Dear Senator Cardin,
As an individual who values and respects your dedication to justice and the rule of law, I am reaching out to articulate my apprehensions regarding our administration’s decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
I am sure that you are aware of Turkey’s appalling human rights record, aggressiveness toward its neighbors, the continuing occupation of Northern Cyprus, and its double game in the war in Ukraine. Ankara also bought S-400 missiles from Russia, supports Iran and terrorist organizations, including ISIS and Hamas. I will not delve any further into these issues.
It would be highly inappropriate and an insult to the values we stand for and the efforts and sacrifices we make in the Ukraine war to provide F-16s to the Turkish regime. Providing military support to a government with such a truck record would contradict the commitment of both Congress and President Biden to uphold democracy and international law. It would betray America’s true allies in the eastern Mediterranean, as it would have detrimental implications for their security. It will send the wrong message that the Turks can coerce the United States and get away with it.
Finally, such a decision would run afoul of American laws that explicitly prohibit the sale of weapons to nations deploying them in attacks against other states. This legal framework is in place to ensure that the United States upholds a responsible and ethical stance in international arms transactions. Providing F-16s to a country with a history of aggressive actions would undermine these legal safeguards and compromise the integrity of our commitment to promoting peace and stability worldwide.
I urge you, therefore, to oppose this sale. It has never been in the interests of the United States to support autocrats, human rights violators, and aggressors.
The United States, a nuclear and economic powerhouse, must decisively counter Turkey’s attempts at extortion and opposition to Western interests and values. It is nonsensical to continue to support and appease the detrimental Turkish government under the guise of curbing the expansion of other perilous regimes.
Sincerely,
Tony Antoniou
Queens, New York