NATO's purulent, poisonous wound in its south-eastern flank
 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53262725


This comes after Trump has taken openly rejective atittude on NATO, European members mostly underfunding it, Macronman labelling it "brain-dead", and Turkey openyl trying to abuse it for its own aggression military actions.


What the BBS article doe snto menjtion is that before the French-Turkish standoff, the Turks already had biullied away an inspection unit by some other NATO member, I read it two days ago, I for ot which country it was. That narration holds it that the Turk manouvered aggressively and targetted the other NATO ship and claimed that the freighter was uder their protection. The freighter was involve din embargo-.breaking acitons in the past and delivered illegally weapons form Turkey to Libya.


Saying it since years and years: Turkey must be thrown out of NATO, they are neither a friend nor a trustworthy ally since the AKP regime took over the country. Currently thy are angry that Germany gives no free travel announcement for their country (look what is happening there in the past two weeks, and you know why that is so: for very good reasons), they retaliaste now by opreniong sudden investigations into German car makers who have been stupid enoiugh to open favctories in that country. Another rumour says it is also an attempt of blacvkmailing Berlin to infleunce Volkswagen to open a manufacturing plant in Turkey nevertheless - VW just days ago stepped back from the plan and the Turks did not like that.


They are neither a friend, nor an ally, nor a trustworthy actor. Since years. And Merkel had nothing better to do than to even maximise European dependency on Turkey (mass migration).

I could be wrong but I believe I read an article quite a few years ago explaining that Turkey was a useful NATO member because at the time they were the only member to have a substantial land border with Russia.

I'm not certain mind.

There's no land border with Russia now, but they have a sea border, Georgia and a few other countries were former republics of Russia and therefore the land border existed.
Since Georgia and the other countries gained independence there hasn't been a border between Russia and Turkey since the former Soviet republic broke up.

what is the old saying? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Turkey is a handful, but it is easier to maintain some influence on its behavior if it is in NATO rather than out of it.

I do not argue abiout the relations in the cold war and in pre-Erdoghan, pre-AKP times. But these times are conditions are over. Dead. No more. And you have to calculate the advanatges against the costs. The final total reads out in bright red with a big minus before it. We have only problems with them since years and only react to their ongpoing aggressiosn nand provocations. Basic values and princicples obviously are not shared. The fundamentalists and nationalists who have destroyed the Kemalist constitutionial order obviously have put Turkey on completely different rails leading at a completely different direction.

More and more powers i the Middle East have subscriobed for more and more aggressive, expansionist polciies. Last but not least this is also owed to Trump's destruction of political stabilizers. The US is no more interested in the region, and who could criticise them. In the second half of this century all bigger countries in the region will become holders of nculear wepaons. Turkey. Saudi arabia. Egypt. Iran. If they can: Iraq. Maybe Algeria. And depending on what b ecome sof it: Libya.

Hooray. Religious fanatism meets racism meets open bills from centuries meets nationalism merets sweet water conflicts meets shortening ressoruces meets peacock'S narcisstic egos - meets nucleas arsenals. Dinner will be ashow to see.

I want back the cold war. It was safe, stable and predictable, in comparison.

Is it? The past years tell me the opposite.

That's pretty much the same thinking that got West Germany into NATO.

I just read that before the French tried to stop and control the freighter, not one but two earlier control attempts by a Greek and later by an Italian warship were prevented by the Turks.



The freighter had been used for weapon smuggling before, so much is known apparently.