John Bolton Wants Turkey Booted from NATO
Jose Nino
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Former United States national security advisor John Bolton called on Turkey to be kicked out of NATO in an op-Ed he published for the Telegraph on January 2, 2022.
Bolton says that Turkey’s diplomatic engagement with Russia is sufficient grounds for its expulsion from NATO.
In this op-Ed, Bolton also criticized several NATO members for their reluctance in supporting Ukraine. Apart from Turkey, Bolton called out France and Germany for not sufficiently supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The former national security advisor stressed the need for “Western unity” against Russia.
Bolton believes that perceived “weakness” among NATO members could allow Russian forces to come out victorious in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, making the case that 2023 would be a “decisive” year for the Collective West to demonstrate “the strength of its resolve.”
“The real issue is Western unity and resolve. Neither is guaranteed,” he added, calling attention to what he perceives are splits within the NATO bloc, which starts and ends with Turkey.
Bolton believes that if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reelected later in 2023 — in what he speculates will be in a fraud laden affair — the country’s status as a NATO member should be “at issue.” Bolton took issue with the fact that “Russia’s commercial and military partners have not yet deserted it in its hour of need, sadly including Turkey.”
Ever since Russia launched its military incursion in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Turkey has opted to not pursue the type of direct sanctions that other countries in the Collective West have imposed on Russia.
RT noted that Turkey has the second largest military in NATO but it has not provided much in terms of military aid to Ukraine compared to other NATO members. Thus far, Turkish authorities have maintained a neutral status in this conflict and have pursued diplomatic means to end the conflict as evidenced by the series of negotiations they attempted to hold throughout 2022.
Bolton also took Germany to task, despite Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s promise to dramatically overhaul the country’s foreign policy after taking office in 2022, which included a vow to increase military spending to comply with NATO standards.
“However, little has actually happened, and the pledges are in doubt,” Bolton stated, pointing out that Germany’s 2023 defense budget would be smaller than the 2022 defense budget.
Although Germany announced it would allocate €100 billion to obtain new weapons and update its fleet of fighter jets with US-manufactured F-35s, Bolton claimed that money has yet to be contracted. In addition, he asserted that the F-35 deal “appears stalled by bureaucratic infighting.”
Bolton lavished great praise on Japan for its recent decision to more than double military spending in the upcoming five years. He is of the view that this move could be one of the first steps to “take NATO global,” which includes nations like Australia, Israel, Japan, and Singapore.
Bolton was vocally critical of French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for a diplomatic solution to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. He called out Macron for parroting a “Kremlin talking point” by recognizing Russia’s concerns about NATO expansions in its traditional sphere of influence. Bolton stressed that NATO has always been a “defensive alliance.” Hilariously, Bolton ignored NATO’s offensive campaigns in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Libya.
In recent weeks, Bolton has thrown hints at possibly running for the Republican Party to effectively rid it of the influence of Donald Trump. Bolton is a fixture of the DC Swamp. While Turkey’s geopolitical ambitions should concern several states in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, the US has no business staying in NATO, an entangling alliance if there ever was one.
In an ideal world, US foreign policy would be centered on securing its southern border and promoting peace and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere. Parasitic individuals like John Bolton would also be out of work and reduced to pauper status.
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