Turkey’s Erdoğan scores a pyrrhic victory in Washington

Source:Brookings blog Date:20Nov2019

The definite word on Erdogan’s confusing visit to Washington.  It is no victory. Let me add that Operation Peace Spring did not much reignite the nationalist spirit at home, either.  This is why Foreign Affairs Minister Cavusolgu may be drumming up a new military campaign.  At the threshold of a bitter-cold winter Erdogan is facing angry US-Russia and rising economist distress.

Equally important is the fact that Turkey now is part of the domestic impeachment debate in American politics. The Washington Post and the New York Times both ran deep-dive, front page stories questioning Trump’s investments in Turkey the day of Erdoğan’s visit to the White House. There is now pressure on Democrats to include Turkey, in addition to Ukraine, in the impeachment hearings. It was not lost that even John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor, suggested that the president’s reluctance to punish Erdoğan after the purchase of the S-400 system was motivated by personal or financial interests.