President-elect Donald Trump condemned Biden administration plea deals with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 bombings, and two of his co-defendants that would enable them to escape the death penalty. Only when the families reacted with outrage did Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin backtrack. It may be too late. Earlier this month, a military judge reinstated the deals, saying Austin waited too long to void them.
Trump may be friendly with Saudi Arabia, but he does not whitewash the kingdom’s past role in terrorism. In June, Trump agreed to declassify the 9/11 files in their entirety, even those that might embarrass Saudi Arabia. Trump may understand Saudi complicity in extremism and terrorism, but if Trump really recognized the lessons of pre-9/11 failure to confront Saudi-sponsored radicalism, he should recognize its parallels today.
On Nov. 13, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan severed diplomatic relations with Israel. It was expected.
Saudi Arabia was a pillar of U.S. Cold War strategy. Every president, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush, understood Saudi Arabia promoted radical Islamist terrorism, but a generation of scholars, generals, and diplomats rationalized Saudi behavior. Academics spoke of the compact between the royal family and the clergy, confusing description with justification. The Pentagon valued Saudi cooperation. Saudi willingness to both buy multibillion-dollar platforms such as the AWACS radar plane and to tailor-make airfields to accommodate U.S. forces endeared it to defense professionals. Ambassadors who served in Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, effectively became its foreign agents after they retired as they leveraged their connections into consulting gigs.
Alas, while Trump differentiates between 20th-century Saudis and his partners in the kingdom today, too many policymakers in Trump’s orbit remain blind that U.S. apologia and denial about Turkey’s terrorist ties mirror the pre-9/11 blindness to Saudi terrorism ties. They have become the 21st-century equivalent of those who excused Saudi radicalism in the late 20th century. What Saudi Arabia was to 20th-century terrorism and extremism, Turkey is today.
On Nov. 13, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan severed diplomatic relations with Israel. It was expected. Turkey today is the second most hostile regime to Israel and Jews after Iran. The chief difference between the two? Iranians do not agree with their government’s antisemitism. Turks do.
Erdogan is open about his Hamas support. With Qatar expelling Hamas leadership against the backdrop of their bad-faith approach to hostage negotiation, Turkey could be Hamas’s next headquarters. Hamas not only receives Turkish financial support and safe haven, but Erdogan also allows it to plan terrorist operations from Turkish territory. Nor is Hamas alone. The Islamic State, Chechen rebels, Al-Shabaab, and Kashmiri terrorist groups all find Turkey-friendly territory.
Trump must recognize the only difference between Turkey today and pre-9/11 Saudi Arabia is that Turkey arms Islamists while it aspires to be a nuclear power.
Islamism is rife in Turkey. According to Turkey’s own interior ministry, the murder rate of women inside Turkey has increased by 1,400% as the country’s religious conservatives conclude they can conduct honor crimes with impunity. Child marriage is an epidemic. While Erdogan rails and spins wild conspiracy theories about dissident cleric Fethullah Gulen, the root of the rivalry is religious rather than political: Gülen represents a homegrown, mystical Islamist vision, while Erdogan is a hardcore Muslim Brotherhood acolyte. As Erdogan has confiscated Gulenist schools and property, he has transformed them into engines to spread his own radicalization.
Within Washington, alas, it’s déjà vu all over again. As they pursue grants and access, scholars at American think tanks and universities ignore Turkey’s history of genocide, promotion of radicalism, and academic purges. The Pentagon ignores Turkey’s support for its enemies because it fears losing access to the Incirlik Air Base. Many diplomats, meanwhile, see Ankara as a new gravy train. They pretend Turkey is secular when the opposite is true.
Trump cares about his legacy. He sees himself as a leader who refuses to allow conventional wisdom to define him or officials with their own individual or bureaucratic agendas to limit him. Perhaps then, he should recognize that preserving American security means not only confronting China but also tackling those who would strike America down due to religious hatred. He must recognize the only difference between Turkey today and pre-9/11 Saudi Arabia is that Turkey arms Islamists while it aspires to be a nuclear power.
