Trump warns Turkey over detained US pastor

US President Donald Trump says Turkey faces 'large' economic sanctions if they refuse to release detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Sourcification

Well, on the face of it this all seems to be a pretty big deal, particularly over the fate of one guy.

So this pastor bloke has been moved from jail, after 18 months, to house arrest for "health reasons". He is currently accused of;

"committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member"

Now I'm not clear on the evidence, however, he is tied up in a judicial process in a "sovereign" nation, and that process should be allowed to be completed and the evidence heard without interference, particularly with the threat of sanctions.

But, it's not really about this bloke.

The real story here is, once again, the US being the whipping boy of Israel.

For those of you who are unaware, Turkey uses lots of oil from.......dan, dan daaaaaaannnnn...........Iran. I'm sure you can all make the obvious connection.

Washington is planning to hit Tehran by “reducing to zero its revenue on crude oil sales,” Brian Hook, the US State Department’s director of policy planning declared two weeks ago.

That's a pretty hardcore statement.

Just to complixify the situation, Turkey seems to be interested in buying some military stuff from Russia;

American lawmakers are pushing the Pentagon to scrap its decision to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, citing Ankara’s openness to buying Russian S-400 air defense missile system.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one as I suspect that this is not going to end well, for anybody, particularly that CIA pastor bloke in Turkey.

Palmerston would have sent a gunboat. See the Don Pacifico affair. Economic sanctions? Tame.

Maybe he should tell them To " cut it out"

a reply to: notsure1

Or draw a red line.

Or give them pallets of cash.

We should get back to the basics.

lol

a reply to: myselfaswell

Or maybe its the fact that since joining NATO Turkey has refused to help combat ISIS, refused to let America use airbases in Turkey, and have become very anti America. Maybe its because of the failed fake coup, or the stunt Sultan Erdogan tried to pull with Holland and Germany during the elections.

I mean I get you are anti Israel, but Erdogan has given the world many reasons to hate him, that are not all related to Israel.

a reply to: HanSolo31

you think the world does not like that leader cause he does not let merica play on their land...

that is not reality

originally posted by: notsure1
Maybe he should tell them To " cut it out"

...with the finger point and waggle, tehe.

a reply to: howtonhawky

No. Straw man isn't going to help you. They dont like him because he talks smack, tries to garner support from citizens of other sovereign countries like Holland and Germany, and when they refuse to play along badmouth them publicly (only the U.S. is allowed to meddle in elections). He isn't liked by many Turks expats including a couple NBA players like Enes Kanter. He asked Turks living in Germany not to vote for Merkel (which I am cool with since I hate her) but again may cause some problems.

My point is this, he has done A LOT to be universally disliked. He has had feuds with almost every country. All of which have little or anything to do with Israel. Besides Israel, Sultan Erdogan has managed to piss off the Syrians, Egyptians, Americans, Dutch, Germans, French, Greece, Kurdish people, half of Cyprus and on and on and on. Sultan Erdogan is also being charged with crimes against the Kurds in Sweden He is doing a great job himself and doubt he needs any Israeli help.

a reply to: myselfaswell

That's got to be a first: an actual NATO member actually buying Russian Military Hardware systems from Putin directly?

....and nobody is calling them out on that?

it's the end of the world

a reply to: watchitburn

we should give them a few billion

No one listens to trump's threats.

Even NK is doing things on their terms at their pace.

When I read about this my first thought was why would our government care about one individual in Turkey? My guess he's a government operative (a.k.a. a spy). How many people are jailed around the world and how much do the fed's give a crap? I'm not buying the story.

a reply to: HanSolo31

Apologies for the late response, been busy.

Turkey has refused to help combat ISIS

Not true. It has combated ISIS however it is more concerned with Kurds.

refused to let America use airbases in Turkey

Complete and utter drivel.

Incirlik Air Base

Maybe its because of the failed fake coup, or the stunt Sultan Erdogan tried to pull with Holland and Germany during the elections.

Grossly insufficient to warrant sanctions of the magnitude proposed.

but Erdogan has given the world many reasons to hate him,

Absolutely no disputing that one, but once again, grossly insufficient to warrant sanctions of the magnitude proposed.

a reply to: toysforadults

As long as it's their own cash like when obama unfroze irans money.

Talk about 4d chess.

Obama payed iran with their own money and made them let our inspectors in.

a reply to: HanSolo31

No. Straw man isn't going to help you

not a straw man...

all the stuff you say may be true. i am not in a position of knowledge on the subject as others are.

all beside the point i made of the world not really caring if the usa can play in turkey. Most would be cool with the usa staying home in most cases.

a reply to: howtonhawky

I get you. I would be cool if America stays on the sidelines too. I actually prefer that we do, as Turkey's internal politics isn't our problem. Just wanted to make the point that Erdogan has many enemies besides Israel, and that although possibly true, its most likely not due to Israel. Besides barking at Israel periodically, Turkey poses no threat to them.

Also, if Turkey does not want US forces or NATO forces in their country they should have not joined NATO.

a reply to: myselfaswell

Oh my oh my.

Turkey refuses U.S. troops. Wouldn't be a problem if they didn't join NATO.

Evidence

Refuse to collaborate

More evidence

Pisses off Germany

Even more evidence

And in your response you never even addressed the fact that he pissed off half the world besides Israel. So again, America has many reasons to be upset with him and impose sanctions. Am I for it ? No. Sanctions IMO is a declaration of war. But once again, half the globe is furious with the guy, so saying that Israel is behind this and bring no evidence is just your opinion.

a reply to: HanSolo31

I wonder what kind of pressure they were under when they joined? retorical

Likely there was money and food involved....and some oil