Voice of the White House
August 20, 2016
Washington, D.C.: Washington official circles are extremely angry with Turkey for Erdogan's approach to both Vladimir Putin and China. Although Turkey and Russia have been traditional enemies, Erdogan is furious with America's perceived hostility to his growing dictatorial graspings and is moving, in public, towards a Russian alliance. He is in essence walking away from NATO and also on the disintegrating European Union. Turkey is involved with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that also involves Russia and Iran. Erdogan is seeking a military and economic alliance with Russia and an economic alliance with China. Russia feels that Turkish assistance could assist them in their support of Assad. True, Turkey is basically Sunni in the Muslim faith and since the Saudi-organized Islamic State is an arm of that branch of faith, they clandestinely cooperate with The Islamic State. Turkey is also afraid of the Kurdish separatists because about 25% of Turkey's population is Kurdish and must be silenced. Turkey is now also communicating with Iran and this could result in an armistice between the Jihadist Sunnis. Russia clearly sees that it would be important to gain Turkey's assistance in containing the Sunnis in Syria, as well as achieving strong influence in the Middle East. The United States and the EU/NATO people do not appear to have an open branch with Erdogan. They do not want to force Turkey out of NATO and the EU does not want to so antagonize him that he cancels his refugee acceptance agreement. Erdogan is outraged that the United States will not extradite Fethullah Gulen to Turkey. They blame him, with justification, for instigating the recent failed military coup and feel, again with justification, that elements in the American intelligence community were also involved. The incident in which the Turks shot down a Russian plane was instigated by the CIA who told Erdogan that if Russia attacked them because of this, NATO would rush to their defense. NATO did not and Putin retaliated with economic sanctions against Turkey that did considerable damage to that country. As is their habit, the CIA expressed dismay at the sanctions but did nothing to support Erdogan. In essence, like their behavior in Ukraine and Georgia, they ran away. It is obvious from all of this that Vladimir Putin is always two or three steps ahead of his trade enemies in Washington. It is a pity that the United States cannot find a statesman like Putin to run the country as Putin does for Russia. Instead, the American people are ruled by business and banking cartels.