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Hugh Fitzgerald: Why Turkey Should Be Expelled From NATO (Reason #877)

Feb 10, 2019 10:00 am By Hugh Fitzgerald

Let’s recapitulate: Erdogan has repeatedly attacked the Kurds in Syria, who have been our closest allies against ISIS. He has carried on a campaign of vilification against the United States for refusing to hand over Fethulleh Gulen to Erdogan’s “justice.” He has drawn closer to Putin and to Russia, and gone ahead with his pledge to buy a Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system, which U.S. and NATO officials say would lead to security breaches (for the Russians could test how the S-400 performed against NATO missiles supplied by Turkey,  and tweak their defense system accordingly). He kept the American pastor Andrew Brunson imprisoned for two years, after a Turkish court absurdly convicted Brunson, the pastor of the Izmir Resurrection Church, a tiny congregation with 25 members — and gave him a 20-year prison sentence on assorted trumped-up charges, including that of being a C.I.A. spy and a member of the Kurdish “terrorist” group, the PKK, and worst of all, of being a “Gulenist” operative. Brunson was finally freed, most begrudgingly, and only after terrific American economic pressure (threats of more boycotts and tariffs) on Ankara. Erdogan also has called the Germans “Nazis” for refusing to allow his men to campaign for votes from Turks living in Germany.

Then there was Erdogan’s fury when Austria shut down some Turkish-funded mosques, in which he predicted a coming war “between the crescent and the cross,” leaving no doubt as to which side he would be on.

And most disturbing of all was Erdogan’s calling for a gigantic pan-islamic force to be created that could make war on, and presumably destroy, Israel. In Erdogan’s view, all 57 members of the O.I.C. would contribute, with Turkey taking the leading role. The plan was put forth in an article published by Erdogan’s most loyal mouthpiece, the newspaper Yeni Safak.

The very detailed article included this:

What If An Army Of Islam Was Formed Against Israel?

If the OIC member states unite and form a joint military force, it will be the largest army in the world. These countries’ total population is 1,674,526,931. The number of soldiers in active service in these countries is at least 5,206,100. Their [overall] military defense budget, of $174,728,420,000 is also worthy of emphasis.

As for Israel, it is significantly inferior. The population of this country, which attempted to occupy Jerusalem while surrounded by Muslim states, is 8,049,314. Note that the population of Istanbul alone exceeds 14 million. The number of soldiers in active service in the [Israeli] occupation forces is 160,000, and [Israel’s] defense budget is approximately $15,600,000,000.

Among the decisions that can be taken at the OIC [summit] is to form a ‘Jerusalem Task Group.’ In this framework, military steps are likely to be taken. The [Muslim] armies, ranging from Africa to Asia, surpass the Israeli [army in might]. So if an Islamic army is formed, Israel will be under a siege.

In a possible military operation, the first step is expected to involve 250,000 soldiers, and the establishment of joint land, air and naval bases for use in the short term.

500 tanks and armored vehicles, 100 war planes, 500 attack helicopters and 50 warships and submarines can be mobilized.

There is much more detail, all designed to show the overwhelming superiority  of the 57 Muslim states to Israel in their populations, in the numbers of their soldiers, in their defense budgets, and in their combined weaponry.

After this plan was published, neither the Americans, nor any other NATO member, criticized the Turkish plan to besiege Israel from every side and — it is not stated but is surely meant — to destroy it. And Turkey remains a member of NATO, in apparent good standing.

Quaere: Why is Turkey still in NATO? Is Turkish membership of any value to other members, or is its presence a threat to the effectiveness of NATO as that organization necessarily turns its attention away from Russia, to the greatest threat now facing the democratic West, which is the  menace, both foreign and domestic, posed by 1.5 billion Muslims? Isn’t Turkey’s mere presence at NATO meetings likely to inhibit free discussion of what may need to be done to counter a Muslim threat? It should be clear that Turkey is no longer the secular, Kemalist country it was before Erdogan came to power, and that the re-islamizing of the country ensures that its loyalty is not to the West, but to fellow Muslims.

