Tag: Rick Perry

  • Perry was Right on Turkey and Islamic Terror

    Perry was Right on Turkey and Islamic Terror

    He may have dropped out of the race, but Perry understood what is happening in Turkey, while the USA still considered Turkey a friend.

    Atty. Nitzana Darshan-Leitner

    The writer is an Israeli attorney and the executive director of Shurat HaDin, Israel Law Center, an NGO combating the terrorist organizations and the regimes that support them through lawsuits in courtrooms around the world. Shurat HaDin seeks to bankrupt terror groups and grind their criminal activities to a halt – one lawsuit at a time.

    ► More from this writer

    In the wake of Gov. Rick Perry’s withdrawal from the Republican presidential race, pundits will argue over the reasons for his rise and fall. But one thing is for certain: Gov. Perry was the only candidate who told the truth about Turkey’s support for anti-Israel Islamic terrorists

    Perry was roundly criticized after he remarked, in the January 17 candidates’ debate, that Turkey “is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists.” The State Department called Turkey “a stalwart ally” of the United States that “plays a very positive and constructive role in the region.” The New York Times, in what was supposed to be an objective news report, asserted flat-out that Perry’s statement was “inaccurate” and characterized Turkey’s governing party as “moderate.” Huffington Post columnist Dorian de Wind mocked Perry as an “uninformed Texas cowboy.”

    But within hours, Gov. Perry’s critics were left with more than a little egg on their faces as the foreign minister of Iran, the world’s leading terrorist state, arrived in Turkey for a visit aimed at furthering strengthening the already-friendly relations between the two countries. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi announced in Ankara that trade between his terrorist regime and Turkey, which had been just $5-billion annually in the past, hit $15-billion in 2010 and will reach $30 billion by 2015. Salehi, by the way, has met his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, no less than eleven times in the past twelve months. How is that “positive and constructive”?

    The truth about Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government is that they have become experts at playing both sides of the fence–making “moderate” noises when Western ears are listening, while collaborating with Islamic terrorists and terrorist regimes whenever they can get away with it.

    Thus while the United States has been struggling to find ways to stop Iran’s nuclear development, Erdogan has been defending the Iranians. During his visit to Tehran, the terror capitol of the world, in October 2009, he denounced Western sanctions against Iran as “arrogant.” He declared that anyone who criticizes Iran’s nukes should first give up their own nuclear arms. “We shared this opinion with our Iranian friends, our brothers,” Erdogan told reporters. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad reciprocated by praising Erdogan for his “clear stance against” Israel.

    In December 2010, Erdogan traveled to Libya –Moammar Gaddafi’s Libya– to receive the “Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights.” Erdogan was not the least bit embarrassed to accept such an award from one of the world’s worst human rights abusers and terror-sponsors. He told reporters that relations between Turkey and Libya were “growing,” and that there was “much Turkish investment” in Gadaffi’s Libya. Three months later, the U.S. was leading the NATO assault on Turkey’s Libyan friends.

    Turkey’s support for the Hamas terrorists has been consistent, passionate, and unequivocal. The Turkish government sponsored the May 2010 flotilla that was intercepted while attempting to bring prohibited materials to the Hamas regime in Gaza. Erdogasn’s claim that the flotilla participants were peaceful civil rights activists crumbled as the whole world watched the chilling YouTube video of the Islamic extremists on board trying to beat an Israeli soldier to death with baseball bats. Other Israeli soldiers were stabbed and nearly drowned. Erdogan said it was the Israeli soldiers who were “terrorizing” the Muslim baseball players.

    The Turks attempted to send a second flotilla to Gaza last year, but were thwarted by the intervention of the Israel Law Center (Shurat HaDin). Flotilla organizers complained that the Center’s lawsuits and warning letters caused insurance companies to withdraw coverage of the ships, and resulted in Greek government inspections that found the boats to be unseaworthy and improperly registered.

    Prime Minister Erdogan may yet try another smuggling operation to Gaza, however, because his support for Hamas has few rivals. He told PBS’s Charlie Rose last May: “I don’t see Hamas as a terror organization. Hamas is a political party. And it is an organization. It is a resistance movement trying to protect its country under occupation.” Presumably the massacre of elderly Israelis attending a Passover seder at the Netanya hotel was a political statement, and the firing of a rocket into a kindergarten in Sderot helps resist attempts by Israeli five year-olds to “occupy” Gaza

    According to media reports last month, Turkey intends to give Hamas $300 million in aid. And just two weeks ago, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh received the red carpet treatment on an official state visit to Turkey

    In his famous address to a joint session of Congress in the wake of the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush declared: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” Those who befriend Iran and finance Hamas have made it clear that they are with the terrorists.

    Just as Rick Perry said.

    via Perry was Right on Turkey and Islamic Terror – Op-Eds – Israel National News.

