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Lockheed Martin CEO Predicts $100 Billion Increase in NATO Defense Spending (LMT) Investopedia The influence of President Donald Trump is forcing NATO member nations to increase their defense spending, said Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) CEO Marillyn Hewson in a conversation with CNBC. (See also: European NATO Members Increase Defense ... Lockheed Martin CEO is seeing a 'Trump effect' as NATO members boost defense spendingCNBC all 50 news articles »

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Lockheed Martin CEO Predicts $100 Billion Increase in NATO Defense Spending (LMT) - Investopedia

Russia may be supplying Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, the top US commander in Europe has said.

Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, who is also Nato's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told a senate hearing he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing.

"I've seen the influence of Russia of late increased influence in terms of association and perhaps even supply to the Taliban," Mr Scaparotti said.

It comes after Taliban fighters captured the strategic district of Sangin in the southern Afghan province of Helmand after security forces pulled out, officials said.

Helmand, which accounts for the bulk of Afghanistan's billion dollar opium crop, is already largely in the hands of the Taliban but the capture of Sangin, where USand British forces once suffered heavy casualties, underlines their growing strength in the south.

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Russia may be supplying Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, says Nato Supreme Commander - The Independent

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U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Germany over its lack of military spending Saturday, and figures show the countryhas contributed $209.7 billion below the 2 percent of GDP required of NATO members since 2009.

Trump said Germany owes NATO and the U.S. vast sums of money for defense in a series of tweets following his Friday meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen quicklyrejected the claim, saying, There is no account where debts are registered with NATO.

While NATO doesnt keep a debt account for each member state, and the 2 percent pledge wasnt agreed upon until 2014, the alliance loses more$20 billion in German military spending each year.

The total gross domestic product in Germany since the start of 2009 is approximately $28.5 trillion, according to NATO figures. During these eight years, Germany spent about $359.8 billion on its military. The average defense expenditure per year is around 1.27 percent of total GDP.

If Germany met NATOs 2 percent target each year, it wouldhave racked up $569.5 billion since 2009, leaving a $209.7 billion gap in funding.

Defense Expenditure in million U.S. dollars (2010 prices and exchange rates)

Germany is far from alone.Out of the alliances 28 members, just five meet the spending goal. (RELATED: When The NATO Bill Hits The Table, These Are The Countries Who Hesitate To Reach For The Wallet)

Von der Leyen recently called on NATO to revise itsspending criteria and instead measure contributions through an activity index.

Participation in NATO operations and contributions in personnel and hardware are examples of areas where Germany suggests countries can make up for a lack of defense spending while still meeting their obligations.

The Merkel administrationhas made a recent push to revitalize the German military and fulfill its NATO obligations, announcing a number of new defense initiatives with France, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania and the Czech Republic.

Obligations have to be fulfilled, Merkel said at a campaign rally Feb. 25. And, others in the world will demand that of us. And, I think theyre right that Germany must uphold its obligations.

The German army hopes to add 5,000 soldiers by 2024, but the increase would only cost $1.03 billion extra per year.

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If Germany Did Actually Owe NATO, The Amount Would Be Staggering [Graph] - Daily Caller

Sen. Rand PaulRand PaulHealthcare fight pits Trump against Club for Growth GOP rep: Trump could be 'one-term president' if healthcare bill passes Overnight Defense: Pentagon chief urges Congress to approve budget boost | Senate fight over NATO addition MORE is drawing the ire of his colleagues by being the lone holdout on a treaty allowing Montenegro to have membership in NATO.

The Kentucky Republican says it is in the United States best interest to keep the small Eastern European country out of the alliance, but some of his colleagues think he is playing a leverage game with Senate leadership.

Tensions surrounding the issue boiled over on the Senate floor last week when Paul blocked Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCainJohn McCainFortune's 'Greatest Leaders' list includes Samantha Bee, snubs Trump McCain: Nunes's actions 'very disturbing' McCain calls North Korean leader a 'crazy, fat kid' MORE (R-Ariz.) from bringing up a vote on the treaty.

Paul responded a day later, calling the 80-year-old McCain unhinged.

I think he makes a really, really strong case for term limits, Paul said Thursday on MSNBC. I think maybe he's past his prime.

