Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan meet in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. (photo credit: SPUTNIK/MIKHAIL METZEL/KREMLIN VIA REUTERS) The Three Amigos
Posted on 08/02/2018 5:39:22 AM PDT by 11th_VA
The White House said the North Carolina native is "a victim of unfair and unjust attention" and should be released.
LONDON — Turkey demanded an immediate reversal from the U.S. after its NATO ally imposed sanctions over the treatment of detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the Trump administration’s decision was “incompatible with the most simple diplomatic courtesy and mutual respect" and risked regional instability.
Relations between the countries have plummeted after Brunson, 50, was arrested in 2016 on charges of "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member" and espionage.
He was recently released from prison and put under house arrest still faces a sentence of up to 35 years if he is convicted at his ongoing trial.
The evangelical pastor, who is originally from Black Mountain, North Carolina, has lived in western Turkey for 23 years and led the Izmir Resurrection Church.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said sanctions were imposed after Ankara ignored appeals for Brunson’s release.
"We've seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong, and we believe he is a victim of unfair and unjust attention by the government of Turkey," she told reporters Wednesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
More Winning !!!
“Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the Trump administration’s decision was “incompatible with the most simple diplomatic courtesy and mutual respect” and risked regional instability.”
Translation: Trump is not acting “presidential”.
First of all, he’s not “acting”.
Second of all, this is Trump being Trump. Get used to it!
This is an example of a controlled crises. As a parent I used this tactic to confront our teenage children to change their behavior. You draw a line on one behavior and when they cross it you focus on the consequences of that behavior ignoring everything else. As you do this one at a time, the child begins to understand that you will follow through and future crises go much easier. Trump is doing same thing with other countries such as China.
Erdogan’s bully boy tactics may work on the Eutoweenies but they’ll never work on President Trump. I’m looking forward to the day when the US military leaves Turkey, and the US expels Turkey from NATO.
DITTO !!!
The idiot Erdogan would rather plunge his economy into disaster than free an innocent American.
Just tells you what kind of leadership we are dealing with here.
The U.S. response to Erdogan should be: “pund dirt”!!!
He is in zero position to make demands on the U.S. If he continues to make such demands he could see an increase in the variety of actions against him by the U.S.
In my humble opinion, Trump should have a secret meeting with all heads of state from NATO, minus Erdogan, and demand that either Erdogan goes or we go, out of NATO. If the NATO opinion is divided (top NATO decisions are made by consensus, not a “majority” vote), that would leave Erdogan in NATO and us out. The other NATO members should then be informed we will make our own military support agreements in Europe on a one-on-one basis or with a group formed with us and those in agreement with us.
Holy crap! Imagine being a business of any kind in Turkey. For comparison, the U.S. 10yr rate is 2.997%.
Tuck Furkey!
Cute, but that’s not what it’s about. He’s protecting an American citizen. I’m impressed.
Free the Pastor. Stop looking for coup conspirators under your bed.
“This is an example of a controlled crises. As a parent I used this tactic”
I also think that this is a calculated measure, to introduce real consequences for Erdogan’s bad actions, initially in just an isolated area of our relations (not multi-lateral NATO). It establishes a precedent, kind of like the camel’s nose under the tent.
The article highlights the effects on the Turkish Lira, which has been trending downward (down 20% this year), and hit a new low in response to the news of US sanctions. It chipped about 1.5 to 2% more off their currency. Ouch.
Markets have been watching for potential repercussions from Turkey’s defiance of the US, EU and NATO on many issues (invading and ethnically cleansing the Kurdish Afrin area of Syria, supporting islamist jihadis, buying non-NATO compatible Russian air defense systems, violating Iran sanctions, widespread domestic repression, etc.).
Further sanctions could spark a capital flight to safety. They already have a capital flight problem, and its getting worse.
The Turkish economy has had a long and strong run, that supported Erdogan’s multiple re-elections and consolidation of power - but it seems like the party is over. In addition to the currency taking a sustained dive, montag813 points out that interest rates have jumped to 19.48 percent on their 10 year bonds. Foreign direct investment continues its three year slide, and budget deficits are worsening.
According to Bloomberg (1 Aug ‘18), “The Borsa Istanbul 100 index has lost 36 percent in dollar-adjusted terms this year, the second-worst performance in the world after Venezuela.”
The economy is still reported as growing, but prospects are grim going forward, as high debt loads in dollars and euros are starting to drive more businesses to shut or move out. The risk of a hard landing for the Turkish economy is growing. There is also a pretty marked brain drain going on in Turkey, which exploded during the purges after the 2016 coup attempt, and still continues.
Erdogan seems to have seen the economic problems coming, and moved up elections to lock in his position for five years - but now he owns it. The economy is likely going to be a growing problem for him. If we can exert pressure on him through the economy, with the effect of sanctions, we might finally have an effective tool against his bad behavior.
I agree with you.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan meet in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. (photo credit: SPUTNIK/MIKHAIL METZEL/KREMLIN VIA REUTERS) The Three Amigos
The removal of Erdogan from power will be an internal matter, if and when it happens -- and whatever follows him will be worse. Watching the bastard die in a hail of gunfire would still be a cherished video. Thanks 11th_VA.
Hey, Turkey, quit using jerking innocent Pastor Brunson around and using him as a whipping boy for a faux conspiracy against your vile regime.
You wanna get out from under these sanctions, let the innocent go home!
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