Posted on 10/13/2018 8:04:25 PM PDT by Texas Fossil
On October 12, 2018, a Turkish court freed U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson whose arrest on terrorism charges just over two years ago had fueled a diplomatic crisis. Since July, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had collectively tweeted about Brunson’s case almost two dozen times. Even in hyper-partisan Washington, Brunson’s plight received bipartisan support.
In a quiet meeting only later disclosed, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to lobby for Brunson’s release. Brunson’s release reportedly comes after a deal negotiated by National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which the United States promised to relieve economic pressure on Turkey upon Brunson’s release.
With Brunson home and with Ankara and Washington seemingly on the same side in their condemnation of the apparent murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, could relations between the United States and Turkey finally be on the rebound? The answer is no. While the immediate crisis is over, not only Brunson’s detention, but also the circumstances of his release may compound the many remaining bilateral disputes.
Brunson’s case may be over but, from origin to resolution, it put a spotlight on rot in Turkey’s politics and judiciary. After Turkish security forces arrested Brunson, he was held without charge for almost 18 months. Erdoğan made little secret of his desire to use Brunson as a bargaining chip to compel extradition of Fethullah Gülen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric and a one-time Erdoğan ally turned rival whom Erdoğan blames for the abortive 2016 coup.
As pressure mounted on Turkey, Erdoğan took umbrage. “We don’t know what the court will decide and politicians will have no say on the verdict,” he argued. This, of course, was nonsense..
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Immediately after releasing Brunson, Erdogan threatened the Manbij area in Syria again. U.S. forces are still there and there is not intention of moving.
Releasing the Pastor shows me that pressure on Turkey is working.
There is still a lot more work that needs to be done.
Totally agree, my friend. Totally.
I will refrain from suggesting the ultimate solution. I need not express it to you. smile.
Every time I read about Turkish prisons, I think about the movie Midnight Express.
President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan needs killing and Turkey set free.
I’ve never watched that movie.
Have read about it in that context.
It’s based on a true story, it’s very gritty. I liked it, but I can understand people that didn’t like it. The more I learn about Turkey and it’s Islamic culture, the more realistic I think it probably is.
The real Turkey is hidden. It wears a mask of Westernization, but that is not real.
The Islamist who support Erdogan are insane haters. Both are capable of inhuman brutal treatment of all who oppose their agenda.
I neither like nor trust Turkey’s leadership. NATO or not.
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