Pauls office also released a statement that said it is unwise to allow Montenegro into NATO because it would add to Americas military burden.

Currently, the United States has troops in dozens of countries and is actively fighting in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen (with the occasional drone strike in Pakistan), his office wrote following McCains accusation. In addition, the United States is pledged to defend 28 countries in NATO. It is unwise to expand the monetary and military obligations of the United States given the burden of our $20 trillion debt.

One Republican senator who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Paul blocked the treaty because he wants a floor vote on the 2016 authorization for use of military force (AUMF) that former President Obama used to launch the ongoing military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Paul has spoken out at length about the need to review, reform or repeal the AUMF, which allows the president to decide how and when to go to war with another nation with little congressional input or involvement.

Hes always been isolationist against anything the United States has ever done, the senator said. Theres a certain element in the Republican Party that is very isolationist, Im sure hes representing that.

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben CardinBen CardinRand Paul roils the Senate with NATO blockade Lawmakers want Trump commitment to help Iraq post-ISIS Trump's budget revealed his priorities. Now the fun begins. MORE (Md.), told The Hill that Paul held up the NATO vote to get something considerable."

Cardin who had joined McCain on the floor to push for a debate and vote on the treaty before Paul blocked the measure said his fellow senators are upset with the stall tactics.

He added that Paul was in talks with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob CorkerBob CorkerRand Paul roils the Senate with NATO blockade Lawmakers want Trump commitment to help Iraq post-ISIS Trump needs a united front to win overseas MORE (R-Tenn.) to work out a compromise on the issue.

Corkers office did not respond to request for comment.

Reuters reported Tuesday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the Senate to vote on ratifying Montenegro as a NATO member in a letter to leadership dated March 7.

He called for a floor vote on the issue before a NATO summit in a few months.

"Montenegro's participation in the May NATO Summit as full member, not as an observer, will send a strong signal of transatlantic unity," Tillerson wrote. "It is strongly in the interests of the United States that Montenegro's membership in NATO be ratified.

Montenegro, a tiny nation north of Greece in the Balkans, has attempted to join NATO for more than seven years. The move has the support of the Pentagon and State Department, as well 25 of the 28 NATO member nations, as Russia has attempted to hold sway in the country in the last several years.

The issue came up again Tuesday during a Senate Armed Services Hearing, when former NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow testified that Russia sponsored an armed coup d'etat in Montenegro last year to derail the country's accession to NATO.

Vershbow said allowing Montenegro into the alliance would set an example that countries that do their do their homework, meet the criteria, contribute to stability in their neighborhood can become members of NATO, even if they don't bring a huge amount of defense capability to the alliance.

McCain, who spoke to The Hill following the hearing, said Pauls delay remains severely unhelpful as far as the situation is concerned.

Despite the frustration, one lawmaker said it is not all in Pauls hands to block the treaty.

Sen. Chris MurphyChris MurphyRand Paul roils the Senate with NATO blockade Lawmakers want Trump commitment to help Iraq post-ISIS Ten years later, House Dems reunite and look forward MORE (D-Conn.) suggested it was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellMitch McConnellMcConnells gambit to save the Supreme Court paid off Overnight Healthcare: High drama for ObamaCare vote | Freedom Caucus chair 'optimistic' about deal | Trump woos right High drama for ObamaCare vote MORE (R-Ky.) who was stalling the vote and called the idea that Paul alone was stopping Montenegros NATO treaty fiction.

Theres no rule that says NATO enlargement needs 100 votes, so bring it up for a debate, Murphy told The Hill. McConnell doesnt need to give [Paul] anything. He is stopping Montenegro from joining NATO because all he has to do is schedule a vote. It would take a day, maybe. Schedule a vote, get this done with, itll be 99 to 1.

A spokesman for McConnell said the senator is supportive of Montenegro joining NATO and has not scheduled a debate on the issue because it requires all 100 senators to consent.

But Murphy disagreed.

Every day that the Senate doesnt act on adding Montenegro to NATO is a gift to the Russians, Murphy said. So schedule a vote and stop blaming it on Rand Paul.

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Rand Paul roils the Senate with NATO blockade - The Hill

NATO's top general is siding with Sen. John McCain in a spat over whether the U.S. should vote to allow the tiny country of Montenegro to joint the alliance.

