Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
That was a barely-noticed moment of the debate for most of you, wasn't it?
Well, for everyone who's concerned about accuracy, the US provides almost no aid to Turkey. It used to provide a great deal, but now the numbers are nugatory. If Turkey's human-rights record were the sole criteria by which it was included in NATO, it would have been expelled long ago. The statistic on the murder of women? It's ridiculous. The streets would be littered with corpses if that were true. The Turkey to which Perry refers--the Turkey of the 1970s--invaded Cyprus. It was hardly a high-water mark in Turkish-American relations.
Perry could have advanced a serious case. He might have noticed, for example, that Turkey's foreign minister maintains that Islamist terrorism doesn't exist. He might have made the case that his briefers subsequently made on his behalf. But he didn't. He either didn't remember it, or didn't care.
That's quite unimpressive.
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May '10
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
I was thinking of you when Perry was talking. None of what he said had the ring of truth, even though I know next to nothing about Turkey.
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
I like Perry. He has been a good governor. But his horizon is quite limited, and in the Presidential race he is completely out of his depth. He should not have allowed his wife to talk him into entering the race. He cannot see beyond the borders of Texas.
Feb '11
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
Someone please give Perry a pat on the head, a box of crayons, and a ticket back to Texas so he can study up on the rest of the world without making a fool of himself anymore.
Go away Rick. You blew it. Time to work on salvaging your career in Texas, if you can.
Apr '11
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
My guess is that he spotted the opportunity to highlight his own foreign policy quasi-experience, having been posted to Turkey, and was thinking about that more than the briefings; he can't have been expecting a Turkey question to come up. And, while Turkey may have invaded Cyprus (and done a bunch of other terrible things) in the '70s, I can well believe that it was a fun place to be posted, and that they treated Perry well. I've met quite a number of ex-pats who judge the government of the country they live in/ lived in primarily on the way that it treats the westerners who live there, and think that quite a powerful bias.
This isn't to say that Perry's answer didn't have its awkwardness, but a: I think it's pretty understandable and b: I think it's probably a politically better answer than if he'd been accurate, as those watching were likely to find themselves agreeing. It's kind of the inverse of his unpopular but correct willingness to return to Iraq.
Oct '10
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
For those looking for the source of these remarks, the relevant part of the transcript:
Edited on Jan 17 at 7:12amMar '11
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
I thought he was talking about the turkeys he could see from his house.
Sep '10
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
Many of us fear for Turkey's future but who are the "many" who believe the AKP are terrorists?
I honestly don't see the difference between Perry and W. We'd all like to have a beer with them and neither should be controlling our nation's power.
Once again the audience distinguishes itself with the applause lines.
Can someone explain to me why there should be "no space" between Israel and America's foreign policy? Talk about a foriegn policy that emboldens our enemies. Is it only because we want to be on their side in Armageddon?
Mar '11
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
Although, having now reconsidered after hearing Ron Paul's "Golden Rule" foreign policy.....
May '10
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
You know, I kinda wish the moderators would ask random out of the blue questions about countries such as Slovakia and Romania so that I can have the opportunity to slam the candidates for not knowing as much about them as I do. I guess I just picked the wrong region to overspecialize in.
Sep '10
Re: Weighing in on Perry's Comments on Turkey
K, you specialize in Eastern Europe! Turkey is right there and you should appreciate the perspectives. Turkey is again one of the most important natinos on earth and our failure to leverage our partnership is one of our biggest failures of the past decade.
Perry would have been fine if he didn't make such extreme characterizations about the AKP, lumped them with Syria and Iran, and distracted the audience with their nearly nonexistent foreign aid.