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Being on the "Terrorist Sponsor" list seems to come with benefits

Reader comment on item: Adding Turkey to the "State Sponsors of Terrorism" List

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Jan 4, 2015 at 04:14

"There, it will join the beautiful company of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. (November 28, 2014)"

I notice that the US has taken no effective military action against the above mentioned "state sponsors of terror", saving President Clinton's bombing of some sand dunes and a milk formula company in Sudan in the 1990s. To the contrary, the US has fought wars against all of those terrorist sponsors' enemies:

Cuba: doesn't seem to have any enemies, so they get a pass here. The used to have one enemy, namely, the US; but President Obama has chosen to let bygones be bygones and re-established ties with them (with not a mention of their support of terrorists).

Iran: We knocked out the Taliban (Pakistan's client) in Afghanistan, and supported the Northern Alliance (Iran's traditional client). We invaded Iraq, with whom Iran had fought a decade-long war. During that invasion, Saddam Hussein returned all the land he had won in the war, and gifted the Iranians with several jet fighters and their pilots.

Sudan: Their biggest enemy was probably what is now South Sudan, and its President, Salva Kiir. Just a few days ago, President Obama revoked South Sudan's membership in the preferential trade programme known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Also, it seems that the Americans are clandestinely working WITH the Sudanese governement, according a leaked document that has members of that government saying,

"We release only limited information to the Americans according to the request and the price is the armed movements file. The coming days carry a lot of surprises," First Lt. General and Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein (page 24).

"...On our side we did not disclose anything up to now, instead we want to use this file to blackmail (the Saudis, Emiratis and Egyptians -- from informantion given by the Americans)."

-- http://sudanreeves.org/2014/09/25/looking-directly-into-the-heart-of-darkness-what-the-khartoum-regime-really-thinks-leaked-minutes-of-critical-august-2014-meeting-of-senior-military-and-security-official/

Syria: We are currently bombing the Islamic State, which is Syrian President Bashar al Assad's most powerful enemy, essentially fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with that "state sponsor of terror".

Now, MK Ya'alon is asking Mr. Obama to add Turkey to the list. Is this to punish Turkey? Or to do them a favor? Membership on the coveted list has not done any harm to those on it, and seems to have given them some benefits!

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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Reader comments (8) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Turkey is terror sponsor [174 words]BobsaysJul 13, 2015 21:23224186
2An Egyptian court will consider the designation of Turkey as a state that supports terrorism [86 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 7, 2015 12:53220925
Being on the "Terrorist Sponsor" list seems to come with benefits [381 words]Michael SJan 4, 2015 04:14220089
1Cyprus has to be dealt with [57 words]Michael Hanni MorcosDec 30, 2014 16:52220027
3Ataturk must be turning in his grave [191 words]Carlos MalleumDec 19, 2014 05:22219852
4The Muslim brotherhood and Erdogan [72 words]dhimmi no moreDec 7, 2014 12:01219662
2Turkey Presents an Unusual Case of State-Sponsorship of Terrorism [106 words]AlexNov 29, 2014 19:58219558
Coincidence When Hagel Was Fired? [68 words]DaveNov 28, 2014 12:17219533

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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