ANCA Joins Greek-Americans in Welcoming Senate Failure to Approve U.S. Taxpayer Give-away to Ankara
WASHINGTON—Despite the best efforts of Ankara’s allies in Washington, D.C. during the final hours of the Congressional session, the U.S. Senate refused to act Jan. 2 on a free give-away of advanced American naval vessels to Turkey. Earlier this week, the House had approved the controversial measure following a contentious debate, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“We join with our Greek-American friends in thanking Congressmen Engel, Sherman, Bilirakis, and Sarbanes for opposing this controversial measure giving away two guided missile frigates to an increasingly arrogant and antagonistic Turkey, and welcome the Senate’s decision to block efforts to ‘fast-track’ passage of this controversial measure in the final hours of the 112th Congress,” said Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the ANCA. “This most recent setback for Turkey reflects the growing bipartisan understanding on both sides of Capitol Hill about the real price America is paying for Turkey’s growing hostility to U.S. interests and allies. Ankara’s failure is yet another signal that the era of Turkey’s having a blank-check in Washington is over.”
In a letter circulated earlier this week on Capitol Hill, the ANCA stressed that “such a transfer would materially strengthen Ankara’s naval capabilities at a time when it is using its maritime fleet to aggressively challenge the right of Cyprus to explore its off-shore energy resources, and is seeking to obstruct the ability of Greece to protect its territorial waters.” The ANCA also emphasized that “transferring these vessels would also send a dangerous signal to Turkey’s leaders that our government endorses its military occupation of Cyprus, its increasingly belligerent stance toward Israel, its blockade of Armenia, its meddling in the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict resolution process, or, for that matter, its violations against the rights of Christians, Kurds, and other minorities.” The letter closed by noting, “Such material rewards and moral endorsements are neither warranted, nor constructive. In fact, they will work against our nation’s regional security interests.” The American Hellenic Institute, Hellenic American Leadership Council, and other Greek-American groups also weighed in against the transfer. Read the American Hellenic Institute letter to outgoing House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) by visiting http://ahiworld.com/pdfs/Ros-Lehtinen_Berman.pdf.
The U.S. House, on Dec. 31, considered this transfer as part of H.R.6649, a measure added to the “Suspension Calendar” under expedited procedures requiring a two-thirds vote. The House adopted H.R.6649 after considerable debate, including a defense of the legislation by Rep. Ros-Lehtinen and statements in opposition from Representatives Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the incoming Ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), and John Sarbanes (D-Md.). The absence of Senate action at the end of the 112th Congress will mean that any legislation authorizing such a transfer will need to be re-introduced for consideration by the 113th Congress.
Congressman Brad Sherman, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, opposed H.R.6649 both on its merits and on the process being used to secure its consideration in the final hours of the Congressional session. “Woodrow Wilson noted that Congress in committee is Congress at work,” he said. “Congress ignoring the committee process is a Congress that doesn’t work. This bill has not been the subject of hearing and, more importantly, a markup in the Foreign Affairs Committee. And in the dead of night, provisions to transfer two frigates to Turkey, a controversial provision, was added to this otherwise innocuous bill… Send this bill back to committee. Let us have a real discussion. Let us follow the rules, not suspend the rules, when we’re dealing with a matter of this importance to our foreign policy in the eastern Mediterranean.”
Congressman Engel, in his remarks, stressed, ” Some people say this should continue because, after all, Turkey is an ally and we need to help them. Well, I look at it the other way: They’re a NATO ally, so they have responsibility. And the way they’re acting has been anything but responsible. This is not an inconsequential or trivial matter.”
Representative Sarbanes, in his comments, remarked, “This is not a non-controversial bill. I know it’s being brought here on suspension as though it is, and I’m sure in the past when we’ve had these transfers of vessels, excess defense materials and so forth, often that is a non-controversial action to take. In this case, it’s anything but non-controversial, and I’m surprised, frankly, that the majority would bring the bill to the floor in this form.”
In his remarks, Rep. Bilirakis explained his opposition to H.R.6649, noting that “the Turkish Navy, as recently as last year, held naval live-fire exercises in the eastern Mediterranean. These provocative exercises took place near the natural gas fields of Israel and the Republic of Cyprus and threatened to disrupt peaceful and productive economic activity. Instead, Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that, in the eastern Mediterranean, Congress will continue to work to foster the relationships between the United States, Greece, Israel, and Cyprus in order to promote and foster issues of mutual, economic, and diplomatic importance.”
