Discussion for article #228425
Biden is right, though.
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Reality check: Biden was 100% correct, Ergogan did in fact help ISIS. I’m not even quite that certain that it was unintentional, although the evidence is thin on that last point.
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Too bad. Biden is 100% correct. Turkey has been turning its back as extremist recruits move back and forth across the Turkish border. Erodogan can be as upset as he likes. Me thinks me doth protest too much.
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There’s that “angry Muslim” tone again…like Reza Aslan…
As long as IS is a threat to the Kurds, turkey will do nothing top them either.
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Let’s just say that Turkey’s effort to contain violent militants in the Middle East have fallen a bit short. Obviously.
But don’t overlook valiant efforts of the brave Republican men of the United States Congress, still vacationing while the world wonders what the American government will do, leaving terrorism to fester and grow.
Typical Republican policy and politics.
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Sequestration and obstruction are also becoming very apparent drags on our efforts too. I don’t believe that we have an ambassador to Turkey still and massive cuts to the wrong parts of the military as well as our health orgs are becoming glaring issues.
The Republicans insistence and desire to break everything causes real world problems and people die.
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Biden didn’t say Turkey had aided ISIS, he said they had admitted to doing so.
I LOVE Joe and I’m not trying to sound like a twit splitting hairs but diplomacy is serious business and NATO member Turkey is perhaps our most important ally in this crises. What happens if they invoke Article 5 over the boarder fighting?
Joe was clearly indiscreet and he knows better. When he does silly shit like this not only does he cause a diplomatic crises, he embarrasses the POTUS and he only seems to confirm the outrageous lies the GOP loves to spread about it.
It’s a real WTF moment.
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Basically expressed as: “it it’s broke, don’t fix it. If it ain’t broke, break it.”
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I can understand the politics, but people in the United States really don’t know Erdogan the way Turks do. He is pro-Islam, anti-west. He is not the best friend for the West by any means.Thankfully, there are enough Turks Turks there and in the West who hold on dearl to the teachings and memory of Mustafa Ataturk who led Turkey through the establishment of Western style democracy. Erdogan and his minions do their best to try and stamp out his memory, but the people pass it on. Like the United States, there is a huge rift in the country between those who support democracy and those who follow Erdogan. so, Joe, while I am sure your apology was based on politics, there is nothing to apologize to Erdogan for. Frankly, the only reason the West sucks up to him is because of NATO.
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Why apologize to this dictatorial demagogue? It was right on MSNBC a few weeks ago with Richard Engel on MSNBC— he was at a border crossing, there were no guards, and most of the traffic was bearded men into Syria. This guy has turned a democratic country (that oppressed many minorities) with an army that guarded those institutions into an oligarchy on the Russia model (that still oppresses minorities). Are we supposed to be grateful for all the time he does not spend insulting us or undermining our Middle East policy?
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It’s hard to believe that IS could have made the stunning progress they’ve made in a very short time without a lot of secret support from the West’s supposed allies in the region. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Erdogan has been tacitly enabling IS all this time. How much did he pay them to free the Turkish hostages? But it still boggles my mind that so much of the Middle East seems to be so eager to enslave themselves to such barbaric and sadistic religious tyrants. What a bunch of fools/cowards/suckers.
There’ve been a number of times since 2009 when the theory that the White House used Biden’s reputation for tactless inadvertent candor to get something out there in a high level, yet completely deniable, way either to float a trial balloon or to send a signal would be consistent with observed facts. This would be one of them.