Mick Mulvaney and some of the white house staff reading the NYT this morning.
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The likelihood of Turkey being able to invoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty is very slim. First, it is important to know what Article 5 says:
Article 5
The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Technically, of course, everything on the other side of the Bosphorus is not Europe, but Asia. Turkey would naturally claim that, pars pro toto, Europe extends up to the farthest borders of Turkey. However, Turkey is not fighting within its borders but is more the attacker than the attackee. Syria, of course, has the right of self-defense provided by the UN Charter. If Syrian government forces engage a Turkish army invading their territory, which can hardly be considered part of Europe, Turkey can scarcely claim to have been attacked within the meaning of Article 5. Furthermore, an engagement on Syrian soil can hardly be construed as “the North Atlantic area”. So, it is extremely difficult to see how such a situation could be considered to comply with the terms of Article 5, and doubtless the other member states would claim that it did not.
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Reminds me of old joke about God’s vengeance upon the wicked:
Beware! Lest the Lord smite you in your sleep when you are 95!
Even PBS has it, so it must be true. 
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BREAKING NEWS
Russia says its units are patrolling between Turkish and Syrian forces following pullout of U.S. troops
The Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement was a sign that the country was moving to fill a security vacuum after President Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria.
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Rachael drew a line directly from Zucks Political wing to the GOP yesterday. Let me find that.
Her name is Katie Harbath, Public Policy Director, Global Elections at Facebook who used to be
Katie Harbath, Chief Political Strategist, Natl Republican Senatorial Committee (though that was a while ago) and also on Rudy’s Presidential Bid, lo those many years ago.
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Putin is trolling trump?
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Yes, these are B61 tactical thermonuclear bombs, if you’ll pardon my French.
They’ve been sitting at Incirlik for decades.
To anyone reading this who has not supported anti-proliferation before: Would now be a convenient time to change your mind?
Being a “simple” gravity bomb that is just dropped out of the sky, as opposed to a missile warhead, the B61 does not require a launch code and is not part of that infrastructure – but, yes, each bomb does have very basic code-input and disabling security built in.
Still, even people without the code can do some damage …
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Speaking of Schiff, his online threats are getting worse. Because you know, doing his job and following the law provokes violence in our new normal.
Schiff needs more Democratic support. Look up ‘resist’ in the dictionary, and there’s a picture with Schiff prominently featured in the foreground with all the other Democrats in the far far background. I’m sure Pelosi and Schumer are in that background with the other Democrats, but its so tiny you really can’t tell.
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If Turkey is “drifting to the Russians” I think it might just be a good idea if we removed our nukes from Incirlik Air Base which is just 70 miles north of the Syrian border with Turkey.
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If your geographic argument was meaningful, Turkey would have been a fool to join NATO in the first place since Article 5 wouldn’t apply to their defense. Technically, several NATO members do not have direct access to the North Atlantic ocean. Would you say that these countries do not qualify for NATO membership and participation?
Read it again, slowly. I never said or implied any such thing. In any case, the text of the treaty was amended to specifically include the territory of Turkey (Article 6) when Turkey joined the treaty in 1951.
No.
Thank you for the link (I should have looked it up myself).
trump pushes the envelope on what is commonly understood for just about everything beyond it’s breaking point. I was suggesting that he could twist the common meaning to plausibly (in his mind anyway) do something nefarious and/or self dealing. I, apparently, don’t have his imagination though.
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Thank you. He is dangerous.
Yes, well, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 was actually an attempt by Congress to curtail some of the economic powers granted to the president earlier by narrowing the definition of “national emergency” for which these powers were authorized. I’m not entirely sure they meant it to apply to a national emergency that the president himself created, even though outside the US.
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He is a business genius. How dare you, a mere mortal, question him. The Unseen Hand of Milton Friedmanite Economics has a solution for all of the Earth’s woes, capitalism will solve the Environmental Crisis. Capitalism will solve Wars. Capitalism will solve American Democracy’s troubling tendency to impose rules that restrain Capitalism.
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I’m sure Turkey is deeply disturbed by a steel tariff that is really a tax on any American firm that uses Turkish steel.
trump is such an idiot that he taxes us to get at Turkey.
And sanctions on individuals in that country won’t destroy their economy.
What would get their notice would be our taking our 50 nukes from Incirlik and then closing that air base that we have had since 1955. And then booting Turkey from NATO so that they then can be Russian allies which is what they wanted all along.
Another little nugget in the fly ointment is some of the Arab militias Turkey is using as “shock troops” are actually al Qaida and ISIS members and they would be quite happy to do some genocide on the Kurds.
Thanks trump for green lighting this crisis. The spilled blood is on your hands, trump. If this isn’t a reason for removal from office (I’m saying he is epically incompetent) then nothing is.
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For Trump, whatever the question, tariffs are the answer.
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Every person with a Facebook account is allowing Zuck to make money using his/her data. If you do not like that Zuck built a property wall over over mile long in Hawaii and helps foreign governments to rig our elections, do not use Facebook.
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Never have. Never will.
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