How Senator Robert Menendez Changes the U.S.-Turkish relations: He protects the reputation of the U.S. President

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By ALEXANDER DRIVAS, Strategic Analyst

Robert Menendez is the leading posture in the U.S. Congress. Paul Sarbanes would be proud of Robert Menendez because he is running a tight ship in the context of U.S. foreign policy.

Of course, the whole Hellenism owes a lot to the Senator of New Jersey, but his work is quite more effective for U.S. foreign policy. Frankly speaking, Senator Menendez changes the stipulations of U.S.-Turkish relations.

According to Professor of Columbia Sestanovich, U.S. foreign policy has comprised some contradictions. One of them is that the U.S. does too little and too late or too much and too long. Washington’s policy toward Turkey is an excellent example of behavior that has its origins in the traditional reluctance of the U.S. to be engaged in world politics.

• In addition, Edward Luttwak had also stressed before Sestanovich that the U.S. suffers from a lack of identification on who is a “friend” and who is an “enemy”. However, American Exceptionalism, when it comes to how human and democratic values affect U.S. foreign policy, is alive and kicking because of politicians like Robert Menendez. Turkey has been blackmailing the U.S. almost for 20 years.

It was in 2003 when Turkey prohibited the trespass of the American military into Iraq. That decision had a severe cost for the U.S. After Turkey was at the center of American strategic planning in the Greater Middle East, the AKP government adopted the idea that Washington needs more Turkey than every other state in the region (including Israel). President Obama was a victim of that kind of American dependency on Turkey.

Many years before the coup of 2016 failed in Turkey, Morton Abramowitz and Henri Barkey had warned the U.S. via analyses on Carnegie Endowment for the substantial asymmetry regarding U.S.-Turkish relations. They stressed that Erdogan truly believed that Turkey is more important to the U.S. and Ankara could be less dependent on Washington. An extremely obscure argument. Unfortunately, in the U.S. there were (and still are) echoes from the past.

A part of the establishment strongly believes in the myth that Turkey desires to spread. That Turkey is “irreplaceable”. Many articles and analyses have as their central argument that the U.S. has lost Iran and Pakistan, therefore, Washington couldn’t afford a loss of Turkey. Adopting such a policy was a blessing for Erdogan, who ruined the special relationship with Israel and claimed that Turkey is a separate pole in world affairs.

Moreover, he invaded almost everywhere (Syria, Libya, Northern Iraq and augmented the barbaric occupation of Cypriot territory). The appeasing group in the State Department, however, had the view of the depressive record of Turkey and continued to do nothing to stop Turkey from being a rogue state.

So, Erdogan purchased the S-400 from Russia. The risk that he took was under the AKP’s mindset when it comes to U.S.-Turkish relations. Turkey strongly believed that strategic cooperation with Moscow couldn’t have severe consequences. Max Boot and Richard Haass of CFR had warned again in 2019 of Turkish aggressiveness and called for the necessity that the U.S. could settle some new rules to deter Turkey from maintaining the rogue behavior.

Back in 2016, President Obama was the major eyewitness to his own mistakes in Turkey. Erdogan blamed the U.S. foreign policy for the failed coup of July 2016. The anti-Americanism was now a pillar of Turkish internal and external policies. Senator Robert Menendez, in his latest interview with Hellas Journal and Michail Ignatiou, set a compelling new agenda for Turkey. Being President of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senator Menendez unfolded the American Exceptionalism that follows rules and values.

According to Menendez, Turkey should solve a series of issues, including the S-400, the special relationship between Ankara, the violations that Turkey conducts against Greece, and the profound disrespect for human rights in Turkey. He separated the profit from the values and he reminded Turkey that it has much to do in order to achieve the wishful purchase of upgraded F-16.

The amendment supported by Chris Pappas of New Hampshire passed from the House and the procedure brings the amendment of NDAA 2023 to the Senate. Robert Menendez turned over the table of the U.S. -Turkish relations and now Turkey should take the steps to approach the U.S. if it genuinely wants to gain profits.

In the era that the alliances will be challenged, leaders such as Robert Menendez should drive the train of foreign policy. Turkey is already under CAATSA sanctions and selling to Erdogan the F-16 could be used as a window of opportunity for new blackmail toward the U.S. Erdogan is needy for the F-16 because he has a plan to connect this purchase with a Turkish return in F-35 coproduction.

The domino effect that Menendez causes with his leading stance will probably drive Erdogan to reveal to everyone in the U.S. what he truly is. More blackmailing of Sweden and Finland means that the ongoing conversation on whether Turkey should be a member of NATO will further deepen and the elections in Turkey are approaching.

There is no doubt that the AKP will try to blackmail the U.S. by closing Russia in order to purchase more Russian military equipment. This is something that could provoke more sanctions under CAATSA.

Finally, Robert Menendez gives tremendous aid to the U.S. foreign policy in order to identify which state is an “ally” and which is not, as Luttwak once stressed. At the same time, the Senator of New Jersey protects the reputation of the POTUS from being blackmailed by a brutal dictator who accuses him of the failed coup of July 2016.

Greek-American Leaders Lobby US Policymakers: F-16’s to Turkey and Turkish Occupation of Cyprus on the Agenda