Congressional scrutiny of the proposed transfer of advanced naval vessels, which are described by the U.S. Navy as having been designed, among other missions, to support and protect amphibious landing forces, was heightened by Turkey’s record of aggression in neighboring littoral areas, most notably its 1974 invasion and ongoing military occupation of Cyprus, as well as its false claims to sovereign Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, and its regular incursions into both Greek and Cypriot territorial waters.
to be perfectly honest, USA wouldn’t give away this toy to Turkey or anyone else if the life time of this ship hadn’t been over. Turkey doesn’t need 30- 40 years old craps like this . I am sure this ship will still end up in the western coast of Turkey for being razor
Turkish navy has 17 frigates in service at present.
Frigate is the largest ship in their navy.
8 of those are Perry class, same as USS Thach.
apparently proud Muslim Turks are so desperate that they are forced to use Christian ships that are only good enough for melting into razors.
btw: the newer frigates in the Turkish navy were designed by Christian Germany. Some were assembled in Germany, some in Turkey.
proud Muslim Turks still living at the expense of Christian minds and industriousness.
btw2: proud, fierce Muslim Turks ran to their Christian Big brother NATO to beg for protections from………..Muslim Superpower Syria.
Correction,
John jan, I agree with your first statement, and to add to it: US can choose among more qualified NATO or other allies to have the honor of getting their hands on those big boys than Turkey for that matter. however, there must be a reason why DC Turkish loby wants charity support to obtain 30-40 years old American ships.
#1- they are still far better quality and advanced than the zeneth or other turkish reverse engineered copy cats. They can destroy almost all the Turkish copy cats still. And these functioning frigates could add quiet a bit of power to Turkish navy, both in black sea and mediteranean.
#2- they want to show their regional neighbors who is the boss and Turkey is a true NATO member, not just a non-middle eastern / non-european isolate.
#3- Turkey is not rich in minerals and metals and lacks the experties in steel or other metal production. They could salvage them for recycling.
#4- Turkish navy will be able to brag to Greeks and hrass their navy more often as they wish.
So, what is this outcome to DC Turkish heros and others who gave their best shot to bring American cold war industrial masterpieces to serve your VATAN?
Well, its one more failure among many in Turkey’s attempts to land a lottary in the global power map. Second, Frigates which might cost total of billions of dollars and be useful one way or the other if someone is smart enough to do so. Another, the attention seeking Turks have not got their Christmas gift and that means they have to wait another year for santa to read their list
“Proud Muslim Turks” have been using and abusing the system for decades now. Not our fault if the system allows us to take advantage of it. Don’t hate the player….
The so called advanced and industrious Turks can’t measure up to the global navy standards. Their reverse engineered weapons are comming off short.
This also is unusual for a country which claims to rival Iran is regional power and brags of their so called important role in NATO missions.
At least, Iran has the capability to send satellites to orbit. Thats a good progress given they went through 10 years of hell, fighting with Iraq, while Turkey had consistantly warless history since WWI ended. And Turkey had the benefit of European progress next door, without the isolation.
I guess Turkey is not the model nation for the collapsing middle eastern Arab societies and emerging new government to follow in order to promote democracy.
One more Turkish effort
What is this muslim turks or christian germany stuff? is this a joke?
Avery
I think that one of the job of ANCA will disappear in the near future because Turkey has already started to built its navy fleets. If you try to remember the past every time Turkey want to buy (not gift) a weapon from USA. The Armenian or Greek lobby was pressing the senate of USA not to sell these to Turkey but you do not hear this very often any more. Turkey fed up with this sort of attitude of USA and decided to develop its own technology. Remember that USA was reluctant to sell armed helicopters to Turkey. What happened in the end? Turkey is now producing armed helicopters with a blended technology of Italian, S. Korea and Italian so you basically have one less job to deal with. If the USA Army wants to get rid of these ships they can contact some scrapyards in Turkey the same as the British did see the link
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/4528483/Sad-end-for-Navys-former-flagship-HMS-Ark-Royal-which-is-to-be-turned-into-pots-pans-and-razor-blades.html
I read recently that Wahhabis never regard Turks as Muslims…!!!