Of what conceivable benefit, militarily, is Turkish membership in NATO to its other members? Didn’t Turkey prove its unreliability when it prevented the Americans from using the Incirlik base to invade Iraq from the north? Hasn’t Turkey repeatedly been attacking the Kurds in Syria, who have been the most effective American ally in the fight against ISIS? In any war between NATO and a Muslim country — say Iran — how likely is it that Turkey would allow its airspace or bases on its soil to be used by NATO forces, much less contribute troops to a coalition of NATO military forces? And why should Turkey, now so hostile to the West, continue to be a member of NATO, when there is a much better candidate for NATO membership waiting in the wings? That candidate is Israel. It is of far greater military value to NATO, and unlike Turkey, is part of the West that NATO was established to protect. As we know, Israel has a very effective military, planted in the middle of the Muslim world. It is a world leader in cyberwar (Stuxnet) and cyber security, in missile defense (Iron Dome) and drone technology (Iron Drone). It has superb intelligence on the Muslim world, and has provided information to NATO members that has helped  them to foil  dozens of major attacks with the potential for mass casualties, including some involving explosives on civilian airliners. Unlike Turkey, Israel remains an unshakeable part of the West.

Once upon a time, Turkey was indeed “our NATO ally.” That was when the enemy was the Soviet Union, and Turkey was happy to collaborate in efforts to contain the Soviet Union, which for the Turks was understood to be their hereditary enemy, Russia, under a slightly different guise. In the early 1950s, Turkey could and did offer troops for the UN forces in the Korean War, as well as listening posts for NATO to monitor Soviet communications, and use, by the Americans, of Incirlik Air Base.

But who could imagine Recep Tayyip Erdogan offering bases today, or contributing any kind of military aid, to a coalition of non-Muslim states, for use against any Muslim state or states? Suppose, for example, that Iran and Hezbollah went to war against Israel, firing 70,000 of the 140,000 rockets Hezbollah now possesses, from bases in southern Lebanon into Israel, and that other longer-range missiles were fired by Iranian forces from bases in eastern Syria and Iran. And suppose that simultaneously with this colossal barrage, there were to be an uprising by Hamas in Gaza and by Hamas-cum-Fatah forces in the West Bank. Suppose further that the situation became even more difficult for Israel than during the Yom Kippur war, with the northern Galilee overrun by units both of Hezbollah and of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. And imagine, further, that the Americans, though willing if necessary to go it alone, wanted NATO to join in intervening to help Israel. Turkey not only would not contribute, but would warn Iran of NATO planning and, very likely, militarily support the Iranians and Hezbollah. Make up any scenario you wish, where NATO might want to intervene against Muslims. One can imagine a civil war, of non-Muslims finally having to rise up against Muslims in, say, France. It’s not, alas, far-fetched. On September 15, 2018, the writer Eric Zemmour warned France of a coming “civil war against Islam and its French collaborators” on the public radio station France Inter. Gerard Collomb, France’s former Interior Minister, has said: “It’s difficult to estimate but I would say that in five years the situation could become irreversible. Yes, we have five, six years to avoid the worst,” by which he meant an open civil war. We know whose side NATO — that is, all but one member — would take, intervening to help the French regain their country. One NATO member would not help the French, but side with the Muslims in France — Turkey.

Now Erdogan is again going after the Syrian Kurds. The Americans won’t be there to interfere. It’s time for the Trump Administration to insist that all “foreign forces’” that entered Syria during the civil war — meaning Iran, Hezbollah, Turkey, and the U.S. (but not the Russians, because they had been present in Syria long before the civil war, with a naval base at Latakia and an airbase) — should now leave. And if the Turks refuse to leave (and they will) and if they continue to battle our close allies the Syrian Kurds (and they will), these choices by Erdogan will constitute Reasons #876 and #877 to expel Turkey from a re-purposed NATO and, sensibly, to welcome Israel in.

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Filed Under: Featured, Hugh Fitzgerald, Turkey Tagged With: nato, Recep Tayyip Erdogan


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Comments

  1. mortimer says

    Feb 10, 2019 at 10:20 am

    Remove Erdogan and the problem is 50% solved.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 10, 2019 at 1:32 pm

      He is a *big* part of the problem–but Turkey has been re-Islamizing for some time now. Even if dictator Erdogan were out, I doubt this would stop.

      • mortimer says

        Feb 10, 2019 at 2:24 pm

        If Erdogan were gone, the secularists might be able to reassert themselves. The Turks might even vote for a new Ataturk-style secularist. There’s forward and then there’s reverse.

