This is a bullshit crisis:
A major blunder in NATO has brought bitter political rivals in Turkey into a rare demonstration of unity. Parties across the political spectrum are announcing their distrust of the international alliance.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of the “major scandal,” as it is being referred to in Turkey, during an address to officials from his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara Nov. 17.
Erdogan said he had been informed by Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar and EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, and Erdogan had been depicted as NATO’s enemies during a recent NATO military exercise in Norway.
He was referring to a military exercise held Nov. 8-17 in Stavanger, Norway, that, according to NATO, was “a Command Post/Computer Assisted Exercise without troops on the ground.”
Given that Erdogan is undoing what Ataturk achieved in secularizing the government of Turkey, an alleged insult in a NATO command post exercise in Norway was a small thing and something to be brushed off in a healthy relationship. (And doesn't leaving NATO prove the "enemy of NATO" part, at least a bit?)
If Turkey leaves NATO over this BS "major scandal," it is because Erdogan doesn't want the scrutiny of an alliance of democracies as he takes Turkey back to autocracy under his rule.
I'd rather have Turkey as an imperfect ally. And boy, under Erdogan, have no doubt that they now rival Pakistan as an imperfect ally that is only better than an enemy.
But under the circumstances, there is no way America should sell Turkey anything but massively "dumbed down" F-35s to avoid just granting Turkey a huge intelligence gift to sell to Russia (or China). Trust but verify, eh?
Let's hope our military-to-military relations can salvage this relationship and keep Turkey in NATO. Although I imagine America can retain bilateral relations with Turkey if Turkey leaves NATO (in the long run Turkey can't rely on the good will of long-time enemy Russia or the friendship of a possibly nuclear-armed ancient enemy Iran).
This move to exit NATO, if Turkey then balances between NATO and Russia more than it has (with the whole S-400 purchase issue), reinforces the New Eastern Question in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
But if Turkey does leave NATO, America's regional unified commands should shuffle the areas of responsibility to reflect the new reality.
On the bright side, if Turkey exits NATO, Greece will renew its enthusiasm for the alliance and work more closely with Israel.