in early 19th century Amir ‘Abd Allah, as head of the Wahhabi state, was sent for execution to Istanbul, although most of the political leaders were treated well. The empire was far more harsh with the religious leaders that inspired the Wahhabi movement. The execution of Sulayman ibn ‘Abd Allah and other religious notables reflects the resentment of these extremist views. Religious leaders were thought to be uncompromising in their beliefs and therefore a much bigger threat than political leaders. (Wikipedia)
John the Turk:
Turning a British scrap ship to razors has no connection to the USS Thach we are discussing.Can you factually refute what I wrote above about the Perry class frigates in the Turkish navy ? Yes or No.
And what do the USS Thach and Turkish navy have to do with what British do with their scrap ships ? Did I bring up what the Chinese navy does with their scrap iron ? Get real.
And your (subconscious) obsession with razors is quite unhealthy: might be a sign of some deep issue. Maybe the spirits of your butcher Turk ancestors are channeling through you their thirst for more Christian blood ? Maybe you need to see a specialist, for your own peace of mind.
Regarding: {“ Turkey is now producing armed helicopters…”}
Sure they are. I guess that is why they come begging for 3 old Cobras from US, because Turks have nothing better to do ?
[US to give super cobra helicopters to Turkey]
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=us-to-give-super-cobra-helicopters-to-turkey-2011-09-30
I will highlight the relevant sentence for you, boastfull Turk:
“Turkey had been asking for Super Cobras to replace the helicopters it lost during its campaign against the PKK.”
Q: why would a country that supposedly now produces armed helicopters, beg for 3 old design gunships from US ?
A: because Turkey is now Not producing armed helicopters.
Regarding: {“ Turkey fed up with this sort of attitude of USA and decided to develop its own technology”}
Let us take a closer look at what Turks themselves, living in Turkey not England like yourself, think how well that effort is going:
[The best Turkish airplane ever made] (by BURAK BEKDİL of Hurriyet)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-best-turkish-airplane-ever-made-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=24651&NewsCatID=398
Yeah, it is ‘Turkish’ alright: as ‘Turkish’ as the Armenian harissa.
[Flying battle tanks and underwater helicopters](by BURAK BEKDİL of Hurriyet)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/flying-battle-tanks-and-underwater-helicopters.aspx?pageID=449&nID=36807&NewsCatID=398
{“….the Anka, is not designed to fight, it is not in the Turkish military’s inventory, it may not be in service in the next several years, and, naturally, it is not entirely Turkish. After a couple of unfortunate crash landings and one almost trouble-less landing, the Anka’s prototype made another crash in October. “}
Mighty Turkey, supposed economic powerhouse, Muslim wunderkind, can’t even keep a drone in the air.
A drone that is a copy of an Israeli drone (which itself is a copy of US design).
Armenia, meanwhile, successfully produced its own homegrown drones a couple of years ago, and they are in combat service now in large numbers with RoA and NKR military. Did Armenia get help from Russia ? Probably: but who are the top designers and engineers at Russian aircraft design bureaus such as MiG and Sukhoi ?
And certainly Armenian drones are not as advanced as the Western ones. But they are reliable and they stay in the air.
Now, nobody here is claiming Turk or Turkish engineers are incompetent.
But like most everything else about Turkey, it is lie, upon lie, upon lie.
Endless boasting with little substance.
Everything is supposedly ‘Turkish’, except it isn’t when you take a closer look.
[We in Turkey all live in this world of lies, so much so that our textbooks, news agencies, official documents, literature, and even surnames are likely telling us lies. Even our parents may have told us lies about our family history. Our whole identity may be a fabrication.] (AW Gunaysu: The Reign of Lies in Turkey)
You consider blending S. Korean and Italian technologies as Turkish techs? Interesting. That’s called reverse engineering.
Can you tell us the story behind your tanks and other weapons? Whose technology is that? Advanced Turkish technology???
What is the rush?
Is Turkey trying to bit Iran in Arms race? lead muslim nations? lead Turkic nations? Is it connected to the railway connecting all Turkic nations?
