With Biden visit, U.S. seeks balance with truculent Turkey

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS | Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:50am EDT

With Biden visit, U.S. seeks balance with truculent Turkey

By Jeff Mason and Humeyra Pamuk | WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL

When U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Turkey in January, he struck a difficult balance between showing support for a NATO ally faced with multiple security threats while criticizing its record on free speech and dissent.

Now, with relations between Washington and Ankara going through one their testiest periods in recent memory, he may find it even tougher to get those dual messages across when he visits on Wednesday.

Biden will be the most senior U.S. official to visit Turkey since the failed July 15 coup, when a group of rogue soldiers tried to overthrow the government and killed at least 240 people.

Turkey says the failed putsch was orchestrated by the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for 17 years. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called on the United States to extradite Gulen.

Washington has yet to do so, saying it needs clear evidence. That has angered Erdogan and sparked an outpouring of anti-Americanism from pro-government media.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-turkey-idUSKCN10Y1HY

[bobGandolf]

1. America should NOT be harboring him.

The last we need is to get Turkey upset with us. They have been a staunch supporter of ours.


We should tell Fethullah Gulen he needs to find another place to live, and give a month's notice for him to leave.