Posted on 05/17/2022 2:33:48 PM PDT by FarCenter
...
Ankara has made it clear that it wants to use Sweden and Finland’s applications as a tool to weaken support for Kurdish separatist groups. "We must absolutely stop supporting terrorist organisations (...). I am not saying this as a bargaining chip, but because this is what it means to be allies," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said Sunday in Berlin.
In theory, Turkey has every right to block Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO. As per Article 10 of its founding treaty, the two Scandinavian countries must convince all 30 members of the organisation of the merits of their application.
"The alliance works on the principle of consensus. Each member therefore has the right of veto. We saw this with Greece, which opposed North Macedonia’s accession for years" because of a dispute over the country's name, said geopolitologist Olivier Kempf.
Although the red carpet seemed to have been rolled out for Sweden and Finland, ... Turkey's position is causing confusion within the defence alliance.
...
According to specialists, Ankara is above all shedding light on Swedish support for the PKK in order to regain influence within the military alliance. "Turkey's relationship with NATO has been very complicated for several years. It had come to the point of talking about its exclusion.
Turkey has adopted this position in the hopes of obtaining compensation from the organisation’s members, in particular the United States. In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on the Turkish defence industry, following the latter’s purchase of the Russian S 400 anti-missile system. Turkey was also excluded from the US F-35 stealth fighter programme, for which "it had placed an order and paid a down payment of $1.4 billion", according to Courrier International. A gesture by Joe Biden on this issue would undoubtedly overcome Ankara's reluctance.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Tell them to FO.
RE: Can Turkey block Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO?
As I understand it, ALL NATO MEMBERS must UNANIMOUSLY approve an applicant nation for membership. Even One holdout will stop membership.
So, the answer is “Yes”.
Short answer is ‘YES.’
Kick Turkey out then admit Sweden and Finland.
Ukraine isn’t worth the lives of my sons and daughters, and neither are Finland and Sweden. These Europeans need to defend themselves. Protecting them is no longer in the vital national security interest of the United States.
#1. Turkey can block Finland and Sweden from formally joining NATO. Turkey can not close prevent cooperation between Finland, Sweden and NATO. There are always workarounds to political intrigues like this.
How ironic that the country responsible for the genocide of Armenians might end up preventing the nuclear genocide of humanity.
“How ironic that the country responsible for the genocide of Armenians might end up preventing the nuclear genocide of humanity.”
I was stationed in Turkey. It is a very insular country. It always plays parties against each other, seeking for the best deal it can arrange for itself. Turkey is what is known as a fair-weather friend. Wholly untrustworthy.
I hope they do.
That’s like NATO illegally bombing Libya offensively when it’s a defensive org, bombed them unprovoked bombed them for Odumbas with the U.S. “leading from behind” in unproven allegations that Gaddafi was going to kill 10k of his own people.
But NATO is corrupt as Odumba is.
Again, NATO illegally bombing Libya offensively when it’s a defensive org, bombed them unprovoked, bombed them for Odumba with the U.S. “leading from behind” in unproven allegations that Gaddafi was going to kill 10k of his own people.
But NATO is corrupt as Odumba is.
But some might say NATO would never attack or try to slowly degrade Russia.
Tell that to Gaddafi as NATO has ruined Libya turning it into a slaver state.
“Ukraine isn’t worth the lives of my sons” and daughters, and neither are Finland and Sweden. These Europeans need to defend themselves. Protecting them is no longer in the vital national security interest of the United States.”
NATO is a MUTUAL defense agreement. So is it, in YOUR VIEW, NOT in the interest of the other 29 members of NATO to come to the defense of the United States if the United States is attacked by Russia???
Mutual defense works both ways. It is not about “U.S.” interests but agreed on MUTUAL interests.
As much as Ronald Reagan, GHWBush, GWBush and Tremp all wanted NATO countries to pay up to agreed % of GDP to their military, none were isolationists.
Beginning today 19 nations of NATO - Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. - begin a joint exercise to beef up coordination of communications and operations across participating land, sea and air units, to improve NATO multinational command operations in a project planned in the Trump DOD in 2020. It is what a MUTUAL defensive pact is all about.
https://jfcnaples.nato.int/newsroom/news/2022/nato-begins-vigilance-activity-neptune-shield-22
Turkey is entirely dependent on russian oil&gas and goes dark overnight if Russia deems it so.
Turkey is on the brink of economic collapse itself: 70% inflation, massive unemployment, food shortages, and on and on. Revolutions have started for less.
Turkey houses US nukes at Incirlik. How big of a mob would be needed to overrun the place? As big as the one in Afgan? That’d be a snap.
Turkey is in Nato for the primary reason of geography: easy jumping off point for US to middle east, south EU and North Africa.
So I think there is far more to this than “kick out turkey in place of sweden/finland”
I'm sure that to the Kurds, Turkey is a terrorist organization.
Europe easily has the wealth to support a military as large as the US has. Eff ‘em.
Turkey still has Jannisaries.
Turkey purchased the S-400 air defense system from the Russian Federation after the US told them not to do it. The US then stopped the export of 100 F-35 Fighters to Turkey that were already promised.
I see 100 F-35 fighters in the near future for Turkey.
Are you joking? Do you think anyone from Finland or Slovenia would ever put up a legitimate defense of the US? Almost none of our "allies" pay even 2% of their GDP on anything even remotely defense related.
Mutual defense works both ways. It is not about “U.S.” interests but agreed on MUTUAL interests.
So they could hide in their bases in Iraq or bomb Serbia into loosing a quarter of their territory? The only thing "mutual" about NATO is that everyone knows that the US has always done all the heavy lifting.
As much as Ronald Reagan, GHWBush, GWBush and Tremp all wanted NATO countries to pay up to agreed % of GDP to their military, none were isolationists.
We actually had an enemy in Europe back then. Our only rival today is on the other side of the world.
Beginning today 19 nations of NATO - Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. - begin a joint exercise to beef up coordination of communications and operations across participating land, sea and air units, to improve NATO multinational command operations in a project planned in the Trump DOD in 2020. It is what a MUTUAL defensive pact is all about.
You really seem sincere in your ignorance. NATO is nothing but a bunch of brass in a $2 billion dollar building in Belgium. We have wasted trillions on Europe in the last 73 years. Imagine what the quality of life in the US would be like if the Europeans had paid for their own defense.
Do you think these losers could ever fight in a real war?
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