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NATO responds to threats, Erdogan creates them

Reader comment on item: Do NATO and Turkey Have a Future Together?

Submitted by Dave (United States), Sep 4, 2022 at 20:25

The whole purpose of NATO is to defend its members against existential threats. It was created in 1949 to protect the West against the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a large, totalitarian, heavily armed empire that could easily have continued its ruthless expansion beyond eastern Europe. NATO was clearly defensive in nature. Soviet claims of needing protection from capitalist predation were rightly viewed as cynical propaganda. The good guys and the bad guys were on obvious sides. People understood and believed in NATO. It was a resource and a comfort.

The clear lines of 1949 have become blurred, and the situation has become much less black and white after the Soviet breakup. Yet, the essential goal of defending freedom should still be paramount. That concept has been severely tested by Turkey's aggressive actions against democratic Greece and the weak Kurdish minority. Turkey has cozied up to Hamas, an aggressive entity threatening Israel. Erdogan is a bully and Turkey is not democratic, but Turkey is just one of many bad actors that NATO should be guarding against. The world is at least as dangerous today as it was in 1949.

With Turkey, we have a NATO member whose actions qualify her as more of a threat to be countered than an ally to defend. This glaring contradiction exposes NATO's confusion, impotence, irrelevance and loss of purpose. NATO is acting like a has-been corporation that has strayed from its founder's vision; her creditors are pounding at the door.

Most likely a new organization is needed, one made up of members who can recapture NATO's original clarity and resolve. Unfortunately, such an endeavor probably requires more grit, intelligence and determination than seems available right now. Leadership, please.

Submitting....

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Daniel Pipes replies:

"NATO is acting like a has-been corporation that has strayed from its founder's vision": I like that analogy.

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Reader comments (24) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Do NATO and Turkey have a Future together? [101 words]Joan RibiJan 18, 2023 21:59291229
1Re NATO and Turkey [38 words]PrashantJan 19, 2023 12:18291229
Will HRW's racist Omar Shakir protest "apartheid" wall in Europe? [27 words]HannahSep 29, 2022 12:27286945
Observing Erosion of Secularist Socialist Underlying Argument for Preservation of Ethnic Diversity - Israel Defies the Logic [341 words]M ToveySep 29, 2022 19:28286945
1Global Alliance of Democracies (GLAD) [332 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
RobertSep 27, 2022 15:50286886
Turkey does not deter, not collegial [144 words]mythSep 8, 2022 12:50286136
6The real role of Turkey and an asset [485 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
R.A. DekkerSep 6, 2022 15:33286058
1Questioning Motives Regarding Keeping Close to Turkiye is Necessary Evil to Prevent Surprises [211 words]M ToveySep 9, 2022 17:52286058
Cage Match for Political Superiority - Sweden versus Turkey - Unlikely Foes Unless One Observes the Russian Influences [161 words]M ToveyOct 25, 2022 11:28286058
Revisiting Turkiye's Potentially Contentious Collaborations in a Middle East No One Seems to Find Where the Middle Ground Lays - Who WIll Dominate [299 words]M ToveyNov 1, 2022 11:24286058
No Thanksgiving for Turkiye in the Middle East - A Differing Contemplation Awaits a Middle East that Does Not Know Peace [369 words]M ToveyNov 22, 2022 15:55286058
Re "democracies" [116 words]EvomhSep 6, 2022 01:06286024
Turkey marginally useful [288 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
MalcolmSep 5, 2022 09:32285992
extending worldwide an advantage [206 words]mythSep 10, 2022 08:25285992
2Turkey as a valued Allie [134 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Warren WeaverSep 5, 2022 07:23285987
2What a biased interview, I can't believe my eyes. [332 words]HGESep 5, 2022 07:19285986
My humble reply to HGE [78 words]PrashantSep 6, 2022 10:42285986
1My humble reply to Prashant [149 words]HGESep 9, 2022 07:00285986
1Explaining my stance to HGE [179 words]PrashantSep 13, 2022 05:01285986
Cautionary Tale of Turkish Dominance as Perceived in this Forum Not One to Be Taken Lightly [172 words]M ToveySep 4, 2022 21:38285965
4NATO responds to threats, Erdogan creates them [285 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
DaveSep 4, 2022 20:25285964
3Opinion [455 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Admiral Peter KikareasSep 4, 2022 17:11285958
2So Glad To Read This [36 words]Gary SackSep 4, 2022 14:29285948
Continuing the PM Erdoğan Enigma - What is on His Mind [296 words]M ToveySep 7, 2022 17:35285948

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