Actions Should Have Consequences
Turkey’s parliament has voted against allowing American troops to open a northern front against Iraq from Turkish soil. Apparently this caught a lot of people by surprise, including Turkey’s Prime Minister. But I’m not surprised.
Why would the Turkish parliament vote against the US position? Because countries like France and South Korea are defying the US with impunity and are paying no price for it, with the exception of the occasional Rumsfeldian outburst. As I predicted after Colin Powell’s UN presentation, the French are not falling in line.
Countries like France, Germany, South Korea and Turkey, that have relied on immense amounts of American blood and treasure to preserve their freedom, are being allowed to stab us in the back at every opportunity. Why should any country in the world take us seriously when they know that opposing us will have no consequences?
We need to make an example of at least one of these so-called “allies.” Here are some suggestions:
1. France: If the French wants to relive their glory days as an imperialist power, let’s give them their wish. As I’ve suggested before:
It is time to make the French pay. They’ve chosen to be our enemies. So be it. Let’s ring France with nuclear missiles and submarines. Let’s veto anything they bring up at the UNSC. We should send a new message to our allies in Europe: Either you’re with us or you’re with the French. After all, the French certainly don’t seem to be shy about sending that message to our allies. We should launch economic and military sanctions against every ally of the French. As a matter of national security, we should start denying visas to anyone who’s lived in France or Germany (that measure alone would have stopped the 9/11 hijackings.)2. Turkey: Let’s allow the Kurds to create an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. The Kurds have been the most steadfast opponents of Saddam Hussein. When anyone mentions Saddam’s “gassing of his own people” they’re talking about the Kurds. The only reason we’ve been reluctant to support an independent Kurdistan is that Turkey would feel threatened by it. Well, now that they’ve slapped us in the face, it’s time to make an example of Turkey. Let’s give the Kurds an independent state with a mutual-defense pact with the USand see how Turkey likes it.We can try to kick France out of NATO. If we fail, we can withdraw from NATO and sign a new mutual-defense pact with our allies. We could even sign it in Warsaw and call it the Warsaw Pact for ultimate irony.
3. South Korea: As I ‘ve been suggesting since December:
Let’s give them what they want. Let’s withdraw from South Korea!We can afford to be bold, since the Soviet Union doesn’t exist any more. Let’s accede to the demands of the South Korean people and withdraw our troops from South Korea. The very next day they would be invaded by North Korea and would be a province of the North in a week. Let them experience first-hand the wonders of a socialist paradise.
We don’t need to do all of the above; but we certainly need to send a message that’s loud and clear to our “allies": We will stand by you when you need us; but you’d better stand by us when we need you. Or you’ll find out what it’s like on the other side of an alliance with the United States.