{"id":132106,"date":"2026-07-12T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=132106"},"modified":"2026-07-12T07:19:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T05:19:39","slug":"15-05-124","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=132106","title":{"rendered":"Turkey is no ally to entrust with the F-35"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.reunion68.com\/Biuletyn\/img\/jns-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"35%\" \/><\/a><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #000080;\"><span><strong><a style=\"color: #000080; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/opinion\/column\/fiamma-nirenstein\/turkey-is-no-ally-to-entrust-with-the-f-35\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Turkey is no ally to entrust with the F-35<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Fiamma Nirenstein<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ankara\u2019s record\u2014from hosting Hamas to buying Russian missile systems\u2014raises questions about whether it should receive America\u2019s most advanced fighter jet.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.jns.org\/dims4\/default\/b16b928\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5772x3250+0+31\/resize\/1000x563!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.jns.org%2Fc9%2Fd4%2F436bd9954405bf09e43365418975%2Fgettyimages-2285057328.jpg\" width=\"100%\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em>U.S. President Donald Trump at a bilateral meeting at the Bestepe Presidential Compound with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, following Trump\u2019s arrival to attend the annual NATO Summit in Ankara, on July 7, 2026. Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Once, the world seemed relatively straightforward. On one side stood the United States and the democratic world; on the other, the Soviet Union, China and their satellites, where democracy was never a governing principle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Today, the picture is far more complicated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Even as tensions with the Shi\u2019ite regime in Iran intensify once again, U.S. President Donald Trump has embraced an alliance with another problematic regional power: Turkey, an Islamist, authoritarian Sunni state whose trajectory the late historian Bernard Lewis once warned would ultimately resemble that of Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Turkey was once a source of hope. As a member of NATO, it was widely seen as a bridge between the Islamic world and the West. That vision has long since collapsed. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, Turkey has become a vehicle for aggression and ideological hostility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Trump has suggested he trusts Erdo\u011fan because, although Turkey initially appeared ready to side with Iran during the recent conflict, it ultimately aligned itself with Washington. That confidence is reportedly reinforced by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who strongly supports a strategic triangle of Turkey, Syria and Iraq as a cornerstone of American regional policy\u2014a vision that leaves little room for Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Yet Erdo\u011fan, who openly presents himself as the leader of a revived Ottoman sphere of influence and as a champion of the Muslim Brotherhood, is a highly questionable recipient for one of America\u2019s most advanced fighter aircraft.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Over the years, he has consistently worked against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, seeking to fracture the moderate Sunni bloc aligned with the West. That bloc gave birth to the Eastern Mediterranean energy partnership linking Egypt, Israel, Greece and Cyprus\u2014one of the region\u2019s most innovative strategic initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Greece views Turkey as an increasingly aggressive neighbor. Cyprus remains divided, with Turkey continuing to occupy the northern half of the island. Erdo\u011fan has only recently begun rebuilding fragile ties with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Meanwhile, Ankara has openly hosted Hamas leaders, praised the Oct. 7 massacre, allowed flotillas to depart for Gaza from Turkish territory and made hostility toward Israel a centerpiece of its foreign policy. Erdo\u011fan routinely compares Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and has spoken of Jerusalem as a future Turkish objective. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently declared, \u201cIsrael is a burden humanity can no longer bear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">There are practical reasons as well for caution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Turkey\u2019s 2019 purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system triggered U.S. congressional sanctions and led to its removal from the F-35 program because of concerns that sensitive technology could ultimately be exposed to Russia\u2014or even China. Reversing that decision would take years even if Washington chose to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">The United States must also preserve Israel\u2019s Qualitative Military Edge, a longstanding bipartisan commitment that remains central to American policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Israel also provides strategic advantages that few regional partners can match. Even today, U.S. military operations can be launched from Israeli territory, while many surrounding Arab states continue to deny such access.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Asked about selling F-35s to Turkey, Netanyahu recently said simply, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Given Erdo\u011fan\u2019s record, his ambitions and the uncertainty surrounding the Middle East\u2019s future, that advice deserves careful consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Indeed, if Trump has come to recognize how difficult it is to reach a durable agreement with the revolutionary Islamist regime in Tehran, he should also ask whether any long-term strategic understanding with an increasingly Islamist, authoritarian and messianic Turkey can truly be relied upon. That is a question Washington cannot afford to ignore.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/static.jns.org\/dims4\/default\/ef3bf70\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/480x480+0+0\/resize\/100x100!\/format\/webp\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk2-prod-jns-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F42%2Ff9%2F2ff79e3048cc809b431f32a6e33c%2F6.png\" width=\"20%\" \/><\/span><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><em><strong>Fiamma Nirenstein<\/strong> is an Italian-Israeli journalist, author and senior research fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA). An adviser on antisemitism to Israel\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she served in the Italian Parliament (2008-2013) as vice president of the Foreign Affairs Committee. A founding member of the Friends of Israel Initiative, she has written 15 books, including October 7, Antisemitism and the War on the West, and is a leading voice on Israel, the Middle East, Europe and the fight against antisemitism.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<hr style=\"height: 15px; background: #d0e6fa; width: 100%;\" \/>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"content-alignment\">\n<div id=\"watch-description\" class=\"yt-uix-button-panel\">\n<div id=\"watch-description-text\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><em>Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion&#8217;68,<\/em><em><br \/>\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion&#8217;68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.<br \/>\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:<br \/>\n<\/em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"mailto:webmaster@reunion68.com\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr style=\"width: 100%;\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turkey is no ally to entrust with the F-35 Fiamma Nirenstein Ankara\u2019s record\u2014from hosting Hamas to buying Russian missile systems\u2014raises questions about whether it should receive America\u2019s most advanced fighter jet. U.S. President Donald Trump at a bilateral meeting at the Bestepe Presidential Compound with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, following Trump\u2019s arrival to attend [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132106"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132106"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132124,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132106\/revisions\/132124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}