US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that the Kurdish PKK group “bears responsibility” for the execution of 13 Turkish hostages in Iraq over the weekend.
The speed at which condemnation of the PKK occurred without allowing time for analysis and investigation is worrying. It suggests a tendency toward appeasement, which is no surprise given the foreign policy of the Obama administration, which Biden is reviving.
Early on Monday, the Washington Post wrote:
Simmering hostility between Turkey’s government and the Biden administration burst into the open Monday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States of supporting Kurdish militants and his Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador.
The latest outburst came a day after Ankara said that 13 Turkish hostages being held in northern Iraq by the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, had been found executed by their captors. The State Department issued a statement condemning the killings but suggesting the PKK’s involvement had yet to be confirmed.
That was the responsible response, pending details, but Erdogan’s fury sparked a quick turnaround. Later on the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the PKK “under pressure from Turkey.”
Erdogan conveniently exploited Turkey’s NATO membership, stating:
If we are together with you in NATO, if we are to continue our unity, then you will act sincerely towards us. Then, you will stand with us, not with the terrorists.
His platitudes about “unity” are a farce. Erdogan cares nothing about unity with the infidel nations of NATO. Turkish expansionism and a revived Ottoman Empire are his goals; his hatred for the EU, which he views as “collapsing,” is palpable. Back in 2016, Foreign Policy Magazine warned that “Turkey’s new maps” were “reclaiming the Ottoman Empire” and that Erdogan’s “aggressive nationalism” was “spilling over Turkey’s borders, grabbing land in Greece and Iraq.” Even Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi warned that Erdogan “now openly uses the Islamic factor,” and el-Sisi also warned of a “wave of terrorists in Greece in the future,” sent by Turkey.
Recently, Erdogan also vowed “employ his country’s military to secure Turkey’s place in a rebalanced new world order.” And right before Christmas, he hailed leaders of the Armenian genocide and the “Islamic Army of Caucasus.” Erdogan is an Islamic supremacist manipulator and Turkey should have long ago have been expelled from NATO.
The Biden administration’s swift appeasement of Turkey is a matter of concern that bears watching.
“US condemns ‘PKK’ attack under pressure from Turkey,” DW, February 15, 2021:
US Secretary of State Anthony [sic] Blinken called his Turkish counterpart on Monday, and said Washington concurred that the Kurdish PKK group “bears responsibility” for the killings of 13 Turkish hostages in Iraq at the weekend. The move followed condemnations from Ankara after the first US reaction expressed condolences but did not categorically blame the PKK.
“The Secretary expressed condolences for the deaths of Turkish hostages in northern Iraq and affirmed our view that PKK terrorists bear responsibility,” a State Department press release said on Monday.
Hours earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had accused the US of backing the outlawed Kurdish militia group — after Washington did not immediately back up Ankara’s claims over who was responsible.
The government said on Sunday that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had executed 13 Turkish hostages in a cave in Iraq. The PKK blamed Turkish airstrikes.
The State Department initially responded to the incident by saying: “If reports of the death of Turkish civilians at the hands of the PKK, a designated terrorist organization, are confirmed, we condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.”
The comments drew sharp criticism from the Turkish president in a televised address to his supporters. In it, he told Washington: “You said you did not support terrorists, when in fact you are on their side and behind them.”
Erdogan claims a free pass in Iraq
The original US statement and the subsequent phone call stressed the importance of the bilateral relationship between the countries.Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had expressed his frustration with the silence from “countries that are supposedly claiming to battle terrorism.”
The Foreign Ministry had also summoned the US ambassador in Ankara, David Satterfield, on Monday.
Erdogan said no individual or country had the right to “question, criticize or oppose Turkey’s operations in Iraq and Syria” after the “bloodbath” that occurred in northern Iraq.
