Madness: Trump Hints at Giving Erdogan F-25 Planes

It is apparently not enough for the Trump/Vance administration to give a malevolent Iran everything it wants — an end to sanctions on selling oil, its assets unfrozen, $300 billion in private investments that Trump pomises he will help raise, no mention of ending aid to its Hamas and Hezbollah proxies; no mention, either, of limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles, and no commitment by Iran to turn over its 140 kg. of uranium enriched to a level of 60. No, now Trump wants to extend his geopolitical defeats by giving Recep Tayyip Erdogan our top-of-the-line F-35 fighter jets, that Turkey has been trying to obtain for years, while Israel, for years, has tried, and so far succeeded, in preventing that sale. Now Trump, flush with one failure, is on to another, as he now says he intends to make Erdogan “very happy.” This has been taken to mean that he will finally allow a sale of F-35s to Turkey.

More on this madness can be found here.

US President Donald Trump raised eyebrows when he revealed on Wednesday [June 24]that Turkey had come close to joining the conflict involving Iran, but ultimately stayed out of it after a personal request from him. At the same time, Trump showered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with praise and hinted at future steps that could significantly strengthen Turkey’s military capabilities, developments that are causing concern in Israel….

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Trump has always liked Erdogan. He considers him a “strong leader,” ashe fancies himself to be, and like that other autocrat who is a favorite of Trump, Vladimir Putin.

“He’s not a big fan of Israel, as you know,” Trump said. “And I asked him to stay out of it, and he stayed out.”…

Erdogan is “not a big fan of Israel”? That is Trump at his litotic worst. Erdogan dreams of destroying Israel.

Trump sees Erdogan as someone who can deliver what he needs and as a leader who wins,” Lindenstrauss said. “We know that Trump is attracted to successful leaders.”

What exactly has Erdogan “delivered” to Trump? He didn’t allow the US to use the airbase at Incirlik during Operation Epic Fury against Iran. Indeed, it was all Trump could do to prevent himf rom entering that war on Iran’s side — and against the Americans and Israelis. Is he a “leader who wins”? He is, rather, a dictator who crushes his opposition. He used the attempted coup in 2016 as a pretext for him to arrest and jail his political enemies and to discharge more than 160,000 public servants —judges, army officers, university rectors, professors, lawyers, teachers, journalists, and other government employees — whom he believed were opposed to his rule. In the end, 160,000 Turks lost their jobs. Purged citizens are prevented from working again for the government, which has led in many cases to destitution.

One example of Erdogan’s mistreatment of his political opponents is the case of “Gökhan Açıkkollu, a teacher from a Gülen-affiliated school died in police custody after being imprisoned and tortured for 13 days following the 2016 coup attempt.”

Erdogan also seized assets of over a thousand companies, worth between $11 billion and $50–60 billion, on the trumped-of charge of being related to Fethuleh Gülen and the attempted coup.

The purges also extended to the media, with television channels, newspapers and other media outlets, as well as individual journalists that were seen as critical of the government being shut down. Eleven thousand Kurdish mayors were dismissed, presumably to be replaced by those who were deemed less threatening by Erdogan’s government.

Is Erdogan a leader who can “deliver,” as Trump claims? Turkey is now suffering severe financial strain, driven by a persistent cost-of-living crisis, deep currency devaluation, and sky-high inflation. While the government has finally shifted toward tighter monetary policies to stabilize the situation, soaring prices continue to severely impact everyday households. On the economy, he has not “delivered.”

Has Erdogan “delivered” political stability? The 15 to 20 million Kurds in Turkey have not been appeased; Erdogan has been ratcheting up their oppression. The Kurdish language is still forbidden to be used in schools. Kurdish politicians, activists, and human rights defenders are frequently targeted, dismissed from their positions, or prosecuted. Protests and public demonstrations in Kurdish-majority provinces are often banned or met with crackdowns and judicial harassment. In reaction to this repression, the Kurdish separatists are gaining in popularity.

Has Erdogan managed to create a pan-Muslim military alliance to challenge Israel, with Turkey at its head, as he has discussed doing in the past? No. The Arab states, with their long memories of oppressive Ottoman rule, have no desire to join such an alliance of Muslim states, with Turkey at its head.

Dr. Assa Ophir, an expert on Turkey and the Middle East, said that the relationship [between he U.S. and Turkey] goes both ways.

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“Erdogan values Donald Trump because he feels he can do business with him,” Ofer explained. “He has managed to obtain things from Trump that he simply could not secure from previous US presidents.”…

That is true. Erdogan has been able “to obtain things” from Trump that no other president would allow. Trump has been snookered by Erdogan, who delivers just the right amount of flattery that Trump desires. The Turkish leader’s ruthlessness at home does not bother Trump, who puts more store by Erdogan being another “strong leader” who claims to greatly admire him.

“He’s a member of NATO,” Trump said of Erdogan. “Some people don’t consider him one, but he is. He’s a strong member of NATO.”

He’s a “strong member of NATO” who wouldn’t let the US launch attacks on Iran from the Incirlik airbase the Americans share with Turkey. He’s a “strong member of NATO” who has suggested the creation of a pan-Muslim military alliance to overwhelm Israel, a “strong member of NATO” who has said he foresees a possible war between “the Crescent and the Cross,” leaving no doubt as to which side Turkey would be on.

The madness of King Donald, who now seems willing to sell America’s top-of-the-line fighter jet, the F-35, to Turkey, is prompted by nothing more than his reciprocated admiration for a fellow despot. Congress must stop this crazed arming of a country whose leader has stated his eagerness to wipe out Israel, and shoulda conflict arise, his wish to lead the forces of the Crescent to victory over the forces of the Cross.