Turkey and the United States: A Tale of Jilted Lovers

By: - February 21, 2019

For over seven decades, the United States saw Turkey as its key ally in countering Russian influence in the Middle East and the Balkans. From its vantage point bordering Bulgaria and other key eastern European countries, Turkey was traditionally viewed as a bulwark against Russian expansion. Turkey also sits on Russia’s strategic southern flank on the Black Sea and controls all the Bosporus Straits.

As Russia’s navy is forced to cross through this choke point, Turkey’s control over the Bosporus provided a key observation point for U.S. military intelligence during the Cold War. In addition, Turkey has always played a central role for the United States’ first and second strike capabilities vis-a-vis the Soviet Union.

The alliance between the two countries spans the length of the entire Cold War. Already by 1947, the U.S. Congress designated Turkey as a recipient for military and civilian aid amidst hopes that Turkey would provide a crucial barrier against the Soviet Union. A few years later, Turkish forces assisted U.S. troops in the Korean War, and by 1961, the U.S. had placed Jupiter medium-range ballistic missiles in Turkey that were aimed at Moscow in the event of all-out nuclear war.

The U.S. reliance on Ankara persisted after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. U.S. military planners put Turkey, the bastion of westernism in Islamic-dominated Middle East, at the center of American strategic command. The U.S. reportedly continues to maintain an arsenal of nuclear missiles at its airbase in Incirlik along with reconnaissance planes which constantly keep watch over Russia.

Other than anti-Russia activities, the Incirlik base stands at the forefront of America’s ability to project power. The airbase lies at the center of virtually all U.S. contingency plans in the Middle East and served as a hub for the war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq throughout the previous two decades.

Yet recent events suggest that the close relationship between the United States and Turkey may not be what it once was. Ankara has recently taken steps to suggest that it may be more interested in coordinating with Moscow, rather than Washington, D.C.

The new strategic reality was evident last week at the U.S. Middle East summit in Warsaw, Poland. While representatives of Israel, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other key regional players hobnobbed and exchanged ideas regarding how to counter Iran, the one nation that was noticeably absent was Turkey.

Rather than join in the U.S.-led gathering, Turkey instead attended a different summit, one chaired by Russia in the Russia resort town of Sochi on the Black Sea. There, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked policy with his Russian and Iranian counterparts regarding the Syrian civil war, which is finally drawing to a close after nine bloody years.

Following the meeting, Turkey released a statement along with Russia and Iran “rejecting all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism, and [expressed their] determination to stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.”

The statement was heard loud and clear: rather than standing with Western interests in the Middle East, Turkey had instead chosen to ally itself with the West’s biggest rivals. This summit is also not a one-off deal; a follow-up meeting between Iran, Russia, and Turkey is planned for April, to touch base on everything relating to Syria.

Another sign of Turkey’s newfound change of pace is last week’s announcement that it will be purchasing the Russian S-400 air defense system. The S-400 is considered one of the premier missile defense systems in the world. Accurate up to 250 kilometers and with detection capabilities stretching to 400 kilometers, the system is capable of taking out enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles, and UAVs, and is considered by military experts to be second only to the United States’ Patriot batteries.

The S-400 cannot be integrated into the established system used by other NATO members, and as such, acquisition of the S-400 could lead to Turkey potentially being excluded from NATO drills and operations in the future.

Indeed, the U.S. said in response that it will scuttle a $3.5 billion proposed deal to sell Turkey the Patriot missile system. Washington is also prepared to torpedo a deal it signed with Ankara, to sell F-35 jets, and has warned that additional sanctions may follow.

Yet Erdoğan remains defiant. “We made the S-400 deal with Russia, so it is out of the question for us to turn back. That’s done,” said the Turkish president.

The story doesn’t end there. Turkey has come out as a strong defender of embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, despite the U.S. leading an international coalition designed to force Maduro to step down.

Turkey has also been turning its back on the United States’ traditional allies in the Middle East, such as Israel. For over 50 years, Turkey was one of Israel’s strongest strategic partners in the region and, together with Jordan, furthered U.S. interests against rogue nations such as Iraq and Syria.

Yet within the past five years, Erdoğan has allowed the leadership of the Palestinian terror organization Hamas to set up shop in Istanbul. Disregarding the fact that the U.S. views Hamas as a terror group, Erdoğan has given its foreign leadership free reign.

In recent years, Erdoğan has never missed an opportunity to accuse Israel of alleged gruesome crimes against humanity in international forums. Tensions between the two nations reached a boiling point last year when Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and then forced him to undergo a humiliating security search at the airport in front of the Turkish press, which had received an advance invitation to watch the spectacle.

Another area of contention between the U.S. and Turkey is the Kurds. While the U.S. views the Kurdish militias as a crucial piece in the anti-Iranian coalition, Erdoğan has been making it clear that he would love nothing more than to invade northern Syria and wipe them out.

In fact, the potential U.S. abandonment of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is becoming one of the biggest stories of President Trump’s announcement that he will withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria.