He urged the United States to show support. “If we are together with you in NATO, if we are to continue our unity, then you will act sincerely towards us. Then, you will stand with us, not with the terrorists,” Erdogan said….
mortimer says
Appeasement is the very meaning of the word ‘Islam’. Islam means bringing peace through surrender. Weak-kneed Sleepy ChiCom Joe has a broken moral compass. It’s hard to figure out who controls him, but it appears to be wealthy American oligarchs with interests in China and perhaps some with interests in Turkey.
The corruption-ridden Biden administration is composed of people who are more than willing to sell out their country.
mortimer says
Kurdish independence has been on the table for many decades. Due to the Kurdish resistance to ISIS, the US should reward them with their own country.
Mount Zion says
How low has the US sank , beeing threathened by a supremacist islamic country and immediately caving in to their pressure is just so shameful for a nation who once was the strongest and most respected on the face of the earth . I don’t think something like that would have been possible under the Trump administration , no way .
James Lincoln says
No way under the Trump administration, Mount Zion…
Jack says
May be Joe will send them a few Billion
gravenimage says
Muslims say “jump”, and Biden asks “how high”?
Infidel says
Shows how much the ‘State Department’ people know about foreign affairs. The PKK operates in Turkey, not Iraq or Syria. Both Turkey and Iran make enemies of foreign Kurds out of fear of it inspiring their own Kurds
Rich says
Not a good sign from this administration. The Kurds have been great allies in our fight against ISIS. It is apparent that our new foreign policy will be one of boot-licking and bowing to even the slightest pressure from foreign powers that have their own way of doing things. Once again we take a back seat. When does the new apology tour begin? Who will our Usurper and Chief bow to first?
gregbeetham says
I keep wondering how long it will be before Erdogan plasters his image on billboards and erects statues of himself all over the country.
SAFI says
I’m not entirely sure about statues(although I think I’ve seen a couple on the internet but I’m not sure of their location) but hes already plastered his face all over Turkey as well as the parts of Syria his army occupies
gravenimage says
This is true–you can find pictures of these billboards all over the net.
And Turks in Germany put up a statue of Erdogan–luckily it immediately became a magnet for rude graffiti.
SAFI says
“the foreign policy of the Obama administration, which Biden is reviving” yes …not to mention the foreign policy of the Trump administration towards Turkey which I sure hope Biden is not intent on continueing (yes I know Pompeo said a few harsh words about Turkey on his way out but I was referring to the preceding four years of “appeasing’ the “strategic ally”)
Anyway I couldn’t help noticing the contrast between how the Erdogan regime reacted now (summoning ambassadors, accusing the US of colluding with terrorist PKK etc) and how comparatively nonchalant he was when a Russian airstrike killed 30 turkish soldiers in Idlib last year. Seems like the ”strategic NATO ally” can easily forgive Putin bombing their soldiers but he harbors a special kind of hatred for his fellow NATO allies who are supposedly not condemning the PKK quick enough (actually I’m calling bullshit on Erdolf’s claims because I know he’s a pathological liar and master taqiyyaist who’s been caught lying multiple times about the PKK’s presence in every land he invades, latest example turkish state media spreading fake news about PKK supposedly fighting alongside Armenians in Artsakh… Imagine accepting anything the turkish regime says at face value…
john smith says
Erdogan is most certainly going to try to revive the Ottoman Empire with him being the caliph.That you can guarantee. However Erdogan is a megalomaniac with far greater ambitions, he believes himself to be the mahdi, and world domination is his ultimate goal. A very very dangerous man indeed.
Honest Ali says
The PKK is a Communist terrorist group that has murdered children in their “revolution”.
The PKK is just as bad as ISIS.
Communists our not our friends. The enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend.
The PKK trained many of the Antifa terrorists that we say burning, looting, and murdering here in America all summer long.
Be careful who you support and ally with.
gravenimage says
Alien vs. Predator…
Boycott Turkey says
if they are going to condemn PKK for terrorism then why not also condemn Turkey for sponsoring Syrian Terrorist Turdogan is the biggest terrorist in a suit