Obviously, Turkey is still a superpower wanabe. It was only a century a ago when Ottoman finally lost their grip on Northern hemisphere. They are optimistic about their chances, because something big will happen. Lets hope that something big isn’t gona be PKK or a earthquick that could rock the whole Anatolia.
I always credited Turkics with persistance, specially millitary one. More than any other culture Turkics are driven towards millitary objectives.
Armenian, Greek, Assyrian genocides are Turkey’s past secrets and your millitary built up is Turkey’s future one. When it comes to Turkey secresive habbits are common trends.
Turkish criminal’s strategy:
To keep more secrets creat more to keep.
correction,
John the Turk,
Armenian and Greek lobbies have demonstrated they have the power to get Turkey frostrated. US is more than ever before willing to listen to our voices. And according to you Turkey is stock with lower quality domestic produced weapons.
You consider blending S. Korean and Italian technologies as Turkish techs? Interesting. That’s called reverse engineering.
Can you tell us the story behind your tanks and other weapons? Whose technology is that? Advanced Turkish technology???
What is the rush?
Is Turkey trying to bit Iran in Arms race? lead muslim nations? lead Turkic nations? Is it connected to the railway connecting all Turkic nations?
Obviously, Turkey is still a superpower wanabe. It was only a century a ago when Ottoman finally lost their grip on Northern hemisphere. They are optimistic about their chances, because something big will happen. Lets hope that something big isn’t gona be PKK or a earthquick that could rock the whole Anatolia.
I always credited Turkics with persistance, specially millitary one. More than any other culture Turkics are driven towards millitary objectives.
Armenian, Greek, Assyrian genocides are Turkey’s past secrets and your millitary built up is Turkey’s future one. When it comes to Turkey secresive habbits are common trends.
Turkish criminal’s strategy:
To keep more secrets creat more to keep.
They might need more of our helicopters to transport their drug addict askers from their German built Navy ships to German hospitals to save their lives.
It didn’t work yesterday for three askers who went to coma from drug overdose in Verinberd (Baskale):
http://www.imc-tv.com/haber-askerlerin-uyusturucu-komasina-girdigi-iddiasi-6314.html
Avery
Yes Turkey begged for 3 old cobras from USA because the armed helicopters haven’t been delivered to the Army yet and armed helicopters are crucial weapons for the army to deal with PKK so they can not wait for the new helicopter to be delivered. I like reading the articles of Burak Bekdil however, he isn’t the best person to believe what he says or trust his judgements
Sooner TSK builds what it needs, better it is. In fact, it was the US policies in 74, again influenced by the hate lobbies that finally launched the Turkish military industry for good. Today, they export $1B of such goods. In any case, Turkish ship yards are currently building some top notch ships for the navy. Including electronics. Ah, all the small things that make little hateful folks happy.
If you watch Turkish millitary vidoes you will see Russian, French, and other countries coppies. You can’t call it Turkish, they are forigen knok outs that perform sub quality.
Turkish Aerospace is still an infant one which trails behind even Spain’s.
They make good millitary land tranaport vihecles and maybe up to medium level helicopters which don’t take cutting edge technology. But, for a country which has been part of NATO for so long and has been trying ot Eropeanize for decades, plus never been communist Turkey sure does seem to be behind its democratic NATO partners.
And that goes for their ship yards as well.
I think Turkey must decide which way wants to go in all aspects of its regional existence and relation with its neighboring countries of which some of them are in the same NATO Alliance. Few months ago Turkey asked to deploy borrowed NATO Patriot Batteries to its borders with Syria. What it isn’t clear to me is that while asks such assistance have a conspicuous Air Defence Batteries and Offensive Weapon systems together with numerous troops (something like 250.000 in total) pointing ….Greece and Bulgaria which if I’m not wrong belong to the same Alliance! Why some of these Turkish weapon systems aren’t deployed where needed but the borrowing of Patriots was the solution? It becomes almost immediate the thought that Turkey has in mind some other plans related to neo-ottoman dreams of Davutoglu and company on the expense of its neighbors and allies. Besides, some months ago internet based services were halted in Turkey by the Erdogan government because the attempted proxy war discussion against Syria among Ministers and High Ranking officers came to the air embarassing Turks and the world.