Erdoğan’s decision to spurn the U.S. in favor of Russia is a result of the Turkish strongman’s calculated view that U.S. influence is on the wane in the region. Rather than continue the traditional alliance with the United States, Erdoğan now seeks to align his country with the new up-and-coming power: Russia.

“I think we’re seeing a realignment,” Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at the New York-based Soufan Center, told NBC News. Clarke added that the “U.S. has gone from the position where we called the shots, to where we are making mere suggestions to Turkey. That’s a major sea change.”

Contributing to Tukey’s newfound change of pace is its desire to be a regional power, akin to what the Ottoman Empire was at its height. By definition, this means opposing U.S. hegemony in the region and challenging the United States at every turn. This explains Erdoğan’s pressure on President Trump to pull the remaining U.S. troops out of Syria, upgrade its ties with Russia, and assist Iran in skirting sanctions on its nuclear program.

Turkey’s shift away from the United States creates a new strategic reality. The moment is rapidly approaching in which the U.S. will need to ask itself whether Tukey can still be seen as an ally. While the joint relationship was fruitful during the Cold War, it’s hard to find justification for the continued alliance, especially in the wake of Erdoğan’s embrace of Moscow.

The U.S. also needs to ask itself some hard questions about whether it is worth maintaining the Incirlik air base as its main post in the region. Putting such emphasis on one air force base leaves the U.S. exposed to Turkey’s whims, due to fears of being left without a major strategic asset in the area. The time is ripe for the U.S. to develop further alternatives in places such as Jordan, Cyprus, and Romania.

  • RSS WND

    • Border state accused of hiding more election records
      [Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.] By Fred Lucas The Daily Signal New Mexico’s top election official won’t disclose key information about a new electronic signature-verification system for putting candidates on the ballot, a lawsuit alleges just months after she settled a court case over lack of transparency. Last August,… […]
    • State bans using tax dollars for sex-change mutilations
      By Kate Anderson Daily Caller News Foundation Republican Gov. Brad Little of Idaho signed a bill Wednesday banning the state from using public funding to cover sex-change procedures. House Bill 668 was introduced in February by Republican Reps. Julianne Young and Bruce Skaug and bars the state from using Medicaid funds to pay for sex-change… […]
    • City leader says conservatives 'should be afraid' for calling him the 'DEI mayor'
      (MODERNITY) – Baltimore leader Brandon Scott appeared on Joy Reid’s MSNBC show to assert that white conservatives “should be afraid” of the consequences of calling him the ‘DEI Mayor’ and that his “purpose in life” was to make them uncomfortable. Professional race-bator Reid angrily asserted that when right-wingers make fun of DEI, they actually mean… […]
    • Feds say state's facial hair ban for prison guards amounts to religious discrimination
      (MY NORTHWEST) – The federal government is asking a court to halt California’s enforcement of a rule requiring prison guards to be clean-shaven, saying it amounts to religious discrimination for Sikhs, Muslims and others who wear beards as an expression of their faith. The civil rights complaint filed Monday by the U.S. Justice Department says… […]
    • Feds approve 10-digit loan for nuke plant that's licensed only through 2031
      By Robert Schmad Daily Caller News Foundation The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Wednesday that it would be funding a ten-digit loan to restore a 53-year-old nuclear power plant in Michigan that, due to regulatory hurdles, may close again after 2031. DOE has committed to giving Holtec, a New Jersey-based energy company, a $1.5 billion… […]
    • California's economic woes are way worse than we thought
      By Will Kessler Daily Caller News Foundation California’s economy has been increasingly struggling over the past several years as regulations, high taxes and poor governance have dampened business opportunities and sent citizens running, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation. The unemployment rate in California jumped to 5.3% in February, the… […]
    • Blackrock served with 'cease and desist' order over 'fraudulent' green claims
      By Will Kessler Daily Caller News Foundation Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson sent a cease and desist letter to investment manager giant BlackRock on Tuesday night over claims the company misleads clients about its involvement in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. The letter claims that BlackRock incorporates ESG factors into its investment funds… […]
    • Biden's illegals total more than populations of 33 individual states
      By Jake Smith Daily Caller News Foundation Immigration into the U.S. has risen so rapidly that it beat out federal projections by decades, according to a report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released on Thursday. The total number of immigrants in the U.S. rose to a record high of 51.4 million as of… […]
    • Microsoft cautions developers to avoid curvy female characters
      (NICHE GAMER) – Microsoft urges developers not to create female characters with “exaggerated body proportions” on their official site to support game devs. The site, titled “Product Inclusion Action: Help Customers Feel Seen” includes a bullet list of considerations they urge developers to make when working on their product. One Twitter user pointed out the… […]
    • London's Globe Theater slaps Shakespeare plays with 'trigger warnings'
      (THE NATIONAL PULSE) – Productions of famed Shakespeare plays such as Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, have recently been given “content guidance” trigger warnings. These advance notices caution viewers about depictions of suicide, violence, war, and “misogynoir references” — a newspeak term fusing misogyny and ‘racism’… […]
  • Enter My WorldView