Tag: Economy

Could Putin woo Turkey from Biden and NATO?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Could Putin woo Turkey from Biden and NATO?

Why do the Turks have such a negative sentiment towards its ally? It is worth noting that Ankara and Washington have been at odds over several issues. For instance, in 2019 the US imposed sanctions on Turkey over Ankara’s incursion into Syrian Kurdistan. A year later, Washington once again punished its NATO partner, this time because of Turkey’s decision to purchase S-400 air defense systems from Russia. In addition, the US supports the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, while Ankara sees the YGP as a terrorist organization because of its alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Moreover, to this day America refuses to extradite to Turkey Fetullah Gulen – a Pennsylvania-based former ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned deadly enemy, who is accused of complicity in a 2016 failed coup attempt.

Although improving ties with both, Russia and the United States, seems to be one of Erdogan’s top priorities for the time being, Ankara will likely keep implementing its relatively sovereign foreign policy, which could eventually lead to confrontation with Moscow. Russian media and analysts have already started blaming Turkey for its actions in Syria’s Idlib province that is controlled by the Turkey-backed forces. They accuse Ankara of de facto annexation of the region by introducing Turkish lira as the official currency, giving Turkish passports to the local population, and building schools and hospitals in the north of Syria. Ironically enough, that is exactly what the Kremlin is doing in the Donbass region of Ukraine that has been under control of the pro-Russian forces since 2014.

Russia good, Turkey bad. /s

Related:

Greater Kurdistan Project: Is It Turkey’s Turn on the Chopping Block?

Turkish-US Relations Won’t Recover Until US Drops ‘Greater Kurdistan Project’

Greater Kurdistan: A Work in Progress Brought to You by NATO, President Peace Prize and… Israel

Regional Remake Birth Pangs- Syria, In a Repeat of The Balkanization/Destruction Of Iraq

President Biden Plans a Foreign Policy for the Middle Class: He Should Promote Peace, Which Would Benefit Them and Everyone Else

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

President Biden Plans a Foreign Policy for the Middle Class: He Should Promote Peace, Which Would Benefit Them and Everyone Else

Still, wanting one’s foreign policy to serve the middle class – and the working class, and the entrepreneurial class, and everyone else – isn’t necessarily a bad way to evaluate foreign policy. However, rather than trying to turn everything into an economic measure, there is a much simpler approach that would fulfill the same goal. Follow a policy of peace. Ultimately, more is required for a sophisticated, comprehensive foreign policy. However, the best, most solid, ultimately essential, foundation is peace.

Admittedly, Biden, as well as Sullivan and the others, have been in Washington, D.C. too long to know what peace actually is. Most policymakers call today’s world “peacetime” even though the US has been at war for the last two decades. The Blob appears to define peace as meaning that there is no combat on American soil. Washington can be droning, bombing, invading, and occupying other nations, and denizens of the imperial capital will contend that there is no war going on. Certainly no “endless” war, insist the Neocons, who recognize their serious loss of credibility in having repeatedly misled the public about both the cause and duration of conflicts.

U.S. Spends 11 Times What China Does on Military Per Capita, by David Swanson

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments
Image by takomabibelot via Flickr

NATO and various columnists employed by major U.S. newspapers and “think” tanks believe that military spending levels should be measured in comparison to nations’ financial economies. If you have more money, you should spend more money on wars and war preparations. I’m not sure if this is based on opinion polls in Afghanistan and Libya expressing gratitude for war as a public service or some other source of data less imaginary.

U.S. Spends 11 Times What China Does on Military Per Capita, by David Swanson