A couple of hours after President Trump welcomed Turkish President Erdogan to the White House on Tuesday, the visitor's security detail roughed up a group of protestors outside the Turkish ambassador's residence. Eleven were injured, including a DC police officer.
The skirmish was an illuminating microcosm of the thuggish dictatorship Turkey is becoming under Erdogan, who has been putting his foot on the gas as he drives his country toward authoritarian Islamism.
Trump seems to appreciate the importance of the US-Turkey relationship. With nearly 80 million people, Turkey is NATO's largest Muslim-majority member. It allows American forces to be stationed at Incirlik Air Base, 110 miles from the Syrian border. Strategically located at the nexus of Europe and the Middle East, Turkey is a gateway for millions, mostly Muslims, fleeing to Europe either to escape war and persecution or else to seek a better life in freer, more prosperous countries.
During his Tuesday meeting with Trump, Erdogan hailed a "new era" in US-Turkey relations. Trump said the meeting marked "a historical turn of tide" in relations. He has constantly praised Erdogan as an ally in the battle against Islamic extremism.
But Trump must be careful. He to freely heaps praise on foreign tyrants and would-be tyrants with whom he believes he can do business. Last month, when Erdogan lamentably won a referendum that tightened his grip on the levers of the Turkish state, Trump, shockingly, called to congratulate him. No other Western leader did so. Most refused to do so because the result may have involved fraud pushed Turkey considerably further down the road to dictatorship.
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05.10.2024