© AFP 2015/ JOHN THYS
The downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber by the Turkish air force will hardly be the last act of provocation by Ankara, so NATO should kick Turkey out of the alliance, Vallely said.
He believes that the attack on the Russian aircraft had nothing to do with protecting national borders. It was aimed at demonstrating to Russia that Turkey is the dominant power in the region and that it's not going to give ground. The president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been involved in the conflict in the area for quite some time, and this incident isn't the first of its kind: a few years ago Turkey shot down a Syrian jet.
According to Vallely, the Su-24 incident was a clear provocation. And since Turkey seeks to control the situation in the region and lays claim to being a regional leader, it is going to continue to commit provocative actions in the future.
NATO should consider this incident a red flag, the retired Major General stressed. Turkey unilaterally made a decision to down a Russian plane and showed that it is not going to agree its actions with the alliance. This has been Ankara's policy for a long time.
Comment: It's quite possible that Turkey was not actually responsible for downing the Russian jet. Aside from that, saying that Turkey 'acted unilaterally' and that this has been its policy for a 'long time' skillfully avoids the fact that Washington/NATO have been using terrorism to shape Turkey (and the entire region) for decades. Beginning with Gladio and evolving into similar assets, Washington has crafted Turkey's foreign policy and coerced Turkey's politicians so much that it's safe to say that nothing big occurs there without the US' approval - especially the creation of mercenary armies that serve Washington's interests.
"They want to recreate their own Ottoman Empire to a great degree, and of course Erdogan is moving more towards a controlled Islamic State [ISIL]. So they have the wrong agenda there in Turkey and that's what they are following", — Vallely noted.
NATO member states should build up steam and push Turkey out of the alliance, because Ankara is not "cooperating against ISIS, not cooperating at all with some of the forces inside of Syria, they want to see Assad removed or replaced by another government," Vallely said.
Turkey only uses NATO when it needs something and tries to benefit from the membership as much as it can. The country gets operational guides, techniques, new weapons and equipment, new tactics and strategies. Yet Erdogan continues to pursue only his own interests, he argued.
The incident is not a good omen for Europe, or for the Middle East, or for NATO, Vallely concluded.
In spite of the valid points made by Vallely (and in SOTT's comments), Turkey is in no danger of being kicked out of NATO. The fact that it provides military bases and staging capability for military assets in proximity to the areas that the US insists on meddling in guarantees that the US will tolerate virtually any untoward actions by Turkey in exchange for those "benefits". Not only that, but it is highly likely that Turkey's actions (supporting ISIS, saber-rattling with Russia, etc., etc.) are done with full support/approval/assistance of the US gov't, anyway.
Besides, the US (and other nations) have a long history of supporting and co-operating with villainous and/or otherwise unsavory regimes/leaders so long as they are "on our side" and serve the interests of our gov't policies. (N.B.: Interests of our gov't policies do NOT necessarily equate to US national interests.)