The Muslim Brotherhood Jihadist ruling Turkey has gone to far. NATO members are serupticiously holding talks on heaving this murder out of the organization. Blaming the United States for the attempted coup, all the while accusing us of harboring Fethullah Gulen have caused a major schism in our relationship. He is sought by the Turkish government for alleged involvement in the 2016 coup attempt. Additionally, there is no love for Israel as this Napoleon complex diminutive can’t get over the controversial and war like provoking Mavi Marmara incident. Realpolitik played a part in Israel’s latent response and regret of the incident. Note that Obama put the proverbial gun to Netanyahu’s head.
NATO in the past has looked the other way when it was to their advantage, Turkey is strategically located enabling NATO and the U.S. coalition to use Turkish airspace; Turkey needs to be fore warned that their place in history will be dictated by their actions against the NATO countries and their diplomatic transgressions. In the latest act of incitement Erdogan spews from his rabid mouth that Israel is “playing with fire” concerning their actions on the Temple Mount. However, Erdogan fails to mention the real crime against humanity is the actions regarding the Hagia Sophia. Once the center of Eastern Christendom, Constantinople competed with Rome.
From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as a Greek Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, who ordered this main church of Orthodox Christianity converted into a mosque. By that point, the church had fallen into a state of disrepair. Nevertheless, the Christian cathedral made a strong impression on the new Ottoman rulers and they decided to convert it into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels and other relics were removed and the mosaicsdepicting Jesus, his Mother Mary, Christian saints and angels were also removed or plastered over. Islamic features—such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets—were added. It remained a mosque until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey. Hagia Sophia is currently (2014) the second-most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.3 million visitors annually.
Before the world pays attention to this Turkish imbecile they must demand that the Hagia Sophia be restored to its rightful place in history. It is noteworthy to remind those Christians that Turkey once 100% Christian is now outnumbered by Muslims, 80,000,000 to less than 200,000. this is a manifestation of the treatment Christians receive in the Muslim world.
Currently and subsequent to the defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Erdogan has gone on the warpath against the Kurds. Especially in Syria does he have little tolerance for a Kurdish enclave on its border. The foaming at the mouth war monger is intent on crushing any kind of Kurdish control of territory, be it in Turkey, Syria or Iraq. U.S. backing for the Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria has infuriated Turkey, which views their growing battlefield strength as a security threat due to a decades-old insurgency by the Kurdish PKK within in its borders.
In an August 2017 interview Erdogan said, “We will not leave the separatist organization in peace in both Iraq and Syria,” Erdogan said in a speech on Saturday in the eastern town of Malatya, referring to the YPG in Syria and PKK bases in Iraq. “We know that if we do not drain the swamp, we cannot get rid of flies.”
The YPG denies Turkish allegations of links with Kurdish militants inside Turkey, saying it is only interested in self-rule in Syria and warning that any Turkish assault will draw its fighters away from the battle against Islamic State which they are waging in an alliance with local Arab forces.
Erdogan’s comments follow the appointment of three new leaders of Turkey’s army, air force and navy last week – moves which analysts and officials said were at least partly aimed at preparing for any campaign against the YPG militia.
Turkish forces swept into north Syria last year to seize territory from Islamic State, while also cutting off Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria from the Kurdish pocket of Afrin further west. They thereby prevented Kurdish control over almost the whole sweep of the border – Ankara’s worst-case scenario.
Ankara considers the YPG an extension of the PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and European Union.
Can Kasapoglu, a defense analyst at the Istanbul-based Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), said the YPG “remains at the epicenter of Turkey’s threat perception”.
However, the cuddling up to Iran and Russia maybe the straw that broke the camel’s back. Erdogan has gone too far. NATO is alarmed at the new Turkish posture; they are now considering booting Islamic Turkey from their association. Why defend Turkey if attacked? That is the question.
Russia, Turkey and Iran will hold summit talks on Syria next week as Ankara threatens a possible attack on U.S.-allied Kurdish forces and tensions rise between Moscow and Washington over the future of the war-torn state.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will host his Turkish and Iranian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani, on Nov. 22 in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss Syria and regional developments, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news service said Thursday. The three powers are key players in Syria, where they’ve spearheaded a cease-fire initiative and are now cooperating on a political settlement.