Washington Should Stop Pretending To Be Turkey’s Ally

They’ve become the fifth columnist of NATO, reminding us that alliances aren’t like diamonds: they don’t last forever.

 
President Donald Trump’s willingness to criticize America’s traditional allies has generated a fierce backlash. Members of the infamous Blob, the foreign policy establishment, have united to defend virtually every member of every alliance.

No doubt, cooperation to advance shared interests is advantageous. However, that does not require one-sided peace guarantees to nations capable of defending themselves. And it makes no sense to ally with a country that does not advance U.S. security. Like Turkey.

Ankara has long enjoyed a reputation for being strategically important, anchoring Europe’s southeast, limiting Soviet advances into the Mediterranean through the Black Sea and into the Middle East overland. The U.S. still uses Incirlik and Izmir Air Bases to extend its military reach. Ankara has been held up as a model Islamic democracy.

Even during the Cold War, NATO paid a high price for Turkey’s inclusion. Authoritarian, military-dominated governments in Ankara enforced a ruthlessly secular public space; there were several coups, hard and soft. In 1974, Turkey invaded and partitioned the Republic of Cyprus. War almost erupted with Greece and for a time Congress barred arms sales to Ankara. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ankara became a regional guardian without serious duties, while its unstable, military-dominated coalition politics and weak economy didn’t look like much of a model for anyone.

 
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Πηγή: theamericanconservative.com