Incirlik US diplomat’s recommendation: Let’s close
As Turkey’s obstacle to NATO enlargement continues to create tension on the Ankara-Washington line, Philip Kosnett, former charge d’affaires at the US embassy, asked “Goodbye Incirlik?” He drew attention to his harsh criticism of Turkey by writing an article titled.
Turkey did not approve the entry of Sweden into NATO due to the provocation of the burning of the Koran and the demonstrations against President Tayyip Erdogan, it only accepted the entry of Finland. The latest criticism of Ankara from the US, which was insisting on NATO enlargement while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued, came from Kosnett, a household name in Turkey.
Kosnett visited American priest Andrew Craig Brunson, who was jailed in Izmir in 2018 for allegedly committing crimes on behalf of the FETO and PKK terrorist organizations, and was asked for a 35-year prison term.
Kosnett, who served as chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Ankara for a time, stated in an article posted on the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) site that the exit of the US from the Incirlik airbase “will show Turkey that its influence has limits”.
‘NO COUNTRY EXCEPT THE UNITED STATES IS ESSENTIAL’
Kosnett commented that Turkey’s blockade of Sweden’s NATO membership offers an opportunity to set the security alliance with Ankara on a commercial path, saying that Incirlik, which was founded in the 1950s against the Soviet Union, served to US interests in the Middle East in subsequent years, noted that it has lost its former importance. The former chargé d’affaires argued that Erdogan’s policies, such as his objection to NATO expansion and his decision not to join Russian sanctions, indicate that it is time for the US to reconsider his presence. in Incirlik.
Saying that Erdogan disagrees with the idea that he is defending the interests of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and that his aim is to show his country’s veto power in NATO, Kosnett assessed that Turkey’s expectations were probably not will give no results.
Arguing that NATO and Washington should remain calm in the face of Turkey’s moves and continue their defense cooperation with Ankara, Kosnett suggested that whatever the outcome of the May 14 election, a message should be sent to Turkey. that no NATO member other than the United States is indispensable. .
Writing that Incirlik lost its former importance after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that countries like Greece and Romania wanted to host US bases, the American name commented that closing military bases in the past has led to more balanced cooperation.