U.S. relations with Turkey are not ‘excellent’
The United States continues to pander to Turkey, despite signs that the Unites States is allying itself with a country that is sliding into a fascist dictatorship.
On a surprise visit to Ankara earlier this month by the chairman of the joint chiefs, Gen. Joe Dunford assured Turkey that relying solely on the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces to liberate the strategic ISIS-held city of Raqqa was wrong.
Gen. Dunford assured the Turks that it would incorporate Turkey, and its thoughts, as the offensive continued forward. Turkey is opposed to the SDF because of its ties with the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, which is vocal and active in Turkey, and has thus been heavily oppressed, for its demands for Kurdish autonomy within Turkey.
But the “anything you say, dear” position of the United States toward Turkey is just one problem. The other is the misinformation that is disseminated to the American people via the Departments of Defense, and State. Gen. Dunford said that U.S.-Turkish ties were “excellent,” yet two weeks ago the State Department ordered family members of its employees in Istanbul to vacate the country.
These folks were ordered to leave because our relationship with Turkey is anything but excellent.
Nelsene DeRanian, Fresno
This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 11:51 AM with the headline "U.S. relations with Turkey are not ‘excellent’."