U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who is NATO's supreme military commander, testified Thursday that it was "absolutely crucial" that Montenegro be granted NATO membership.

"If we were to lose this, it would set back many of the other countries, and people, particularly in eastern Europe that are looking forward to, and have their eyes set on the West," Scaparrotti said

McCain is in a public and acrimonious fight with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who objects to Montenegro's bid to join NATO, and is blocking an expedited Senate vote that would add the U.S. to the 26 NATO nations supporting Montenegro's bid to join the 28-nation alliance.

"There has to be the thought whether or not it's in our national interest to pledge to get involved with a war if Montenegro has an altercation with anyone," Paul said on MSNBC last week. "Whenever there's a war fought, our soldiers fight it and our dollars pay for it. And so the 45 soldiers that Montenegro has I think are hardly an asset to our national security," Paul said.

"Our decisions need to be about our national security, and so I just don't think it enhances our national security to have Montenegro part of NATO."

Paul's legislative maneuver, which would force a time-consuming roll call vote, infuriated McCain last week, who then berated Paul on the Senate floor.

"That is really remarkable that a senator, blocking a treaty that is supported by the overwhelming number, perhaps 98, at least, of his colleagues, would come to the floor and object and walk away," McCain said, then adding a final zinger, "The senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin,"

Paul responded to McCain's vitriol in the MSNBC interview the next day. "I think he makes a really, really strong case for term limits," Paul said. "I think maybe he's past his prime; I think maybe he's gotten a little bit unhinged."

Also from the Washington Examiner

GOP lawmaker said there was a 50-50 chance of a vote coming up Thursday night or early Friday morning.

By Robert King, Nicole Duran

03/23/17 1:22 PM

Scaparrotti testified Thursday that Putin, who opposes Montenegro's membership, has already told his inner circle that while he may have lost Montenegro, "there won't be another one."

Amid questions about whether the Trump administration would stand up to Moscow, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a letter to Senate leaders this month saying that admitting Montenegro is "strongly in the interests of the United States."

Tillerson called for the Senate to act before the NATO summit in May so that Montenegro may take a seat as a full member.

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NATO general sides with John McCain against Rand Paul over Montenegro - Washington Examiner

FBI Director James Comey says the FBI and Justice Department have no information to substantiate President Donald Trump's claims that former President Barack Obama wiretapped him before the election. (March 20) AP

China's President Xi Jinping, left, meets Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Beijing on March 19.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Rex Tillersonwill travel to Russia next month for a visit that comes as the FBI confirmed this week it is investigating whether there was any coordinationbetween the Kremlin and President Trump's 2016 election campaign.

The purpose of the visit is not clear.

Tillerson's expected itinerary means he will be in Russia at a time when Trumpassociates are being scrutinized for any links to alleged Kremlin-sponsored cyberattacks during the presidential campaign as well as alleged meetings between the Russian government and Trump campaign officials.

The State Department said late Monday Tillerson would hold "meetings"in Russia directly after attendingGroup of Seven talksin Italy in early April.

He isalso expected to beat Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida whenChinese President Xi Jinping visits on April 6-7.

Tillerson is liked by President Vladimir Putinand has years of experience working with the Russian government from his time workingas a top executive at ExxonMobil. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the U.S. intelligence committee that heard FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony on Monday about alleged Russian ties was "confused."

"They (investigators) are trying to find confirmation of their own conclusions but cant find either proof or confirmation and are going round in circles," he said.

Tillerson's Russia visitalso means he will skip a NATO foreign ministers' summiton April 5-6. The NATO summit in Brussels would have been Tillerson's first as secretary of State. His decision to stay away could be interpreted as a snub to the international defense organization that Trump maintains U.S. allies are not doing enough, financially, to support and that Trumphas called "obsolete."

Following talks Fridaywith Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said Germany "owes vast sums of money to NATO," an allegation the European power rejected.Only 5 out of 28 NATO nations meetthe alliance's goal of2% GDP defense spending. Germany spent1.19% last year, but has argued for a broader definition of spending.

"Defense spending also goes into our United Nationspeacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution to the fight against (Islamic State)terrorism," German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Sunday, adding that there "is no debt account at NATO."

