I’ve written here before about how Turkey surprised the Pentagon by holding war games with the Chinese Air Force. I also raised concern about the Obama administration’s willingness to sell Turkey our next generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters without so much as reporting to Congress on the possibility the stealth technology upon which U.S. national security will depend might be reverse engineered should Turkey give its new allies China and Iran access to the plane. On this latter issue, the Senate Armed Service Committee is asleep at the switch: All it needs to do is demand the Pentagon report to it about the possibilities and vulnerabilities of the leakage of F-35s technologies should a current or future Turkish government, or rogue individuals within, allow the Iranians or Chinese to access the plane. The Pentagon will not conduct a thorough assessment unless an appropriate committee in Congress mandates it.
While Senators Carl Levin and John McCain drop the ball on American security, however, NATO is becoming increasingly concerned about Turkey’s outreach to China and Russia. The Turkish military is now considering the purchase of its own air defense system from either Russia or China. Because neither the Chinese nor Russian systems are compatible with existing NATO systems, Turkey would need to share NATO codes and technology with our adversaries to make its systems work. An unnamed Western expert quoted in the Turkish press explained, “If, say, the Chinese win the competition, their systems will be in interaction, directly or indirectly, with NATO’s intelligence systems, and this may lead to the leak of critical NATO information to the Chinese, albeit inadvertently. So this is dangerous.”
Turkey was once a strong U.S. ally. Today, it is increasingly a liability. The United States should not dispense with alliances carelessly, but cultivating diplomatic goodwill should never trump recognition of reality. “Trust, but verify” was one of Ronald Reagan’s signature phrases. When it comes to Turkey, it’s time for far less trust and far more verify.
FP: Self-destruction. The PostWest.While Senators Carl Levin and John McCain drop the ball on American security, however, NATO is becoming increasingly concerned about Turkey’s outreach to China and Russia. The Turkish military is now considering the purchase of its own air defense system from either Russia or China. Because neither the Chinese nor Russian systems are compatible with existing NATO systems, Turkey would need to share NATO codes and technology with our adversaries to make its systems work. An unnamed Western expert quoted in the Turkish press explained, “If, say, the Chinese win the competition, their systems will be in interaction, directly or indirectly, with NATO’s intelligence systems, and this may lead to the leak of critical NATO information to the Chinese, albeit inadvertently. So this is dangerous.”
Turkey was once a strong U.S. ally. Today, it is increasingly a liability. The United States should not dispense with alliances carelessly, but cultivating diplomatic goodwill should never trump recognition of reality. “Trust, but verify” was one of Ronald Reagan’s signature phrases. When it comes to Turkey, it’s time for far less trust and far more verify.
JOSHUAPUNDIT: Stockholm: Muslims Get Special McDonald's Ramadan deal
"Now its Ramadan also at McDonald's in Rissne (Stockholm suburb)! When the sun goes down, you can buy a ramadan-menu for only 90 kronor”
FP: This, rather than sharia, is how Islam infiltrates and undermines the values and foundation of Western society (see next). I am still waiting for Kosher McDonald.Sultan Knish: Rick Perry and Islam
Some questions have been raised about Rick Perry's views on Islam. Islamic infiltration into American politics means that every candidate deserves close scrutiny.
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First of all it's important to recognize that the Rick Perry question, is also the Chris Christie question, it's the question that comes with every governor from a state with a large and politically active Muslim population. This question will have more serious implications as the size of the Muslim population expands even further.
FP: And it’ll be done not only by dhimmi businesses, but also pandering dhimmi politicians.…
First of all it's important to recognize that the Rick Perry question, is also the Chris Christie question, it's the question that comes with every governor from a state with a large and politically active Muslim population. This question will have more serious implications as the size of the Muslim population expands even further.
POWERLINE: Smart power? So That’s What They Meant!
And similarly, as I told Frank in Syria, it’s not going to be any news if the United States says Asad needs to go. Okay. Fine. What’s next? If Turkey says it, if King Abdullah says it, if other people say it, there is no way the Asad regime can ignore it. We don’t have very much going on with Syria because of a long history of challenging problems with them. So I think this is smart power, and I talk a lot about smart power, where it’s not just brute force, it’s not just unilateralism, it’s being smart enough to say, “You know what? We want a bunch of people singing out of the same hymn book, and we want them singing a song of universal freedom, human rights, democracy, everything that we have stood for and pioneered over 235 years.” That’s what I’m looking for us to be able to achieve.
Clinton contrasts “smart power” with “brute force” and “unilateralism.” Being “smart” means “a bunch of people singing out of the same hymn book.” But singing is the easy part; much easier than acting. On Syria, the Obama administration has done nothing. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, it hasn’t even taken the symbolic step of recalling our ambassador. And Clinton’s statement that Assad can’t ignore world leaders telling him he “needs to go” is ridiculous. He has ignored them, and he will continue to do so, even as his troops mow down thousands of Syrians who are getting no help–not even symbolic encouragement–from the Obama administration.
To the extent that intelligible meaning can be attributed to Clinton’s comments, she is saying that “smart diplomacy” means not invading Libya and Syria unilaterally–as though anyone had ever advocated any such thing. She makes no effort to distinguish “smart diplomacy” from “random, purposeless intervention” in the case of Libya, or from “inaction” or “weakness” in the case of Syria. Nor does she try to explain why we are bombing Libya but not Syria.
What is smart about the Obama administration’s diplomacy? Nothing, except that it is theirs, and is therefore blessed by their inherent wonderfulness. Liberals believe that they are “smart” simply by virtue of existing. Unfortunately for them, voters generally apply a higher standard.
FP: Without power and dumb.
To the extent that intelligible meaning can be attributed to Clinton’s comments, she is saying that “smart diplomacy” means not invading Libya and Syria unilaterally–as though anyone had ever advocated any such thing. She makes no effort to distinguish “smart diplomacy” from “random, purposeless intervention” in the case of Libya, or from “inaction” or “weakness” in the case of Syria. Nor does she try to explain why we are bombing Libya but not Syria.
What is smart about the Obama administration’s diplomacy? Nothing, except that it is theirs, and is therefore blessed by their inherent wonderfulness. Liberals believe that they are “smart” simply by virtue of existing. Unfortunately for them, voters generally apply a higher standard.
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