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Turkey privately not against NATO stance: Commentator

Saturday, 28 November 2015 5:23 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 28 November 2015 5:23 PM ]

The photo taken on October 3, 2015 shows a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber taking off from the Hmeimim air base in the Syrian province of Latakia. (AFP photo)

Press TV has interviewed Ryan Dawson, a political commentator in Nara, Japan, to discuss the remarks made by a retired US Army General, saying Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane over Syria has proven that the country is a liability to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and must be “ousted” from the Western military alliance.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: If we are to look at what is emerging is the picture of Turkey and it is not cooperating with NATO. First of all do you think that that is indeed accurate? Is that what is happening here?

Dawson: Well I would argue that Turkey has to be kicked out of NATO anyway for ethnically cleansing Kurds for decades. They have no reason to be there and it is not even clear that the Russian jet had interceded into Turkish territory. It seems like it was four kilometers within Syria but it is really nonsense and it is hypocritical of the Turks as well because in 2012 when a Turkish plane was shot down actually in Syria, they were singing a different tune. But does anybody seriously think that the Russians were threatening Turkey or going to bomb Turkey, it is obvious they were attacking ISIS (Daesh) in Syria. That was clearly an act of Turkish aggression. Because they are in NATO they thought like they had the power to get away with it.

Press TV: But if Turkey is acting against the protocol of NATO, then there should be immediate expulsion right now, they should be expelled. Is there anybody or anything preventing that from happening?

Dawson: Well publicly that is the stance of NATO, they are going against NATO’s interest but privately they are not really because Turkey is aiding ISIS. You look at this black market oil. The only place it can be going is into Turkey. They do not have airline; they do not have a sea port. It has to be going on the ground in Turkey and they are making billions of dollars out of this but when you look at the West’s stance on ISIS, they seem to be telling the public one thing and privately acting another way the same way the United States did during Iran-Contra. So as long as the Americans have the Turks back behind the closed doors they are not going to change their behavior.

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