  • Soap-Opera Week for Turkey-U.S. Relations Underlines Partnership’s Strength

    Soap-Opera Week for Turkey-U.S. Relations Underlines Partnership’s Strength

    OB RL765 Obama G 20120120122842AP/Charles Dharapak

    President Barack Obama talks with Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a family photo at the G20 Summit in Cannes, France, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011.

    ISTANBUL—This week may have started a little uncomfortably for Turkey-U.S. relations, but it ended with something akin to a diplomatic love-in.

    Rewind to Monday, and Texas governor and presidential hopeful Rick Perry was causing outrage across Turkey, claiming the country was ruled by “what many perceive to be Islamic terrorists,” and suggesting it should be booted out of NATO.

    By Thursday, however, Mr. Perry had withdrawn from the race for the Republican nomination and on Friday President Barack Obama named Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as one of five leaders with which he’d formed “a bond of trust.”

    Turkish media, which had reacted furiously to Governor Perry’s remarks, rejoiced when he announced on that he was suspending his bid, gleefully suggesting that the stumble on Turkey had killed his campaign.

    “Being against Turkey didn’t work out so well,” quipped Turkish TV channel NTV. “Governor Perry, who is illiterate about Turkey, has thrown in the towel early,” said tub-thumping Turkish daily Sabah.

    That gloating was bolstered on Friday with news that President Obama had lauded his relationship with Prime Minister Erdogan in an interview with Time Magazine.

    In an interview with Time’s Editor-at-Large Fareed Zakaria, Mr. Obama named Turkish PM Erdogan alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and British Prime Minister David Cameron among leaders that he was able to forge “bonds of trust.”

    “I think that if you ask them, Angela Merkel or Prime Minister Singh or President Lee or Prime Minister Erdogan or David Cameron would say, we have a lot of trust and confidence in the President,” Time quotes the U.S. president as saying. “That’s part of the reason we’ve been able to forge these close working relationships and gotten a whole bunch of stuff done.”

    The president’s strong backing of Ankara capped a whirlwind week for Turkish-U.S. relations that at times resembled soap-opera rather than diplomacy. Analysts say Washington’s move to immediately to condemn Mr. Perry’s remarks and stress the importance of the alliance with Ankara underlines how the partnership has been bolstered in recent months by Turkey’s strong backing of pro-democracy movements during Arab Spring uprisings.

    Turkish and U.S. diplomats say they cannot remember a time when cooperation between Ankara and Washington was closer, citing that President Barack Obama called Turkey’s prime minister more than any other leader except Britain’s prime minister in 2011.

    Prime Minister Erdogan certainly seemed confident on Friday that the relationship was strong, using Governor Perry’s comments to jibe at Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

    “What’s the difference between Rick Perry, who makes ignorant statements about Turkey, and the chairman of our main opposition party? One lives in Texas and one lives in Ankara,” Mr. Erdogan said.

    via Soap-Opera Week for Turkey-U.S. Relations Underlines Partnership’s Strength – Emerging Europe Real Time – WSJ.

  • Rick Perry Brings Fresh Attention to Turkey

    Rick Perry Brings Fresh Attention to Turkey

    GOPlifer
    Which way is right? With Chris Ladd

    I have some distant relatives from Turkey. They seem like nice enough folks. Not a one of them has ever hijacked a plane or threatened to behead anyone…at least as far as I know. It’s tough to be sure who might be a closet terrorist in these troubled times.

    The enemy among us

    There aren’t many Muslims in Turkey. Folks there are mostly Scots-Irish Southern Baptists or Methodists, but if you’re thinking of attending their annual Bob Wills Festival this spring, you might oughta be on a heightened state of alert. And don’t forget to cover up the women.

    The “Turkey” Rick Perry described in his spectacularly idiotic comments at the South Carolina debate bears no more resemblance to the nation on Europe’s eastern border than to the charming Panhandle town at the edge of the Llano. Or to a bird, for that matter.

    He never should have made it that far into the debate anyway. Defending the desecration of corpses was bad, but once he described the state of South Carolina as being “at war” with the Federal government they should have turned off his mike and escorted him out of the building. You have to wonder what set of encyclopedias he’s gotten hold of.

    With Perry backing out of the race, what does that say about the orders he received from God? If the man upstairs told Perry to run, why did he issue the same orders to half a dozen other people? Could it be that God doesn’t have the same clout inside the GOP that he used to and he’s hedging his bets? Does the big fella have a finer sense of humor than we give him credit for? Did Perry overhear a call that was actually intended for Rick Santorum?

    Worse yet, Perry may have just discovered he’s been taking orders from the wrong voices. That might explain how he ended up shooting that coyote.

