When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ascends the podium at the United Nations General Assembly, the question for Turkey watchers and journalists is not what he will say. After all, Erdoğan is in his rhetoric, his antics, and his nepotism increasingly like Muammar Qadhafi version 2.0. Rather, the looming question is when his body guards will attack protesters on the streets of New York. Alas, it seems that a series of decisions, first made by then-Secretary of State John Kerry and more recently from his successors Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo, make such incidents more likely.
The problem is Erdogan’s propensity to violence in the face of opposition, not only in Turkey but overseas as well. In 2016, as Erdogan prepared to mount the stage at the Brookings Institute, his agents moved through the audience to forcibly eject and, in some cases, beat those considered too critical. That was bad enough, but then, on May 16, 2017, during a subsequent visit to the U.S., cell phone video appears to show Erdogan giving the order for his security agents and political supporters to charge and beat peaceful protesters on Massachusetts Avenue in front of the Turkish ambassador’s residence.
Harry Jaffe, writing at the Washingtonian, gave an excellent play-by-play of what happened that day, and its immediate aftermath. A federal grand jury indicted 19 men on charges ranging from aggravated assault to hate crimes. A criminal complaint can be read here.
While that incident got Erdogan personally, and Turkey more broadly, bad press in the United States, Erdogan did not care. He mocked U.S. security and the judicial system and crowed triumphant at the assault to the state-controlled Turkish media.
Alas, the State Department did nothing to discourage him. It slow-rolled U.S. efforts to hold accountable members of Erdogan’s entourage. Neither the Obama nor Trump administrations undertook any real efforts to hold to account those guilty of attacking Americans on American soil. Only those who could not flee the country faced justice, and even that was watered down as prosecutors offered a plea deal to the two U.S.-based thugs, in effect sweeping the incident under the rug. Ultimately, these two men—Sinan Narin and Eyup Yildirim—served no jail time and neither paid any fine. Both were released early this summer, and Turks celebrated Narin as a hero for his actions. Meanwhile, the Justice Department quietly dropped charges against most of the Turkish security agents.
To say simply that it is impossible to force those who fled the country to face justice is wrong. Two of the assailants–Mahmut Sami Ellialti and Ahmet Cengizhan—are Turkish-born Canadian citizens, for example.
President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have stood up to Erdogan to demand the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson. They were right to do so: Being president and vice president of the United States means first and foremost defending the security of Americans, especially those taken hostage by cynical regimes. But their efforts will be for naught if Pompeo, like Tillerson and Kerry, continues to treat Turkey with kid gloves. At the very minimum, the State Department and Department of Justice should demand not only the extradition of Ellialti and Cengizhan from Canada, but it should continue to demand the lifting of diplomatic immunities and extradition of the four Turkey-based security agents subject to an arrest warrant.
If Turkey rebuffs such an attempt, there should be consequences. Consider that when Russia attacked dissidents on British soil, Trump stood in solidarity and, among other actions, closed the Russian consulate in Seattle. Why should Turkey get off any easier? Indeed, Turkey should suffer the same consequences and Trump and Pompeo should demand the United Kingdom return the favor by expelling Turkish diplomats in Great Britain until the suspects are delivered to U.S. court.
The Trump administration should also explain why the Justice Department dropped charges against 11 of Erdogan’s goons, given video evidence showing their guilt. To sacrifice justice for the sake of a diplomatic desire to coddle Turkey would not only be a scandal; it would encourage further outrages. Indeed, just this week, Erdogan adviser Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey would not hesitate to run operations against dissidents and opponents – including, as Daily Caller reporter Chuck Ross noted, on U.S. soil.
Trump has repeatedly stated that he would “make America great again” and stand up to those who would seek to humiliate the United States. If he is serious, then perhaps it is time for Trump, Pence, Pompeo, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to stand up for the Americans victimized by Turkey in the heart of Washington, D.C.
To sweep such injustice under the rug does not win Turkish concession – rather, it may convince Erdogan that he can literally get away with murder.
Michael Rubin (@Mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Pentagon official.
