Washington Post Urges Obama to Reconsider Turkey Policy
U.S. President Barak Obama with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, D.C., ahead of talks that focused on the Armenia-Turkey normalization protocols. October 15, 2009.
WASHINGTON—“The Obama administration and the European Union should be pressing Mr. Erdogan to respect the rule of law and give police and prosecutors the opportunity to present their cases in court,” says the Washington Post’s editorial board in an instructive editorial published Wednesday, calling on President Obama to reconsider its foreign policy with Turkey.
The editorial article urges the Obama administration to finally act on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spiraling authoritarianism.
The authors highlight the many transgressions by Erdogan and his administration over the years and lament the fact that the Obama administration has not applied pressure despite the deterioration of Turkish democracy.
The editors point to a growing rift between a Turkey that Obama once described as “a political model for the Middle East,” and a Turkey that seems to resemble its authoritarian neighbors more and more each day. Not a mistaken observation when considering that Turkey is number one again this year in the number of jailed journalists, not just in the Middle East but in the world, topping even Iran and China.
A final and troubling trend runs parallel to the latest graft scandal that has hit the Erdogan administration: a slanderous campaign carried out by the pro-government media is in full swing in Turkey, accusing the United States and Israel as dark powers who are behind the turmoil that has gripped Turkey. This daft and deliberate anti-West discourse, the authors say, cannot be ignored and must be given an appropriate response by the United States.
With an ever-growing slew of offenses by the Erdogan administration piling up, the Washington Post says there is a new urgency for the Obama administration to reconsider its policy toward Turkey and Erdogan.
WASHINGTON—“The Obama administration and the European Union should be pressing Mr. Erdogan to respect the rule of law and give police and prosecutors the opportunity to present their cases in court,” says the Washington Post’s editorial board in an instructive editorial published Wednesday, calling on President Obama to reconsider its foreign policy regarding Turkey.
The editorial article urges the Obama administration to finally act on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spiraling authoritarianism.
The authors highlight the many transgressions by Erdogan and his administration over the years and lament the fact that the Obama administration has not applied pressure despite the deterioration of Turkish democracy.
