After months of angrily condemning Turkey for buying the S-400 missile system from Russia over American alternatives, the Trump Administration broadly refused comment on Friday, as Turkey started taking the delivery of the first missiles in the system.
Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper declined comment, but report are suggesting that US officials are in generally discussing possible ways to “punish” Turkey for buying Russian, even though Turkey was under no obligation to buy American arms.
The US generally tries to keep NATO members buying American by having NATO threaten to limit cooperation with those who don’t. Turkey dismissed these threats, and bough the Russian system on the grounds it was a better deal.
US lawmakers issued statements slamming Turkey in general terms, accusing them of choosing Russian President Vladimir Putin over the US and its politically well-connected arms-makers.
The U.S. is currently hog tied and Turkey is going Pulp Fiction on their buttocks. All that talk of punishment was just hot air. Erdogan knows U.S. can’t stop the S-400 transaction and the defense contractors don’t want to lose out on billions in arms sale
I think you are underestimating how vindictive Washington can be.
Yes, Vindictive against people who serve no purpose. Turkey serves a purpose and U.S. can’t do anything about it.
like a parent who warns and warns their kid not to do something and says the punishment will be terrible just terrible, and then when the kid does what he wants, the parents can’t believe it and are speechless.
the US will indeed punish turkey as it has punished nearly all the nations of the world under the great bullies trump, pompeo and bolton.
But the world has more wiggle room now, and won’t be so easily cowed
The Empire is starting to take on water …. fast…. and go down
All those threats were a show from the USA. They now have access to a fully functional air defense system and can develop countermeasures