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Turkey to Choose Dictatorship? How NATO Can Respond

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Turkey to Choose Dictatorship? How NATO Can Respond Turkey to Choose Dictatorship? How NATO Can Respond ✦ Robert "Bud" McFarlane ✦ Rep. Dana Rohrabacher ✦ Dr. Michael Rubin ✦ Eric Brown ✦ Ernie Audino ✦ Dr. Ahmet Yayla Tough Love for Turkey By Robert “Bud” McFarlane he republic of Turkey, a beautiful country, has been an ally of the West, but that alliance is in trouble. The Eastern Flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance may be at risk. Turkey served as the southern anchor of NATO during the Cold War. It is easy to see why: It is the land bridge from Asia to Europe and from the Mideast to Central Asia. Europe and Turkey need each other: More than 6 million Turks are part of European Teconomies. Turkey is also important because of the latest threat to civilization: terrorism. But Turkey is no longer a reliable ally in this war. The overtly radical vision of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leans toward extremist, political Islamism. ILLUSTRATION BY LINAS GARSYS Recent events in Turkey are setting off alarms: the closing of all independent media, purges of pro-Western officials and the toleration of jihadist organizations. Can Turkey can still secure NATO’s vision to “safeguard … democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law”? Regrettably, Turkey’s rule of law is in decline. Respected scholars conclude that President Erdogan is deeply corrupted and has put his own ambitions above the security of his nation and of NATO. Case in point: He reportedly has used a Turkish-Iranian businessman to handle huge money transactions between Iran and Turkey, breaching sanctions against Iran. His illicit support for terrorist organizations in Syria has been documented. Due to the upheaval that followed the failed attempted coup in Turkey last year, the Turkish people have been traumatized. But their president has made a bad situation worse by using the coup as an opportunity to expand his own political power. After the coup collapsed, the authori- ties began arresting many citizens who had nothing to do with it: reporters, military officers, policemen and teachers. More than 150,000 were arrested — many tortured. The purged officials were replaced by the president’s cronies, political opportunists and radical, political Islamists. Turkey will hold a national referendum on April 16th. It asks the Turkish people to take power from the parliament and give it to the president — who would have almost unlimited power to rule by decree. But would more power to the president mean Turkey would do more to win the war against terrorism? No, it would not. Turkish authorities have tolerated the presence of terrorists on Turkish territory for years — a tragic miscalculation. In 2015, Turkey did not carry out a single pre-planned counterterrorism operation on its soil against the Islamic State. Turkish authorities recently discovered 100 Islamic State safe houses in Istanbul. The Islamic State infiltration is very widespread. Even worse, thousands of Turkish and foreign Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq are ex- pected to return to Turkey this year. » see MCFARLANE | 2 A Washington Times Advertising Supplement North Atlantic Treaty Organization BELGIUM CZECH REP. SLOVAKIA AUSTRIA MOLDOVA HUNGARY SLOVENIA CROATIA ROMANIA SERBIA GEORGIA BULGARIA ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN TURKEY ISRAEL Credit: Image courtesy of ABSNTV Democracy on Trial in Ankara President Erdogan overplayed his hand by using the coup as a pretext for purging every branch of the government of potential oppo- nents, shutting down any print and broadcast media that could challenge his view of reality. Declaring a state of emergency, the govern- ment arrested myriads of journalists, secularists, military officers and government officials —- vir tually anyone who did not agree with President Erdogan’s vision for Turkey. More than 100,000 were sacked, more than 40,000 arrested. Many suffered torture. The Turkish government blames its travail By Rep. Dana Rohrabacher on a geriatric Turkish religious philosopher en years ago, Turkey was a solid living in exile on a Pennsylvania farm. Many NATO ally, a staunch opponent of Turkish citizens, despite the lack of evidence, radical Islam and a friend of the have accepted the absurd claim that Fetullah United States. Today all that is in Gulen personally planned and ordered the coup question. — President Erdogan’s pretext for establishing Turkey’s current government is tyranny. Temphatically Islamist. President Recep Tayyip One example of how far these ridiculous Erdogan has become more aggressive in his purges have gone: Turkish soccer authorities Islamic beliefs. There are two reasons for us to announced they have fired 94 officials, including be seriously concerned: a number of referees, for their ties to the coup. First, the Turkish government has become Tens of thousands of citizens have been