The U.S. Senate is deciding whether to
block Turkey’s purchase of military planes due to the country’s imprisonment of
an American pastor.
North Carolina native Andrew Brunson
has been imprisoned by Turkey since October 2016, under the accusation that he
has ties to the Islamic Gulen movement and Kurdistan Workers Party.
In response, the Senate is considering
adding a provision to the defense spending bill that would stop a purchase of
100 F-35 planes by Turkey unless Brunson is freed. “On its surface, because they’re a NATO ally,
I don’t object to it,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), on the floor, according to
NPR. “But today, I strongly object to it.”
There are also national security
concerns associated with the F-35 transaction, according to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
(D-NH) who objects to the purchase. “The
Turkish government claims to have purchased a Russian air defense system
designed to shoot these very planes down,” said Shaheen. “NATO partners need these F-35s to counter
Russian activity. We would be handing
this technology over to the Kremlin if we granted Turkey these planes, and Congress
will not stand for it,” says Shaheen.
A Presbyterian minister, Brunson
preached in Turkey for nearly 20-years before being arrested on trumped-up charges
of being tied to a Muslim Turkish preacher blamed for attempting to overthrow
the government.
Human rights activists and politicians
worldwide have condemned Turkey’s imprisonment of Brunson, including 75-members
of the European Parliament … who signed onto an open letter sent to Turkey’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Pastor
Andrew Brunson has been living peacefully in Turkey for 23-years. We believe he is an innocent political prisoner;
therefore, we urge you again to release him without delay,” read the letter in
part.
The American Center for Law and
Justice (ACLJ), a conservative advocacy group that lobbies on behalf of
persecuted Christians overseas, has voiced support for Congress depriving
Turkey of the planes. In a recent statement,
the ACLJ explained that “it is high time for Congress to inflict a heavy penalty
on Turkey until Brunson is released.” “Without
this legislation, Turkey is poised to purchase 100 F-35s through a transaction
that is approved and facilitated by the DOD,” stated the ACLJ. They went on to say, “This kind of
partnership makes strategic sense when the purchasing country is behaving like
an ally of the U.S. and actively assisting with the global effort to defeat
terrorism. It does not make sense when
the purchasing country is behaving with hostility and imprisoning this innocent
American for political reasons.”
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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