It is common practice for the U.S. secretary of State to attend NATO summits.

The State Department said Tom Shannon, an undersecretary of state, would attend the meeting at NATO headquarters in Tillerson's absence.

NATO said that all allies are represented at ministerial meetings and that it was up to each NATO member to determine at what level they are represented. It also pointed out thatNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was due to meet with Tillerson in Washington on Wednesday as part of planned counter-Islamic Statetalks.

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Tillerson to visit Russia, skip NATO meeting - USA TODAY

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A plane carrying more than 50 French soldiers has arrived at the Amari Air Base in Estonia.

The arrival marks the beginning of the deployment of nearly 300 French troops to the British-led multinational NATO battalion.

France is contributing tanks, vehicles and artillery.

First, we are expecting to train our inter-operability with the British Army and the Estonian Army to improve our level, said Colonel Michel De Mesmay. It is the reason why we come here with a lot of equipment such as the Maiden battle tank and infantry fighting vehicles in order to carry out a robust training.

Welcomethe arrivalof British troopsin #Estonia Findout more about #NATOs strengtheneddeterrence& defencehttps://t.co/PlkylOBzx5 pic.twitter.com/dLm036yMg3

UK troopshave arrivedin Estonia, underscoringcommitment#NATO & collective defence& deterrencehttps://t.co/y1nTo3jO1Q #GlobalBritain pic.twitter.com/knpYs46Ugj

More than 200 UK troops arrived in the country on Friday.

A US-led battalion of more than 1,100 soldiers will be deployed in Poland from the start of April. The alliance is setting up a new force in response to Moscows 2014 annexation of Crimea.

This is a mission, not a cycle of training events, US Army Lt. Colonel Steven Gventer told a news conference. The purpose is to deter aggression in the Baltics and in Poland..we are fully ready to be lethal.

The plan is being implemented as Western powers try for a peace settlement in eastern Ukraine.

The battle group in northeastern Poland will be one of four multinational formations across the Baltic region.

It will consist of:

The UK, Canada and Germany are leading the other three battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which are due to be operational by June.

They will have support from a host of NATO nations, including France.

In total, around 4,000 NATO troops will monitor for and defend against any potential Russian incursions.

Seeking to avoid stationing troops permanently on Russias borders, the NATO force across the Baltics and Poland can rely on a network of eight small NATO outposts in the region, regular training exercises and a much larger force of 40,000 alliance troops in the event of an attack.

We are not the entirety of NATOs response, said US Army Major Paul Rothlisberger, part of the US-led battalion based in Orzyz, 220 kilometres northeast of Warsaw.

The alliance wants to show the ex-Soviet countries in NATO that they are protected from being annexed like the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

It also wants to avoid a return to the Cold War, when the US had an estimated 300,000 service personnel stationed in Europe and also stick to a 1997 agreement with Moscow not to permanently station forces on the Russian border.

Moscow, which denies having any expansionist or aggressive agenda, accuses NATO of trying to destabilise central Europe.

It has responded by forming four new military divisions to strengthen its western and central regions and stepping up exercises.

Moscow has plans for large-scale war games near its western borders this year, but has not said how many troops will take part.

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NATO troops arrive in Estonia to deter "Russian aggression" - euronews

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke during a joint press conference with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House.

BERLIN (AP) Chancellor Angela Merkel is underlining Germanys rejection of a claim by President Donald Trump that it owes NATO large sums for underspending on defense. She is also pointing to a history of decades of post-World War II military restraint.

Trump tweeted Saturday that Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO. Germany is short of a NATO target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, with the figure currently at 1.23 percent.

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Merkel said Monday defense spending is not just about contributions to NATO, but also about European contributions in Africa for example, U.N. missions. She added: Not a single NATO member state pays its entire defense budget into NATO.

Merkel said that defense spending cant be uncoupled from historical developments from one day to the next.

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Merkel disputes Trump's NATO debt claim - The Boston Globe

FBI Director James Comey also said the FBI has "no information" that supports Trumps unsubstantiated claims that President Obama tapped Trumps phones in Trump Tower during the election.

James Comey: "With respect to the presidents tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components: The department has no information that supports those tweets."

