• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Trump Ignores Controversy to Host Turkey’s President Erdogan

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
11/13/19
in National
Erdogan Threatens to Open Europe Gates for Refugees

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2014. Photo: AFP, Adem Altan

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

President Donald Trump is leaping from the frying pan of impeachment into the fire of foreign policy controversy as he is going to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday.

On the day that the impeachment process shifts to the dramatic phase of public hearings in Congress, Trump’s meeting and joint press conference with Erdogan at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue promises extra fireworks.

Trump and Erdogan have good chemistry and the U.S. president often seems to get along better with foreign strongmen than traditional U.S. allies in places such as Western Europe or Canada.

That relationship, however, is under strain following NATO member Turkey’s October offensive against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

Trump ordered U.S. troops in the border area to withdraw ahead of the Turkish invasion, while exhorting Erdoganin an extraordinarily undiplomatic letter to hold his military back.

“Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!” Trump wrote in the letter, which was reportedly thrown by Erdogan into the trash.

Despite the letter, Trump’s withdrawal of the U.S. soldiers effectively gave Turkey a green light.

This outraged many in the president’s own Republican party, which saw the move as an abandonment of the Kurds and a dramatic boon for Russian ambitions in Syria.

“Given this situation, we believe that now is a particularly inappropriate time for President Erdogan to visit the United States, and we urge you to rescind this invitation,” a bipartisan group of legislators wrote to Trump last week in a letter made public Monday.

Separately, the U.S. government is furious at Erdogan for agreeing to buy the Russian S-400 missile system — a no-no for a NATO member.

Washington has excluded Turkey from the F-35 stealth warplane program over the purchase, creating even more tension in the troubled Western alliance.

Trump’s National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said Sunday that economic sanctions could also be imposed over the S-400.

Turkey and @NBA update: While the NBA cozies up to China, the Boston Celtics' @EnesKanter takes his personal fight against Turkey's Erdogan regime to Congress today. 230pm press conf to intro a Senate bill condemning the Turkish government for targeting political rivals. https://t.co/248yJ8GoNR

— Kevin Baron ???????? ???? (@DefenseBaron) November 12, 2019

A day before Erdogan’s White House visit, Turkish NBA player Enes Kanter, visited Congress to advocate for a bill that would condemn Turkish authorities for targeting political rivals.

“The U.S. government should make it clear that U.S. support to its ally Turkey isn’t unconditional. Turkey’s gross abuse of human rights at home is unbefitting for an ally. President Trump should know that it is difficult to justify an alliance with a country with a dismal human rights record and he should press the Turkish president to stop cracking down the opposition,” Kanter told The Globe Post commenting on the upcoming White House meeting.

Kanter is regarded by the Turkish government as a criminal because of his support for U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of orchestrating a coup in 2016. Gulen denies any involvement.

Kanter’s support for Gulen has prompted Turkish authorities to seek an Interpol “red notice” or arrest warrant for him, meaning he could in theory be detained if he leaves the United States.

Turkish television has also refused to broadcast NBA games involving Kanter.

‘Genocide’

The get-together comes with Trump’s presidency facing deep peril from impeachment in Congress. The first public hearing of witnesses testifying that Trump abused his office in dealings with Ukraine starts just two hours before Erdogan’s midday arrival.

This leaves Trump weakened at a time when he needs to avoid antagonizing the Republicans who will be voting on his fate.

Those legislators have little love for Erdogan and the feeling is likely mutual.

The House of Representatives showed its displeasure in October by voting to recognize the mass destruction of the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

Modern-day Turkey continues to deny the accusation of genocide, saying Armenians were merely among the many other victims of World War I. The vote infuriated Erdogan.

If there is any political positive for Trump from the tricky Erdogan meeting, it will be the chance at least to distract public attention from the simultaneous impeachment hearing.

Following three hours of meetings and lunch, the Turkish leader and Trump will stage a joint press conference at 3:10 pm (2010 GMT).

The president of Turkey has done nothing to warrant an invitation to the White House. We should be reducing our reliance on a Turkey that is an ally in name only, wait out Erdogan, and signal to Turks that the benefits of close ties with the US require acting like an ally.

— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) November 13, 2019

Protesters Beaten Up

The State Department defended the invitation to Erdogan, saying the complex issues make face-to-face talks important.

“Don’t look at these things as rewards, they are the execution of diplomacy,” an official said.

But there will be tension to spare even beyond the Syrian Kurds and the S-400s.

Washington is angry over the long-term detention of Turkish citizens working for U.S. consulates, while Ankara continues to push hard for the extradition of the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan claims engineered a failed 2016 coup.

Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney raised another point of contention: the ugly scenes during Erdogan’s last Washington visit, in 2017, when his bodyguards beat up protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.

“The Erdogan regime’s use of violence against civilians anywhere is inhumane, uncivilized, and unacceptable,” she wrote in a letter demanding that the State Department bar any of the “thugs” involved from returning.

NATO Slams Turkey Over Syria Operation, But No Punishment

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy
Featured

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 5, 2022
US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Owning the Words and the Libs

by Stephen J. Lyons
June 16, 2022
Officers in Uvalde, Texas, stand outside Robb Elementary School near a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims
Opinion

Child Sacrifice Makes a Comeback

by Stephen J. Lyons
June 3, 2022
anti femicide group
Democracy at Risk

Anti-Femicide Group Goes on Trial in Turkey, Faces Risk of Closure

by Staff Writer
June 1, 2022
A man holding a gun
Featured

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

by Stephen J. Lyons
May 2, 2022
US Capitol riot
National

Trump ‘More Likely Than Not’ Obstructed Congress: US Judge

by Staff Writer
March 28, 2022
Next Post
Right-wing Bolivian Senator Jeanine Anez declared herself interim president following a coup that ousted Evo Morales

Bolivian Power Vacuum Filled, But Unrest Continues

People take to the streets of Santa Cruz to celebrate the resignation of Bolivian President Evo Morales on November 10 after weeks of protests

Why Bolivian President Evo Morales’ Resignation Was Not a Coup

Recommended

Ukraine nuclear plant

Ukraine Calls for De-Militarization of Occupied Nuclear Plant

August 8, 2022
Toru Kubota

Myanmar Junta Charges Japanese Journalist With Encouraging Dissent

August 4, 2022
Nancy Pelosi

Taiwan Defiant as China Readies Military Drills Over Pelosi Visit

August 3, 2022
Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

August 5, 2022
Antonio Guterres

UN Chief Warns Humanity ‘One Miscalculation Away From Nuclear Annihilation’

August 1, 2022
Sri Lanka

World Bank Refuses New Funding for Bankrupt Sri Lanka

July 29, 2022

Opinion

Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

August 5, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Owning the Words and the Libs

June 16, 2022
Officers in Uvalde, Texas, stand outside Robb Elementary School near a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims

Child Sacrifice Makes a Comeback

June 3, 2022
A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
A man holding a gun

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

May 2, 2022
China Muslim Uyghurs

Unfair Politicization, Corruption, and the Death of Modern Olympism

April 23, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post