On the eve of the alliance summit on July 11-12, NATO is closely monitoring Turkey to convince it to approve Sweden's membership in the organization. Members of the alliance knock on Ankara's doors every time they need it, but they depict three monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouth with their paws when it comes to Turkey's security. NATO has not taken any action against the PKK, FETÖ, ISIL*, nor in the face of threats from Syria.
Before the NATO summit in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, on July 11-12, eyes are turned to Turkey, which does not approve of Sweden supporting terrorism joining the alliance. It is expected that Turkey, which is remembered only if necessary, will not waste its trump card this time. While the efforts of NATO member countries to convince Turkey are increasing, NATO has never supported Turkey as a true ally. Despite the fact that Turkey has proved its worth by successfully completing its most important and dangerous missions within NATO, it has not seen a similar dedication on the part of the alliance, even when it needed it most. Turkey, which became a full member of NATO on February 18, 1952, lost more than 900 of its troops in Korea and took part in critical missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, while Turkey's support from the North Atlantic Alliance has not gone beyond words to date.
Instead of supporting the tactics of delaying time
Recently, we have often heard statements from NATO in the spirit of: "None of our allies has been a victim of terrorist attacks more than Turkey." However, the alliance has always left Turkey alone with terrorist organizations and countries with which it has problems in relations. NATO, which does not actually support our military and diplomatic fight against terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the People's Self-Defense Units (YPG), the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and ISIL*, adhered to the tactics of delaying time instead of supporting even when Turkey was experiencing problems in relations with Syria, Greece, the Greek administration of Southern Cyprus, Armenia, Russia, and has always taken the opposite side, as, for example, in the case of the Armenian claims of "genocide".
After the end of the Gulf War, the United States, Great Britain and France achieved the deployment of military forces in Turkey on the grounds that Saddam could attack the Kurds again. The task forces that arrived in Turkey in July 1991 supplied the PKK with weapons and supplies. The Americans did not deny this. Under the wing of the same forces, the PKK flourished in Northern Iraq.
They opened their arms to the terrorists
Our NATO allies, the United States and leading European countries, have opened their arms to terrorists from organizations such as the PKK and FETÖ, who have taken the lives of thousands of our military and citizens. Those structures whose attacks Turkey was subjected to internally and externally, including during the attempted coup on July 15, 2016, were not even included in the list of terrorist organizations. Even then, during the coup, the "so-called allies", who opened their arms to the members of FETÖ along with PKK supporters, abandoned Turkey alone, expecting that the coup attempt would succeed. They not only did not respond to Turkey's extradition requests, but also allowed terrorists in their countries to carry out actions against Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. At the same time, NATO did not even call on member states to side with Turkey.
Our plane was shot down, NATO did not respond
In 2012, when Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance plane, and five Turkish citizens were killed in Akcakal, Turkey, as a result of artillery shelling from Syria, NATO again chose to leave our country alone. Similarly, when ISIS* in 2016 attacked civilian settlements with missiles fired towards Kilis, no one from the leadership of NATO or the member countries of the alliance said: "Bombing Turkey means bombing NATO territory."
They didn't even sell the headlights of military vehicles
NATO, which was supposed to stop attacks on Turkey and even take counter-actions, did not give an adequate response even to Turkey's requests for air defense systems, and the United States did not sell Patriot missile systems to its ally. Meanwhile, the Patriots stationed by the United States and Germany in Turkey were also withdrawn. Some NATO member countries have imposed an explicit or implicit embargo on Turkey in the defense industry. Some people do not allow Turkey to import even the headlights of military vehicles. When more than 30 Turkish soldiers were killed in Idlib, Syria, NATO allies and especially the United States silently watched what happened. Despite NATO's statements allegedly in support of Turkey, the republic's need for air defense systems was ignored.
Double standards
When Turkey purchased the S-400 air defense system from Russia to protect its borders and the lives of its citizens, our NATO ally, the United States, threatened us with sanctions on the grounds that this system does not correspond to NATO weapons, and initiated an economic war against Turkey. Sanctions were imposed on Turkish officials in accordance with the law "On Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions" (CAATSA). However, when NATO members such as Greece, Bulgaria and Slovakia bought the S-300, no one made a sound.
"Care" with a call for restraint
Due to the fact that European countries make up the majority of NATO members, during the tension in Turkey's relations with such players as Greece and the Greek administration of Southern Cyprus, an anti-Turkish position was observed. During the legal violations by Greece and the Greek administration of Southern Cyprus, they turned a blind eye to injustice, remaining passive and calling for "restraint". One of the manifestations of NATO's double standards was the support of NATO member countries for drilling operations in the Eastern Mediterranean, bypassing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was recently announced by the Greek Cypriot side.
Greece is back like this
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who firmly defends Turkey's interests in the face of Sweden's membership in NATO, drew attention to the mistakes of past administrations regarding Greece's return to NATO in 1980. Greece withdrew from the military wing of NATO in response to the peacekeeping operation in Cyprus in 1974, and then, when it regretted and wanted to return, it faced Turkey's veto. Greece's return to the alliance took place a month after the 1980 military coup in the Republic of Turkey.
Author: Yılmaz Yıldız (Yılmaz Yıldız)
* a terrorist organization, banned in the Russian Federation
