Regarding Josh Rogin’s July 12 Friday Opinion column, “The moment of truth for U.S.-Turkey relations”:Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to violate NATO protocol by purchasing Russian-made surface-to-air missiles is more than just a moment of truth; it is the last straw. As NATO’s campaign against the Islamic State was getting underway, Mr. Erdogan long refused access to Incirlik Air Base, forcing planes to launch from farther away. When Turkey finally entered the conflict, its involvement was clearly a pretext for further anti-Kurdish aggression — aggression that threatened U.S. forces stationed alongside the YPG. Turkey appears to have won that round when President Trump decided to unilaterally abandon the United States’ Kurdish allies, but Mr. Erdogan’s willingness to fight a NATO ally to attack the Kurds is unacceptable. Mr. Erdogan’s Turkey is rapidly moving in a direction that makes its continued membership in NATO untenable.

Source: Washington Post July 16, 2019 20:37 UTC