        • gravenimage says

          Feb 11, 2019 at 10:37 pm

          *Maybe*, Mortimer. I’d like to see it–but am not sure it would happen. Most Muslims do support Islamization.

      • mortimer says

        Feb 10, 2019 at 2:31 pm

        Agree somewhat with GI. 44% of Turks claim they visit the mosque once a week, but 23% say they never attend. .

  2. abad says

    Feb 10, 2019 at 10:42 am

    Erdogan is more concerned about the Uighurs in China – how China treats them – rather than how Moslems treat non-Moslems.

    The Uighurs have been committing violence on a grand scale in northwestern China for a long time now – and Turkey is surprised at how China is treating them?

    Turkey can take in the Uighurs.

    Islam does NOT belong in China.

    • Indiana Tom says

      Feb 10, 2019 at 11:55 am

      I like them better in China than here.

  3. Indiana Tom says

    Feb 10, 2019 at 11:53 am

    He has drawn closer to Putin and to Russia, and gone ahead with his pledge to buy a Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system, which U.S. and NATO officials say would lead to security breaches (for the Russians could test how the S-400 performed against NATO missiles supplied by Turkey, and tweak their defense system accordingly).
    Surely he cannot be a Putin Pal! Russians never cavort with rogue Muslim nations per our local Trotskyite Troll. Only Trump dances with Muslims! What a gas!

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 10, 2019 at 1:34 pm

      Spot on, Indiana Tom.

      christianblood has in fact cheered Turkey’s growing closeness with Russia. Another reason Turkey does not belong in NATO.

  4. Indiana Tom says

    Feb 10, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    And why should Turkey, now so hostile to the West, continue to be a member of NATO, when there is a much better candidate for NATO membership waiting in the wings?
    I can think of several countries which would better in NATO than Turkey.

  5. gravenimage says

    Feb 10, 2019 at 1:37 pm

    Hugh Fitzgerald: Why Turkey Should Be Expelled From NATO (Reason #877)
    …………………

    Turkey should have been expelled from NATO long since.

  6. Tony Naim says

    Feb 10, 2019 at 2:25 pm

    The Seljuk Turks have tried to achieve in the fifteenth century what Muslim Arabs began in eighth century, namely, impose Islam on Europe.
    The latter via the Iberian peninsula and the former through the Balkans.
    Both attempts driven by the same force of radical political Islam. That same force still lies dormant in all Islamic countries. From Morocco to Pakistan going thru Turkey.
    The Islamist regime in Turkey is no friend of the West. The sanctions imposed on Iran must be expanded to include all those countries including Turkey. Until they all adapt secular constitutions that uphold personal freedom, human rights and democracy. More important, they must also clip the wings of their clergy. Their religious establishments are simply incubators of evil, they are the scourge and the source of savage religious-motivated violence and bigoted teachings.

  7. John says

    Feb 11, 2019 at 12:27 am

    Bring on his War, then for Once we will see which Western Nations side with i slam and the rest of the world can help Israel ,and Wipe out the islamic army and their nations for payback also for siding with Hitler in WW2 , and wipe out the islamic apologist countries as well and rid the World of this SATAN Evil once and for all. China would not be supporting islam, and i believe Putin will not either. Maybe take 10 years and PURGE the EARTH of this SATANIC Spawn called islam.

  8. IPOIPO says

    Feb 11, 2019 at 5:39 pm

    Turkey should have been gone from NATO after their invasion of Cyprus. And Cyprus should have been retaken.

  9. Transmaster says

    Feb 11, 2019 at 7:05 pm

    The problem with kicking Turkey out of NATO this is exactly what Putin wants. Putin’s goal is the destroy NATO. Erdogan’s problem is he wants into the EU. Wisely Brussels has said no. Erdogan would pull a Greece on the EU. If Turkey was allowed into the EU, the Euro would become Turkey’s official currency taking the place of the almost worthless Turkish Lira. The current exchange rate, 1 Turkish Lira is worth 0.17 Euro’s. Erdogan is trying to blackmail the EU into letting him in. The Refugee crisis he engineers was also an attempt at blackmail. What needs to be done is coordinate with the Turkish Army Generals who fled the country during the recent fake military coup. Support them in a real military coup were Erdogan can be invited to leave or get a really bad case of lead poisoning.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 11, 2019 at 10:40 pm

      More and more, Putin is enabling Islam.

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