the US should have looked for a replacement for the incirlik airbase a long time ago. its not like the bad direction of turkey was just realized over night; one could see it coming for almost a decade.

you wont find me disagreeing with that

great post my friend!!!!

We have more strategic interests in Turkey than just an airbase.

which ones? a russian fleet coming out of the black sea could also be held back on greek waters.

This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Apr 18 2017 01:42pm

Russian influence in a NATO country. A sunni partner in the sectarian war and against terrorism. The entry point to europe for the wave of muslim migrants. The crumbling foothold of democracy in the arab world.
You know the Cuban Missile Crisis was sparked by the placement of PGM-19 Jupiter missiles in Turkey right? We've only started the post-cold war pivot under Obama, its a little early to say "fuck turkey" and forget about our interests

turkey should be kicked out of nato asap.

looking at how turkey supported isis while they were battling the kurds in kobane some years ago, and reading the investigative reports about turkish secret service shipping weapons to isis make me think that turkey is not a partner against terror, it's a terror supporter.

turkey is only the entrypoint of muslim migrants into europe as long as europe allows muslim immigration. which I am totally against.

turkey is no longer a foothold of democracy in the arab world. since the referendum that de facto crowns erdogan the new sultan, turkey is no longer a democracy!



and yes, I know about the cuba crisis and the missiles in turkey. for the reasons above, I think that it is time to reevaluate the strategic value of the partnership with turkey. IMHO its no longer worth it, IMHO they cause more trouble than they're worth.

This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Apr 18 2017 03:43pm

So we antagonize Turkey. We call Erdogan a dictator and denounce his elections. We fulfill the storyline he's pushing about western interference, and uses it as an excuse to institute an islamic state in turkey. He seeks support from russia, kicks out americans and no longer helps in the war against ISIS. They launch their own war to annihilate the kurds, sparking a humanitarian crisis to which we must now choose whether to bomb Turkey. They no longer cooperate in holding back refugees, but freely let them cross the border and make a point of booting them out into europe.
How does this help our interests? Where are we the next day? Is the world better off?

Goom is right here, Turkey is one of our most important strategic allies, for all the reasons he mentioned and more. We just need to ride out this Erdogan thing. He is just one president. They do have the right to self-determination and the people voted for him.



You're not one of those truthers that think Assad wouldn't use chemical weapons on his own people are you?



This post was edited by Skinned on Apr 18 2017 04:05pm

we were appeasing erdogan and his country. we were trying to cooperate with them. european politicians bit their tongues and said almost nothing in reply edogans insufferable tirades, to make sure to not add more fuel to the fire.

the result? turkey is already about to be transitioned into an islamic state. turkey is not really supporting the war against isis anyway. they are already using refugees as pawns in their scheming against europe.
the way we have dealt with erdogan, his supporters and turkey as a whole IS already not helping our interests. when it comes to turkey, we are on a path that is clearly not working. continuing on this path means that all the things you described become reality.

imho the way to get rid of erdogan or to tame him is massive economic pressure. turkey cant replace europe as a trade partner. economically, they need europe muuuuch more than europe needs them. with a worsening economy, erdogans support will vanish rather quickly. he might even lose the 2019 election if enough turks realize how badly following erdogan and his islamistic path impacts their lives.

This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Apr 18 2017 04:07pm