Rick Perry vs. Turkey: A rebuttal from Turkey
Rick Perry slammed Turkey, a US ally, as ruled by "Islamic terrorists." Turkey's ambassador to the US replies.
Rick Perry slammed Turkey, a US ally, as ruled by "Islamic terrorists." Turkey's ambassador to the US replies.
Rick Perry lumped Turkey in with Iran and Syria during remarks at the most recent GOP debate, lambasting the country鈥檚 (democratically elected) government as 鈥渨hat many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists.鈥�
Perry did get quite the loaded lead-in from moderator and Fox News host Brett Bair:
Perry offered thus:
The Turkish Ambassador to the US didn鈥檛 take kindly to such remarks, however, responding in a statement that while Perry鈥檚 remarks were 鈥渦nfortunate,鈥�
聽we do hope this episode in last night鈥檚 debate leads to a better informed foreign policy discussion among the Republican Party candidates, one where long-standing allies are treated with respect not disdain.
The Turkish Ambassador鈥檚 point-by-point rebuttal attests that Turkey:
- Foreign aid: Turkey receives no significant sums of foreign aid dollars from the U.S. Indeed, Turkey is a strong and growing trading partner with the U.S. in general, and with Texas in particular creating thousands of jobs throughout that state.聽
This deserves another line of comment - about a dozen Texas state lawmakers have taken all-expenses-paid trips to Turkey for economic/cultural reasons.
- That Turkey is going backwards: Turkey is obviously not the same country that Governor Perry visited in the 1970s. As an accession country to the European Union and a founding member of the Council of Europe, Turkey has been continuously reviewing and enhancing the rights of all its citizens irrespective of their ethnic or religious background. Moreover, Turkey is now the 16th largest economy in the world, and the 6th biggest economy in Europe enjoying one of the most robust growth rates in its region and beyond.
- On NATO: 鈥淭urkey is a secular democracy that has for decades been an essential and trusted partner of the U.S. Our bilateral relations are based on the common values of democracy and respect for human rights, rule of law, and free market economy. Whether in the fight against terrorism or violent extremism, in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria or against the proliferation of WMD, we stand side by side to tackle the many common threats and challenges of our times.鈥�
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