Have we lost Turkey as an ally?

[VivaRevolution]

Turkey ‘may face sanctions’ for buying Russian S-400 missiles and not toeing US line – diplomat
Published time: 19 Apr, 2018 16:50Edited time: 20 Apr, 2018 07:02

Ankara’s decision to buy S-400 air defense systems from Russia exposes Turkey to possible US sanctions and may bar it from getting F-35 jets, a State Department official said, adding that Turkey should “align with the West.”
The warning came on Wednesday from Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell, who spoke to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on behalf of his department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

https://www.rt.com/news/424616-turkey-us-sanctions-s400-russia/





Golden Rush-Out: Turkey Extracts Its Bullion Reserves From US
BUSINESS


The total volume of the Turkish Central Bank's gold reserves, which were stored in the United States, stood at 220 tons; last month, Turkey's gold reserves were worth about 25.3 billion dollars.

Local media cited government sources as saying that the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has transferred its gold reserves from the US Federal Reserve System to Ankara.

In March 2018, the CBRT's gold reserves were worth 25.3 billion dollars; 220 tons of Turkish gold was stored in the US, according to the sources.

The largest private Turkish banks also withdrew their gold reserves from abroad, responding to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call "to get rid of exchange rate's pressure and to use gold against the dollar."

READ MORE: 95% of Turkey's Population Oppose Alliance With NATO, US – Former General

In particular, the Halk Bankasi bank transferred 29 tons of gold to Turkey, according to the Turkish newspaper Milliyet.

Relations between Turkey and the US have become aggravated against the backdrop of Washington's support for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, seen by Ankara as a terrorist group linked to Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) also blacklisted by Turkish government as a terrorist organization. The US military, for its part, cites the necessity to combat Daesh.*


https://sputniknews.com/business/201804201063750442-turkey-central-bank-gold-reserves-us/


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We have been losing Pakistan to China for quite some time.

We appear to be losing Turkey, although that is not nearly as clear. I don't think Trump wants to be known as the president that lost Turkey as an ally. Their maybe no more important strategic ally in the world than Turkey.

So there is definitely discussion to be found in whether we have lost them, or on the path to losing Turkey as an ally.

The conversation I would be more interested in however, is what impact it would have if we lost Turkey as an ally.

I have gotten the impression it would be pretty serious, but I'm not all that clear on why.

Perhaps there are some posters here who could enlighten me as to the geo-political consequences of losing Turkey as an ally.

Discuss......

 

[Seaside]

Get your nukes out

 

[Supereem]

Get your nukes out

They are building a nuclear power plant with Russian help. Soon Turkey will be like Iran with a sultan at its head. They will continue to sink into islamism and want to rebuild their shitty Empire. This is not good news for any of its neighbours.

 

[Seaside]

They are building a nuclear power plant with Russian help. Soon Turkey will be like Iran with a sultan at its head. They will continue to sink into islamism and want to rebuild their shitty Empire. This is not good news for any of its neighbours.

The world is going to crap soon everyone will have nukes. And mad doesnt' apply to ideologues

 

[Chinballs]

They are building a nuclear power plant with Russian help. Soon Turkey will be like Iran with a sultan at its head. They will continue to sink into islamism and want to rebuild their shitty Empire. This is not good news for any of its neighbours.

Building up the next boogey man perhaps.

 

[cleetus]

That's what happens when you assist a coup attempt, and arm the Kurds.

No. Turkey is NOT an ally.

 

[LatFlare]

They were never an ally.

 

[Werdun]

They being in NATO is bad as they can veto a lot of shit. For example if a new country wants to join a single veto will turn it down..

Should US ally with nations that they have pretty much 0 common ground (well except that money can be made, im looking at you Saudi-Arabia.. or to prevent them going the other way) is up to debate

 

[tkotom]

I find it somewhat hilarious when Americans/Europeans feel betrayed when they sense a country is "not their ally" anymore. This is a country that literally invaded all the way to the heart of western europe so that they could wipe them off the face of the fucking Earth, and you think deep down they give a flying fuck about being your "ally"? Turks have used the west and their greed for hundreds of years as protection from Russia and whoever else. They know how to survive, there is no sincerity in their friendship. If they could, they would reduce the west to rubble - and they almost did. Not to mention the Euro/American flip flop on allied support whenever it is strategically, the right move. Nobody is anybody's ally. They are when it suits them.

 

[chubbman]

Lol at Turkey being an ally

 

[VivaRevolution]

I wonder how many of the posters shitting on Turkey as an ally, would defend Israel as our ally.

They basically have the exact same relationship with the US, with the exception that Turkey brings far more to the table.

 

[Clippy]

Let's talk Turkey

Spoiler

gobble gobble gobble gobble

 

[Stoic1]

Turkey was never my friend

- Kenny Florian

 

[ShinkanPo]

They are building a nuclear power plant with Russian help. Soon Turkey will be like Iran with a sultan at its head. They will continue to sink into islamism and want to rebuild their shitty Empire. This is not good news for any of its neighbours.

I wonder how Turko US war will look your Abrams will face Leopard IIs in Turkey.

The world is coming apart

 

[ShinkanPo]

The world is going to crap soon everyone will have nukes. And mad doesnt' apply to ideologues

Nostradamus predicted this shit!

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

No such thing as Roast Turkey anymore.

It'll be called Roast Freedom Bird instead...

 

[snakedafunky]

Well the US is losing most of its allies. Some faster like Turkey and some slower like Western Europe.

 

[Andy Capp]

Short answer=yes.

 

[TheGreatA]

A lot of countries have lost Turkey as an ally.

 

[Cuauhtemoc]

I find it somewhat hilarious when Americans/Europeans feel betrayed when they sense a country is "not their ally" anymore. This is a country that literally invaded all the way to the heart of western europe so that they could wipe them off the face of the fucking Earth, and you think deep down they give a flying fuck about being your "ally"? Turks have used the west and their greed for hundreds of years as protection from Russia and whoever else. They know how to survive, there is no sincerity in their friendship. If they could, they would reduce the west to rubble - and they almost did. Not to mention the Euro/American flip flop on allied support whenever it is strategically, the right move. Nobody is anybody's ally. They are when it suits them.

Turkey is not the Ottoman empire. Ataturk tried to align it with the west because he was smart.
As much as the west is shitty it's pretty damn good to be allied with them 90% of the time (except when you're betrayed like Poland). Capitalism is evil and the white man is bad but they got lots of money and cool gadgets. Countries that allied with the East may have retained their national pride but they suck like Cuba or NK.
I think Turkey is just trying to get some bargaining chips against the PKK/YPG. They're not dumb to trade their alliance with the USA for an alliance with Russia.

A similar case happened, in the past, with Saudi Arabia. They first took 50% of the oil revenues from Aramco and then nationalized the oil industry, created OPEC and threatened to ally with the Soviets or the Chinese. They never went that far, they are still allied with the USA but they got a much better deal than before.