During the hearing, the director of the National Security Agency, Michael Rogers, also refuted President Trumps claims that President Obama asked the British intelligence agency GCHQ to carry out the wiretap on Trump Tower. This is Rogers being questioned by California Democratic Congressmember Adam Schiff.

Rep. Adam Schiff: "Now, the British allies, our British allies, have called the presidents suggestion that they wiretapped him for Obama 'nonsense' and 'utterly ridiculous.' Would you agree?"

Michael Rogers: "Yes, sir."

President Trump appears to have issued the unfounded claims that the British intelligence agency GCHQ carried out the alleged wiretap after watching a Fox News report last week. Fox has pulled its senior legal analyst Andrew Napolitano, who made the claims last week, off the air. Following the hearing, President Trump refused to heed mounting calls for him to apologize for his unsubstantiated claims that Obama tapped his phones. Instead, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the White House was still looking into the possibility of surveillance.

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Reuters: Tillerson to Skip April NATO Meeting, Then Head to Russia - Democracy Now!

Among NATOs most serious problems is Recip Erdogan, the president of Turkey. He is more than a political nuisance, because he threatens both the commitment of NATOs members to defend each other and the Westernized composition of the nation he leads.

In the last half of the 19th century, under the Ottoman Empires last caliph Abdulmejid, Turkey was known as the sick man of Europe. Abdulmejids government was corrupt, dissolute, and entirely vulnerable. That third element led to the Gallipoli Campaign, which, in 1915-1916, saw troops from Australia and New Zealand under British command thwarted in their attempt to land and seize control of the Dardanelles.

One Turkish officer, Mustafa Kemal, found himself at the center of the invasion force. His counterattacks and ability to hold ground were the reasons the invasion failed.

After the war, when the Ottoman Empire fell and Abdulmejids reign ended, Mustafa Kemal became the leader of Turkey who was not as much followed as worshiped. In 1934, Mustafa Kemal became known as Ataturk, father of Turks. He remade the Islamic Ottoman state into a secular, non-Islamic nation aimed at joining the Western world.

Eighty-three years later, Turkey is led by a man whose principal goal is the re-creation of the Turkish Islamic state, Recip Erdogan.

Erdogan is not a dictator imposed by a military coup (though Turkey has had its share of them). He is highly popular, despite his many despotic actions, primarily because the Turks seem to have forgotten the reason for Ataturks success.

If you examine Erdogans past, it is no surprise that he is an Islamist. Erdogan is the product of a Turkish imam-hatip school. These are Islamic religious schools that arent quite the madrassas weve heard so much about since 9/11, but they are much like them. The imam-hatip schools reserve 30 percent of their students time for religious instruction. They teach Sunni Islamic law Sharia law as the exclusive legitimate source of authority. Those schools teach the political ideology we refer to as radical Islam.

Erdogan repeatedly has made clear his allegiance to radical Islam again and again throughout his presidency. He became prime minister in 2002 and has ruled the country ever since. His presidency, which began in 2014, is about to be converted into a pseudo-caliphate by a constitutional referendum that will be voted on next month.

Since Ataturk, the Turkish army has had the duty of maintaining the secularism of the Turkish state. It has had its successes and failures, but as Ataturk recognized, Turkey cannot be an Islamic state and a Western ally. For decades, many (if not most) Turkish officers have been trained in the U.S. and England and have been assigned to officer exchange programs that enabled them to serve with American forces.

From Korea to Afghanistan, Turkish troops have been a strong presence in NATO deployments. Gradually, since 2002, Erdogan has been weeding out non-Islamists from the Turkish armed forces. Graduates of the imam-hatip schools werent permitted to become officers in the Turkish army, but that may soon change. Erdogan has said those schools are the hope of Turkey and the entire Muslim nation.

Last Julys attempted coup against Erdogan sealed the Turkish armys fate. Hundreds of non-Islamist senior officers were purged from the military. They and the journalists taken prisoner are among the more than 200,000 people arrested and (or) fired from their jobs in Erdogans response to the coup attempt.

Erdogans hopes lie in the referendum that will be voted on in April. Its likely to be approved by the voters. In sum, the constitutional amendments it contains concentrate all executive power in the president and extend his legal term in office for at least another decade.

