The White House confirmed Thursday that U.S. President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet on the sidelines of the NATO summit on June 14. The trip that brings Biden to embrace the leader of Turkey, the second largest NATO member in terms of both population and size of its armed forces, will be Biden’s first jaunt outside the U.S. since entering the Oval Office.
Although the two heads of state are arming and advising opposing groups of extremists in the war against Syria, they are firmly united in their Euroatlantic contempt for the world outside NATO. Biden will soon be presented with a $753 billion war budget by Congress as he escalates threats against his nation’s only real nuclear rival, Russia.
Turkey now permanently maintains troops in no fewer than five countries from North Africa to the South Caucasus (Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, Cyprus, Iraq and Syria) as well as supplying arms and equipment to anti-government rebels in Yemen. It is also using its proxy in Afghanistan, Abdul Rashid Dostum, to defy the central government of President Ashraf Ghani while taking over the nation’s international airport outside the capital of Kabul in a deal with NATO.
In addition to demanding that Crimea be “liberated” from Russia while stirring up Tatar secessionist activities there, Turkey has also recently denounced Russia for alleged genocide against ethnic Circassians over a century and a half ago. President Erdoğan recently stated: “On the 157th anniversary of the deportation of our Circassian brothers from their homeland, I feel a great pain in my heart, and I wish Allah’s mercy to those who lost their lives.”
His government is also forging ahead with the Istanbul Canal which it openly admits will circumvent the 1936 Montreux Convention limiting the number and size of warships allowed to enter the Black Sea. Erdoğan’s project will open that sea up to as many U.S. and NATO warships as Washington and Brussels choose to deploy there against Russia.
Turkey is now the only nation in the world competing – or rather working in tandem – with the U.S. to achieve status as a global “indispensable nation.”
The speaker of the Turkish parliament, Mustafa Şentop, was in Pakistan on June 1 where he asserted Turkey and Pakistan should lead the Islamic world together. Turkey has a population of 95 million and Pakistan of 215 million. There are almost 2 billion Muslims in the world whose opinion has not been solicited on the matter.
When Biden and Erdoğan touch elbows at NATO’s new billion-dollar headquarters in a few days they will do so as NATO’s most powerful and most aggressive leaders. As the two greatest military threats to the world. They could not have chosen a more apt venue for their meeting.
Rick Rozoff is a contributing editor at Antiwar.com. He has been involved in anti-war and anti-interventionist work in various capacities for forty years. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. He is the manager of Stop NATO. This originally appeared at Anti-Bellum.
When I started the day, I committed to have positive thoughts. Then I read, “When Biden and Erdoğan touch elbows at NATO’s new billion-dollar headquarters in a few days they will do so as NATO’s most powerful and most aggressive leaders. As the two greatest military threats to the world.”
Erdogan also said, “…I feel a great pain in my heart, and I wish Allah’s mercy to those who lost their lives.” Erdogan, of all people, wishing God/Allah’s mercy is revolting. The thought of Biden with a $753 billion war budget was another blow. Suffice it to say, all positivity went out the window with thoughts of more bloodshed as a result of this meeting.
I think the trick might be to put blinders on and just say ‘fuck it’.
I tried blinders and turning into a potato-head, like most Americans. That didn’t help. I am addicted to the truth regardless of how depressing. I feel if the truth is out there, then there is still hope. Justin Raimondo woke me up from my stupor many years ago. I can’t turn my back on the truth. Which reminds me that I should thank you, Rick Rozoff and our fellow antiwar advocates on this website for bringing the truth. Truth = hope.
I hear ya man. I don’t practice what I preach. First thing every morning, here I am. Raimondo was inspiring even when he bought into Trump. And yes to Rick Rozoff, Jason Ditz, Dave Decamp, ex-Major Danny, Thomas Knapp and the whole lot of those who keep me informed and outraged.
Erdogan is the skunk in the woodpile, NATO’s DJT. Any moment he could find him on the receiving end of sanctions or worse….
What goes around, comes around. A “real” coup d’é·tat/regime change one day?
Western dislike of Erdogan began when he verbally assaulted Israel for the way they treat a large portion of their population. In the West, that is unpardonable.
You would certainly hope, but I don’t think so. They know he has been a great friend for Israel and those comments were made for domestic consumption.
Until the invasion of Gaza by Israel, the killing of Turkish citizens in the aid flotilla to Gaza, and the slighting of him during an official visit by putting his seating lower than his Israeli hosts. There was a flag issue then, too.
There are certainly enough legitimate reasons for him to be against Israel’s actions. However, he knows the US will regime change him if he actually stood against Israel, more actively than the previous “coup attempt.”
Erdogan does not want to return Crimea to Ukraine. He wants to return it to Turkey, from which it was taken in 1789.
It was taken from Alexander and Rome too.