    Perry’s done now, and the remaining candidates in the Republican Presidential Clown Car can stretch their legs a bit. Slowly but surely we’re easing toward the end of this excruciating spectacle and in spite of all the humiliation and insult we’ve endured we might still end up with a nominee who can name the leader of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan (sp?). We’ll need to know his name so we can ask him if they have oil.

    There remain several rounds of misery ahead while Santorum introduces us to more of his icky fascination with other people’s sex lives, Gingrich describes his…interesting…marital history, and Ron Paul explains how genuinely fond he is of Israel and black people. This could still, theoretically, end badly. Very badly. But there is genuine reason for hope.

    One consequence of the most deeply unRepublican Republican nominating race in history is that we have been introduced to a whole new set of ideas. I’m not just talking about the crazy ones.

    For the first time in modern history we’ve wrestled with the assumption that last season’s runner-up should be this year’s nominee. We’ve had a genuine contender openly question whether it’s a wise to give the business lobby anything and everything it asks for. The emphasis on debates as a method of candidate screening has made it possible for more candidates with less money to get a good solid look from the voters. And most importantly we seem to have initiated a more or less meaningful argument over what the conservative movement is going to look like for the next generation.

    The bad news of course is that Rick Perry isn’t exactly finished. He’s returning to his day gig in Austin where no one ever asks him to retain three whole things in memory at the same time. As incoherent as Perry has become, no one can be too certain which “Turkey” has him worried. As the President of the sovereign state of Texas returns home, the wild Turks of the Panhandle would be wise to brace for new scrutiny. They should plan to arrive at Amarillo’s Husband Airport a little early. Some enhanced screening procedures will await any of them not wearing an Aggie ring.

    You can be sure that the good people of Turkey will take it all in stride. Though Rick Perry may still be Governor, they know that the world’s most famous Turk, Bob Wills, is the Still the King.

    via Rick Perry Brings Fresh Attention to Turkey | GOPlifer | a Chron.com blog.

  • Video: Turkey Run By ‘Islamic Terrorists’ – Rick Perry at Fox News Debate

    Video: Turkey Run By ‘Islamic Terrorists’ – Rick Perry at Fox News Debate

    Rick Perry referred to U.S. ally Turkey as being run by “Islamic terrorists” after being asked an incredibly biased question by Brett Baier at the Fox News Republican Presidential debate. The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

  • Turkey responds to Perry remarks

    Turkey responds to Perry remarks

    By Ivan Watson and Yesim Comert

    Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned Texas Gov. Rick Perry Tuesday for saying that Turkey was a “country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists.”

    Perry made the statement during a spirited debated between Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina Monday night.

    Most of Turkey was fast asleep during the live broadcast, and Turkish newspapers had already gone to print by the time Perry declared that Turkey had moved “far away from the country I lived in back in the 1970s United States Air Force. That was our ally that worked with us, but today we don’t see that.”

    The Texas governor also argued that it was time for Washington to cut foreign aid to Ankara.

    A spokesman for Turkey’s foreign ministry fired back Tuesday, accusing Perry of making “baseless and improper claims.”

    In a statement e-mailed to CNN, Selcuk Unal said presidential candidates should “be more informed about the world and be more careful their statements.”

    “The unfortunate views of Perry are not shared in any case by Republican party supporters, considering the weak support he has received in public polls and primary elections,” Unal concluded.

    Top Turkish government officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday, with many of them in Northern Cyprus for the funeral of veteran Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas, but the country’s largely-tabloid press wasted no time in responding to the comments on websites early Tuesday morning.

    “The debate that the Republican candidate Rick Perry attended on American Fox TV turned into a scandal that contained very ugly statements about Turkey,” announced TRT state television.

    “Rick Perry: what an idiot,” tweeted Mustafa Akyol, a columnist with the English-language Hurriyet Daily news. The Hurriyet newspaper also posted a video on its website of Perry drawing a blank in the middle of a prior debate, forgetting in mid-sentence which was the third of three government departments he would cut if elected president.

    Perry’s remarks came on the same day a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman announced that a new NATO radar station, manned by Turkish and American military personnel, went online this month in the Turkish province of Malatya. The radar station is part of a controversial U.S.-led missile defense shield that both Russia and Iran have publicly opposed.

    For more than 50 years, Turkey has been the only Muslim member of the NATO military alliance.

    Ankara’s relationship with Washington has been turbulent over the last decade, with sharp divisions emerging after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

    But that relationship has improved dramatically over the last several years. Turkey has commanded the NATO mission in Afghanistan four times over the last decade, and the United States shares real-time intelligence from aerial drones for the Turkish military’s ongoing war with rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party, who operate along the mountainous border between Turkey and Iraq.

    via Turkey responds to Perry remarks – CNN Security Clearance – CNN.com Blogs.