The referendum has been the source of Turkeys recent conflict with Germany and Holland. About 1.5 million Turkish citizens live in Germany, but that doesnt count the numbers who have come as refugees in the past two years. Turks make up the largest alien population in Germany.

At least 400,000 Turks live in Holland. Again, that number doesnt reflect how many entered in the refugee floods of 2015-2016. All told, about four million ethnic Turks live in the EU nations.

Because those Turkish citizens can vote in the Turkish referendum, Erdogan is eager to get their votes. When he sent Turkish government representatives to hold rallies in Germany, several German cities wouldnt allow the rallies to be held. Erdogan said the Germans were behaving like Nazis.

Holland went further, banning two Turkish government ministers from entering the country to hold such rallies. Erdogan accused the Dutch of Nazi-like behavior.

Relations are worsening by the day between the EU nations almost all of which are NATO members and Turkey. Last year, the EU entered into an agreement with Turkey to stop the flow of refugees from the Middle East and Africa. The EU promised to grant visa-free travel to Turkish citizens, which it hasnt done based on Turkeys poor human rights record. Now, Erdogan is threatening to open the floodgates to another million or more refugees to enter the EU. He has threatened to send Europe 15,000 refugees every month.

Last month, in a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Erdogan held a joint press conference in which Merkel referred to Islamic terrorism. Erdogan, furious at her statement, insisted that Islam is peace.

Turkey has been in strategic and literal terms a cornerstone of NATO. But Erdogans actions have been entirely inconsistent with that role. He negotiated an agreement with Russias President Putin to build a gas pipeline to and through Turkey to reach back into Europe. Thats not nearly the worst of it.

For more than a year, Turkey has reportedly been quietly supporting ISIS. It may have supplied money, arms, and troops. Erdogan has sided with Russia and may have a pseudo-alliance with Putin to help keep Bashar al-Assad in power in Syria. Turkish forces have made attacks against ISIS, but they have concentrated their firepower more on the Kurdish forces with which we are allied.

Last week, Erdogan blocked military exercises with NATO partner nations. He is evidently willing to continue to escalate his conflicts with NATO, believing there will be no response, because he has the EU over a barrel on the refugee issue.

Also last week, the Turkish foreign minister, reacting to the Dutch election, said that holy wars will soon begin in Europe. Shortly after that, Erdogan gave a speech in which he discussed the EU court ruling that allows EU nations to ban the wearing of the Muslim hijab by women. He said, Shame on the EU. Down with your European principles, values and justice. They started a clash between the cross and the crescent, there is no other explanation.

The cross and the crescent reference was nothing less than an accusation that the EU was reviving the Crusades.

There is no provision in the NATO treaty that permits throwing a member nation out of NATO. Turkey no longer makes a pretense of being a democratic state. As the Islamic state it has become, it cannot coexist with democracies.

Erdogans Turkey has been, for decades, trying to join the EU. It has apparently given up trying and is now more an ally of Russia than part of NATO. That was made most clear, after the July coup when Erdogan cut off electricity to our Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey. Two months ago, Erdogans government hinted that he would shut the base down after we refused to support Turkish attacks in Syria.

Incirlik has been our key to the Middle East. Aircraft operating from there can quickly reach Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and pretty much the whole region. If Erdogan tried to shut the base down, it would be very tough to find another base location in the area, and it would cost billions to set it up to function as Incirlik does.

Threatening to cut off our foreign aid wont be effective because Turkey gets only about $200,000 a year from us. Its a trifle. Threatening Turkey could bring about a closer Turkish-Russian alliance.

What to do? President Trump has to make it clear to Erdogan that any further interference with Incirliks operations will not be tolerated.

Our leverage is not entirely limited. Mr. Trump can begin by turning up the rhetorical heat on Erdogan, saying that NATO cannot tolerate his failure to cooperate and urging the EU to keep the door closed to refugees. Erdogans threats to use the refugees as a weapon against NATO nations should be viewed as a breach of the NATO treaty.

At some point, Erdogans actions will be a clear breach of the EU treaty. Were not there yet, but Mr. Trump can and should hint that were thinking in those terms.

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Erdogan's Caliphate Threatens NATO - American Spectator