Thursday, June 03, 2010

Not an Ally Ally?

Turkey has stiffed us on supporting the invasion of Iraq, worked with Iran on the nuclear material swap, and now screams about nonexistent Israeli atrocities in the flotilla battle.

Victor Hanson wonders whether Turkey should be a NATO ally:

At the present rate, Turkey has about as much business in NATO as Greece does in the EU. Both countries seem out of place in their respective organizations; both envy and resent northern Europe and the United States, and seek their attention through petulance; and both seem to traffic daily in conspiracy theories about going to war against each other.

The problem with both the EU and NATO is that, while there is always much gala celebration about who gets in and under what particular conditions, there is almost no attention given to the circumstances under which a member gets out of either organization.
 
The thought has crossed my mind lately, too.
 
But I wouldn't react to an ally becoming less of an ally by kicking them out of NATO and perhaps pushing them all the way to neutral or hostile status. Perhaps this wave of Islamist sympathizing will pass. It would be best not to abandon allies we have in Turkey, but try to strengthen them. I mean, we never kicked France out. Or Belgium.
 
Still, it would be prudent to, for at least a time, make sure that really sensitive information doesn't go to the Turks lest it get into the hands of Turkish Islamists. You know, just in case.