Irony: Turkey Issues Hilarious Threat if US Won't Sell It Weapons
For being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the nation of Turkey doesn't
always act as though it is a close ally of the United States, instead holding American
citizens prisoner on ridiculous charges and cozying up with NATO rivals like Russia and
Iran.
According to the Washington Examiner, the diminishing relationship between the U.S.
and Turkey has led Congress to consider cutting off future weapons sales to the increasingly
belligerent "ally," a move that has prompted Turkey to threaten retaliation if those weapons
systems aren't sold to them as initially promised.
As part of the debate over the $717 billion 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress
has requested the Department of Defense to compile and deliver a report documenting the
current state of the relationship between the two nations.
A provision in the legislation would halt all weapons sales to Turkey until that report
is complete.
That places on hold the planned purchase of 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike fighter
jets and other weapons by Turkey, a moved which has infuriated the Turkish government.
"If the United States imposes sanctions on us or takes such a step, Turkey will absolutely
retaliate," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an interview with CNN
Turk, according to Reuters.
"What needs to be done is the U.S. needs to let go of this."
The Turkish official declined to offer specifics as to what sort of retaliation his nation
might seek, but he is tentatively scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
within the next week to hash out the matter.
Along with a halt to the sale of the fighter jets, the move by Congress would also halt
the sale of Patriot missile batteries to Turkey.
A big sticking point that prompted the move — aside from the holding of several American
citizens hostage — is that Turkey recently purchased a number of S-400 surface-to-air
missile batteries from Russia, an anti-aircraft weapons system that is wholly incompatible
with those used by NATO member nations, which the U.S. harshly criticized and suggested
could lead to consequences.
But Turkey remained defiant.
"Turkey is not a country under your orders, it is an independent country," Cavusoglu
said.
"Speaking to such a country from above, dictating what it can and cannot buy, is not
a correct approach and does not fit our alliance."
Aside from the Russian missile batteries, Turkey has drawn closer to Russia — as well
as Iran — in other ways.
UPI reported in April that Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Ankara to oversee
the groundbreaking of a new $20 billion Russian-funded nuclear power plant, of which the Russian
government will hold a majority share in ownership.
An important subtext beneath all of this is the case of Andrew Brunson, an American Christian
missionary who has lived in Turkey since 1995 and was arrested in 2016 without charges on
suspicion of collaborating with terrorists following the failed "coup" against President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to an insightful piece from The Atlantic.
Brunson is alleged to have worked with and supported the Kurdistan Workers Party — labeled
a terrorist organization by Turkey — and followers of the Pennsylvania-based exiled
Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Erdogan asserts was behind the failed "coup" that
resulted in a brutal crackdown on the Turkish populace by his regime.
The American missionary faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted of the "crimes"
he has been accused of, and along with about a dozen other Americans held prisoner in Turkey
is being used as a pawn in a game of "hostage diplomacy" by Erdogan to force the return
of Gulen to Turkish custody.
The holding of Brunson and others — among other actions by Turkey — is part of the
move by Congress to block weapons sales to the erstwhile ally, according to Aaron Stein,
a senior resident fellow at the Washington-based think-tank Atlantic Counci.
"You do have a Congress that's very upset with Turkey and wants to do something, and
Brunson is a galvanizing factor" toward a harsher stance toward Erdogan's regime,
Stein said.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter in April to call for the release of Brunson,
and hopefully he will instruct his administration to use the halted weapons sales as leverage
to gain his return.
Turkey has not been acting like an ally of America or a member of NATO, and until it
makes more of an effort to do so — such as releasing American hostages and distancing
themselves from our main rivals like Russia and Iran — there is no legitimate reason
for us to sell it advanced weapons systems or continue to consider the country a friend
and reliable partner.
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