Perry Slammed by Turkey for Saying Nation Led by Terrorists
Turkey’s government condemned
Republican presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry
for saying the country is ruled by “Islamic terrorists” and
should possibly be kicked out of NATO.
U.S. presidential candidates should be “more knowledgeable
about the world and more careful in their statements,” the
Turkish Foreign Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today.
“Turkey was a NATO member when the governor was a mere two
years old.”
The Republican Party, where Perry is vying to become its
candidate to challenge President Barack Obama, doesn’t employ
the governor’s “unfortunate” views, Turkey said. Perry’s
“weak” support in primaries shows the common sense of the U.S.
electorate, according to the statement.
“Many would perceive” Turkey to be run by Islamic
terrorists, Perry said in the first of two Republican Party
primary debates in South Carolina yesterday. Some view Turkey’s
leadership as terrorist because of their support for Hamas and
the Gaza flotilla, Perry advisor Victoria Coates said, according
to ABC television.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan drew criticism
from U.S. Republicans in 2010 after supporting an attempt to
break Israel’s sea blockade of the Gaza Strip. Nine Turkish
activists were killed by Israeli soldiers. He also hosted
leaders of Palestinian group Hamas, recognized as terrorists by
the U.S. and European Union. Erdogan, whose party is rooted in
an Islamic movement ousted from power by a military-led campaign
in 1997, says he is seeking to boost democracy in Turkey,
including religious freedoms, as the country pursues membership
of the EU.
“Not only is it time for us to have a conversation about
whether or not they belong to be in NATO, but it’s time for the
United States, when we look at their foreign aid, to go to zero
with it,” Perry said.
South Carolina holds its primary on Jan. 21. Perry came in
fifth in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 with 10 percent of the vote
after once holding the lead in national opinion polls. He
finished sixth in New Hampshire on Jan. 10 with less than 1
percent of the vote.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Emre Peker in Ankara at
epeker2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrew J. Barden at
barden@bloomberg.net
<!—->