The Turkish Daily News is reporting that Prime Minister Erdogan will meet George Bush at the White House on October 2. The date comes after furious lobbying by both Erdogan and the State Department. After all, Erdogan’s the elected leader of a NATO country, so why not?
Two reasons: His embrace of Hamasand his excuses for al-Qaeda. In February, Erdogan shocked Turkish officials by inviting Hamas hardline Khalid Mashaal to Ankara. Erdogan gave the terrorist leader the legitimacy he craved. Then, there has been the issue of Yasin al-Qadi, an al-Qaeda financier as defined by the US Treasury Department and the United Nations. When the Turkish press revealed this summer that Erdogan’s top advisor Cuneyd Zapsu donated money to al-Qadi, Erdogan gave a personal endorsement of al-Qaeda’s money man. Imagine how the Turks would react if Karl Rove gave money to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and, rather than condemn Kurdish terrorism, Bush defended Ocalan?
Erdogan, his party likely to lose seats in the coming election, wants a photo op. Shouldn’t we reserve these photo ops for allies? If Erdogan still wants to come, let him meet with the 9-11 families. Maybe he can explain why it’s okay his top aid gives money to an al-Qaeda front charity.