by Burak Bekdil, GATESTONE • May 18, 2022
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is trying to turn what appears to be the most strategic move in NATO’s history into carpet-trading at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.
- “The Russian-Kurdish nexus has been a recurring feature of Middle Eastern geopolitics for more than two hundred years, since Catherine the Great commissioned the publication of a Kurdish grammar in 1787.” — Michael A. Reynolds, The National Interest, March 1, 2016.
- None of the many examples of Russian appeasement of Turkey’s “Kurdish terrorists” is secret. Russia has been doing all it could for its Kurdish friends overtly, with Erdo?an completely silent. Now the same Erdo?an is by trying to blackmail NATO by vetoing membership for two Western European countries on the grounds that these countries, threatened by Russia, are supporting Kurdish terrorists.
- The Western military alliance should be strong enough to tell Erdo?an what he needs to hear.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, is trying to turn what appears to be the most strategic move in NATO’s history into carpet-trading at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Pictured: Erdo?an arrives for the NATO summit in Watford, England, on December 4, 2019.<
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Once again, Turkey is the odd one out in the NATO alliance. The country’s Islamist strongman, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, is trying to turn what appears to be the most strategic move in NATO’s history into carpet-trading at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.
Erdo?an said on May 13 that his country is “not favorable” toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating Turkey could use its membership in the Western military alliance to veto moves to admit the two countries.
Erdo?an explained his opposition by citing Sweden and other Scandinavian countries’ alleged support for Kurdish militants and others whom Turkey considers to be terrorists. That denunciation cannot be taken seriously. Erdo?an has the habit of calling anyone who is politically and religiously different from his own worldview a terrorist.
@Peloni Nothing wrong with that. Some of my best friends are animals. “If you prick them, do they not bleed…”
@Sebastien
Very good of you to bring this to my attention. Felix must be right that I have an animal fetish, LOL..
@Peloni First bears now cats? ha ha. I was already wondering how to work Schroedingers cat in. I guess this joke is geting pretty lame by now, strictly for the birds.
Erdogan has more lives than a cat and he likes to manipulate everyone to benefit himself. Right now Turkey is suffering from massive financial issues and, as I noted a couple of days ago, he is positioning himself with this NATO stunt to be paid well for his support in allowing these two nations into NATO.
That being said, why these two neutral nations are scampering to be counted as NATO members is a curious thing. They have benefited greatly by pursuing a policy of neutrality over the years, and their choice of placing themselves as the next startup cauldron to be encircled by Russian army forces is quite peculiar. It seems obvious that they will gain all risk and no benefit from such an undertaking, like vaccinating children with a dangerous drug for a disease with which they have no concerns. Russia has neither harrassed nor targeted them, quite the contrary, actually. This move towards highlighting such daylight between these bordering nations is a very dangerous move. It will place them in the needy support of NATO and they should look to Ukraine to see how well that turned out for the people of Ukraine. Of course, this move is being made by the leadership of the nation, not the people, so…
In any event, being in a position of dependency for the hawkish anti-Russian US-Europeans, these former neutral states will be forced to push the envelop and see how far they can poke the bear. Putin has stated his Red Lines, and to the world’s misfortune, everyone has projected their own lack of serious regard for stated Red Lines upon the Russian premiere. If no other lesson should be learned from Ukraine, it is this: Putin does not bluff, and he is not afraid to use his armed forces to make fast his Red Lines. It would be a folly to pursue the half-assed comedy theater routine that was played out in Ukraine. Of course the people being penalized for that misadventure is only the local inhabitants who elected a man less interested in saving his nation than supporting his NATO allies as was evident before the war and more recently after the Istanbul peace conference. Hence, there is much to learn from failures of Ukraine, though there does not appear to be a single serious member in the NATO leadership willing or capable or interested in learning anything. I suspect that these Neutrals will walk a similar plank that led Ukraine to be half the nation it once was, perhaps less than this even. Of course, it was their choice to make, which is why I find it a peculiar one for them to have made.
The author says that Finland and Sweden are threatened by Russia.
They are not.