In his push to appeal to evangelical Christian voters in Saturday's South Carolina primary, Rick Perry apparently is willing to throw an important international ally and a crucial economic engine in his home state under the campaign bus.
Perry's claim that Turkey is ruled by "what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists" only underscored the desperation in what many see as his final days on the stump.His willingness to dismiss six decades of strategic cooperation -- including active participation with the United States in fighting terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in the region -- is just one more example of why the Texas governor isn't suited for the White House.Granted, the governor was delivered a hand grenade of a question by moderator Bret Baier during Monday's debate sponsored by Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the South Carolina Republican Party. That doesn't mean Perry had to pull the pin. Baier asked whether Turkey still belongs in NATO after citing an increased murder rate of women, declining press freedom and threatened military action against Israel and Cyprus.As with many nations that are strategic and economic partners with the United States, there's work to be done in Turkey on the issues of women's rights and press freedom, but the country does not appear on the State Department's list of nations that engage in state-supported terrorism. Nor does the Ankara government sanction or condone honor killings.Turkey, which has been a NATO ally since 1953, is the world's 16th largest economy and fields the second largest military in NATO. It has its own strategic interests to protect through relationships with other Middle Eastern countries, but its overall objectives in the region are shared by the United States: a nuke-free Iran, a stable Afghanistan and peace between Israel and the Palestinians.The methods for reaching those goals may not track with those preferred by the United States, but that's no reason to blow up the partnership.Turkey is a secular democracy ruled by the Justice and Development Party, a moderate Islamic party that has won in open elections since 2002. The government in Ankara embraces the free market and is backed by an undeniably pro-American military.North Texas has been the beneficiary of Turkish support for the U.S. defense industry for decades. Lockheed Martin-produced F-16s make up the bulk of the Turkish air forces. And Turkey has been a member of the joint strike fighter international coalition from the get-go. Turkey joined Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom as one of the original eight countries to sign on to the fighter program.In 2006, Turkey committed to buying 100 of the fifth-generation stealth fighters to replace its aging legacy fleet of F-16s. Sales of the F-35 to Turkey could exceed $10 billion over the life of the program. In the meantime, Turkey spent $1.1 billion to upgrade and modernize existing planes and another $2 billion to buy 30 Advanced Block 50 F-16s.As recently as Jan. 5, Turkish defense officials approved a deal with Lockheed Martin to buy the first two production F-35As. At the same time, Turkish officials announced they would start contract talks with Bell Helicopter Textron to purchase 15 helicopters for the country's police force.How sad that the Texas governor, who is quick to tout his job-growth acumen, is willing to jeopardize so many for the sake of a handful of primary votes that aren't going to salvage his faltering campaign.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