ar- steadily more aligned with Islamist terrorists in rested, and Turkey’s government is using this the Middle East. Turkey’s emerging democracy, coup to settle old scores and to clean out the in the past one of the strongest and most devel- house of those it does not see as sufficiently oped multiparty systems in the Middle East, is loyal to President Erdogan’s vision for Turkey. sliding into a dictatorship. President Erdogan Perhaps the most bizarre element of this is creating not only a cult of personality, but episode was last month’s report that Turkey also a centralized state in which all power lies would release 38,000 criminals from prison to in his hands. make room for those taken into custody in these Second, the government blinded itself to purges. Murderers, rapists and thieves were the years-long presence of Islamic terrorists on released in order to make room for political op- its territory until 2016, when the Islamic State ponents. It does not get much worse than that. launched a series of bloody attacks on its soil. I want to underline my desire to see Turkey The Turkish people will vote in a public become an economically strong partner with the referendum on April 16 on whether to give the United States, with the nations of Europe, and president expanded executive powers. However, with Turkey’s neighbors in the Middle East. The free elections are tough to hold in the absence Turks have been superb allies of the American of a free press, which President Erdogan has people. They are essential to the NATO alliance. deliberately eliminated. We must wish the Turkish people well and do When the Republic of Turkey joined NATO what we can to try to help them through these in 1952, it was a secular republic. Although the confusing times. America should do all it can Turkish military toppled several of the elected to help the Turkish people succeed. For them to governments, in every case it restored power to succeed, Turkey must have strong democratic civilian governance within a short time. institutions, a free press and a country in which As many have noted, the nation’s faith in its people abide by the rule of law. military was devastated by the failed coup of July 15, 2016. Understandably, the Turkish people Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) represents rallied round their president. He leveraged that the 48th District of California and is chairman support to imprison thousands of Turkish lead- of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee ers who opposed his expanding dictatorship. on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats. MCFARLANE From page 1 President Erdogan has cooperated with weapons to other countries. the European Union to slow down the flood 3.) Third, apply “tough love” when dealing of migration from Turkey to Europe. At least 5 with the Turkish strongman government. million refugees are sheltering in Turkey. Yet, Trade sanctions should be considered. But he threatens to unleash millions of refugees Washington should reach out to all the peoples into Europe. of Turkey — Turks, Kurds, Muslims and non- And there are other threats to Europe stem- Muslims — who want a stability that only a ming from Turkey’s instability. republic of laws can give them. Encourage • Turkey’s civil war against the Kurds could efforts to restore Turkey’s free press and give get bigger due to the president’s actions. humanitarian aid. Both the Kurdistan Workers Party and the America desires to see Turkey become an newly emerged Islamic State are Turkey’s economically strong partner that is at peace, enemies. Growing civil war could close both at home and with its neighbors. The Turks the energy supply to Europe by shutting have been wonderful allies of the American down oil and gas pipelines. people. • Due to the prospect of a wider civil war, Fact is, the Turkish people are resilient, and the arsenal of nuclear weapons at the Turkish democracy can flourish again. The NATO base in Incirlik is in danger of United States must not enable a dictatorship being captured. but help the Turkish people choose freedom, • More than 50 atomic weapons are believed faith and prosperity. to be located there. With the wisdom of constitutional govern- So, what should the United States and NATO ment supporting its democracy and with good- do to protect Western countries from a desta- faith partners in NATO, the best days of Turkey bilized Turkey? are still ahead. We can look to the successful strategies of the Reagan administration for clues. Robert Carl “Bud” McFarlane was national President Reagan opted to stand firm against security adviser to President Ronald Reagan the threat of Soviet expansion, but at the same from 1983 through 1985. After a career in the time, he reached behind the Iron Curtain to Marine Corps, he became part of the Reagan speak to people who were oppressed. administration and was a leading architect The NATO alliance must engage the Turkish of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) for people and do three things.
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