israeli and Turkish intelligence services. But
in what can only be described as an act of egregious perfidy, Turkey’s
intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, betrayed the names of 10 Israeli agents, all
Iranian nationals, who were working undercover in Iran, condemning them all
to death and wrecking the secret spy ring. Fidan obtained Erdogan’s approval
before committing this monstrous act. It was an unprecedented act
considering that Israeli and Turkish intelligence had previously enjoyed a
mutually beneficial, 50-year relationship. If Turkish intelligence is
capable of engaging in such treachery, it’s a sure bet that Turkey is
handing over closely-guarded NATO secrets to its close allies, Russia and
Iran.
Incompatible weapons procurement: In times of war, NATO members are expected
to act in a cohesive, unified manner to meet common challenges. To that end,
alliance members are expected to procure weapon systems and sub-systems that
are compatible. In layman’s terms, these platforms need to recognize and
communicate with each other for things to run smoothly. Until recently, this
was the case until Turkey decided to unilaterally purchase Russian S-400
anti-aircraft missiles in a deal worth $2.5 billion. The platform is not
compatible with alliance platforms. Protests by the U.S. and other NATO
members have been largely ignored. In addition, Russia is still viewed as
the greatest conventional threat to peace on the European continent but
Turkey’s S-400 procurement gave the Russian defense industry a significant
boost, which of course, is not good for NATO.
Migrant extortion: On multiple occasions, Erdogan has threatened to flood
Europe with Syrian and Iraqi migrants camped in Turkey if his extortionist
demands were not met. He has demanded visa-free access for Turkish nationals
to EU nations, demanded Turkish admittance to the EU, and demanded billions
of euros in extortion money from EU nations. Considering Turkey’s abysmal
human rights record, Islamist bent and close affiliation with Islamist
terrorist groups, these demands are beyond absurd.
Divergence on Syria: As noted, Turkey has assisted ISIS militarily,
logistically and economically and in 2014, frustrated U.S. efforts to help
Kurdish forces fend off ISIS attacks on the Kurdish city of Kobani. In
January 2018, Turkish forces invaded Syria’s northwest region of Afrin to do
battle with the Syrian Democratic Forces, a group closely allied with the
U.S. and largely responsible for defeating ISIS in Syria. Turkish aggression
was motivated by imperialistic and irredentist ambitions. Before invading,
the Turks consulted with the Russians but paid scant attention to American
and German protests. Turkey’s invasion, obscenely called “Operation Olive
Branch,” was a violation of international law and nearly caused direct
confrontation with U.S. forces stationed in nearby Manbij. By its words and
actions, Turkey has made clear that its geo-political interests lie with
Russia and Iran, not with NATO.
Sanctions busting: On Erdogan’s orders Turkey helped Iran circumvent
internationally imposed sanctions aimed at forcing the rogue regime to quit
its nuclear proliferation activities. In a plan hatched by Erdogan, Turkish
state banks were employed in a complicated scheme involving gold for Iranian
oil to the tune of billions of dollars. Erdogan’s cronies were paid hefty
bribes along the way. An attempt by Turkish police to expose the
illegalities was quashed by Erdogan.
Anti-Semitic and anti-Western rhetoric: Erdogan frequently lashes out at
Israel and alliance members. His fiery speeches are often laced with
anti-Semitic overtones, wild conspiracy theories and bellicosity. Erdogan
has compared Israel to Nazi Germany, claimed that Israel has committed
genocide against the Palestinians, alleged that Israel engineered the coup
that saw the overthrow of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohammed Morsi
and accused the international “interest rate lobby,” a euphemism for rich
Jews, of fomenting the 2013 Gezi Park riots. Alliance members have not been
spared his conspiracy-laden wrath either. Germany, France, the Netherlands,
Greece and the United States have all been subjected to his unhinged
vitriol. Following a spate of racist attacks by Muslims directed against
French Christians and Jews, an effort was made by the by prominent French
officials to remove Quranic verses that made reference to violence against
non-Muslims. Rather than acknowledging the problem and seeking a solution,
Erdogan responded by referring to the West as “vile” and lashed out against
Judeo-Christian writings. His utter disdain for the West was clearly
demonstrated last year when he made the following statement; “Our concern is
not what George or Hans or Helga says. Our concern is what Hatice, Ayse,
Fatma, Ahmet, Mehmet, Hasan, Huseyin says, what Allah says…”
Aggression towards Greece: Turkey continues to initiate aggression against
fellow alliance member, Greece. In March, it seized two Greek soldiers who
mistakenly crossed the border due to inclement weather. Turkish aircraft
routinely violate Greek airspace and its ships have rammed Greek vessels
near disputed areas of the Aegean. There were at least two such hostile
ramming incidents this year. Add to this Erdogan’s express coveting of Greek
territory, expansionist agenda and unhinged temperament and we have a recipe
for an all-out war between Greece and Turkey, which ultimately harms the
cohesiveness of the NATO alliance.
Occupation of Northern Cyprus: In 1974, Turkish forces invaded Cyprus and
occupied the northern part of the Mediterranean island nation. The Turks
dubbed their belligerent military invasion the “Peace Operation,” a misnomer
if ever there was one. During the course of its aggression, Turkey displaced
some 200,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. In addition, the Turks
implanted Turkish colonists from mainland Turkey in an effort to create a
further ethnic imbalance. Turkey’s actions in Cyprus are no different than
those of the Iranians in Syria, who are ethnically cleansing large swaths of
Syria and replacing vacated Sunni areas with Shia. Turkey was found to be in
violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which
addresses displacement of populations. Turkey may also be in violation of
Article 49, Clause 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states that, “the
Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian
population into the territory it occupies.” After 44 years, Turkey still
continues to flagrantly violate international law through its illegal
occupation of one-third of an EU member state.
Each of these transgressions, standing alone, is cause for concern.
Collectively however, they are damning. Sovereign nations of course, are
free to pursue their own national interests. Erdogan has chosen a virulently
anti-Western path that veers sharply from NATO’s. He has demonstrated that
he is nothing but an unhinged, conspiracy-prone and deeply anti-Semitic
thug. It’s time now for NATO to politely show Erdogan the door and expel
Turkey from the alliance.
https://tinyurl.com/yc8a337o
