Will Erdogan's Presidency End NATO As We Know It?

Investors.com ^ | August 11, 2014 | IBD Editorial

[jazusamo]

Allies: With all the disconcerting things going on in the Mideast, you could be forgiven for missing an event critically important to America's long-term interests: Recep Erdogan's election as president of Turkey.

Erdogan's 52% victory over the weekend in a stage-managed election, making him the nation's first directly elected president, heralds a new era of conflict in the Mideast and perhaps the end of NATO as we know it.

Turkey has for decades been a key ally to the U.S. and NATO in the Mideast, an anchor in the Cold War against the USSR and friendly toward Israel as the Jewish state was attacked repeatedly by its Arab neighbors.

That's all changed since Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the reins of power as prime minister 11 years ago. At that time, Erdogan tried to assuage fears of his Islamist beliefs by calling himself a moderate.

"We will build a Turkey where common sense prevails," he said after his Justice and Development Party — known by its Turkish acronym, AKP — swept into power in 2002.

Now, as the Independent newspaper of Britain asserts, "Turkey is morphing into a Russian-style 'shell' democracy, in which managed plebiscites mask the essentially autocratic character of a system containing few or no checks and balances." Well said and accurate, but it doesn't go far enough.

In fact, Erdogan, first elected with just 34% of the vote, has become an aggressive Islamist — changing a successful system put in place by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, after the Ottoman Empire collapsed at the end of World War I.

[Zenjitsuman]

Americans will no doubt recall that Turkey’s refusal to support the U.S. and NATO in the 2003 war against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.
This American remembers that very, very well. BTT

Now Qatar and Turkey conspire with Kerry to screw Israel.
Over the weekend Turkey is planning to confront our ally Israel with another floatilla trying to break the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza, to keep it from getting Iranian and likely Nato weapons from Turkey.

The US congress must recognize that Hamas and other terror groups are backed by Qatar and Turkey and do something to address this madness.

Supporting countries who are sworn enemies of the only democracy in the middle east Israel is a mixed up foreign policy.

What if Israel has to sink a ship to repel Turkey’s effort to resupply arms to Hamass? What does Nato do?

[sarasmom]

The NATO defense treaties and EU economic alliances are total contradictions to each other.

It’s well past time that the USA openly acknowledge this, and gracefully but firmly withdraw from NATO.

We could secure our own land borders in less than 30 days, with less than a quarter of the manpower we currently waste on securing our supposed allies borders.

[odds]

Something else: many forget that IS (ISIS) is not just one group of Islamists. They consist of a few subgroups (or did when we first heard about them weeks ago). They include former Sadam's Baathists members & other Saudi, Qatari, and a couple of others from the Gulf region Sheikhdoms.

I can't remember the name of that Qatari or was it Saudi Sheikh, who actually gave an interview as to why his forces, funded by the Saudis, Qataris, etc.. were fighting alongside IS. From memory, that Sheikh said his Islamist group weren't as brutal as IS, but still they've been fighting alongside IS to bring down the Iraqi central government (united goal for now). So, I'm not sure if Erdogan (having strong Islamist inclination) hasn't already given moral support (if financial) to IS.

[Jim Noble]

NATO “as we know it” hasn’t existed for years.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Iraq was not a NATO war.

[Billthedrill]

Iraq was not a NATO war.

Oh, I know. But it was Bush who most supported Turkey's NATO membership, and for better or worse, they needed to step up. It would have been very unpopular in Turkey, I've no doubt of that. And we won it anyway. But I won't forget.

[MasterGunner01]

NATO has been dead for years. The Euros keep it around because it gives them an illusion of a capable military force, but the reality is it was the Americans who did the heavy lifting for everyone else. The Euros militaries are mostly hollow shells that have been gutted to feed their respective countries’ welfare states. Today's NATO is like an old boys’ social club.

[expat2]

Now, as the Independent newspaper of Britain asserts, "Turkey is morphing into a Russian-style 'shell' democracy, in which managed plebiscites mask the essentially autocratic character of a system containing few or no checks and balances."

Not mixed at all he said in 'his' second book that he would support the Muslims first if things turned ugly. Isn't that clear enough?

[Pagey]

Bttt!

[dfwgator]

And now Turkey with their Flotillas to Gaza is trying to provoke Israel, and force NATO into a war with Israel.

[SunkenCiv]

> Erdogan took the reins of power as prime minister 11 years ago... by calling himself a moderate... Now, as the Independent newspaper of Britain asserts, “Turkey is morphing into a Russian-style ‘shell’ democracy, in which managed plebiscites mask the essentially autocratic character of a system containing few or no checks and balances.” ...Erdogan, first elected with just 34% of the vote, has become an aggressive Islamist...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3190465/posts?page=9#9

[SunkenCiv]

Bush supported Turkey’s NATO membership? Turkey’s been a member of NATO since 1952.

[Billthedrill]

I misspoke. EU membership.

[caww]

....”The US congress must recognize that Hamas and other terror groups are backed by Qatar and Turkey and do something to address this madness”....

Why would they do that when we back terrorists as well?

[SunkenCiv]

ah. The EEC/Common Market/EU started dangling that in front of Turkey around 1960, and while there are some perks for Turkey now, their membership has been resisted openly since Erdogan got in.