“Biden
Apologizes to Turkish President”
By:
Sebnem Arsu
Source:
NY Times
Politics is said to be a game of
lies, and every so often, whenever the truth slips out, it is repealed. The Vice
President of the United States of America, a country that prides itself on
democracy, recently apologized for a statement he made on Thursday. The statement
involved another statement made by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, which admitted “You were right. We let too many people through” (Arsu
1). Erdogan admitted this to Biden in regards to Turkey’s lenient border
control which allowed for the passage of thousands of foreign militants into Syria
and Iraq. These militants later joined extremist groups such as ISIL, putting
the civilians in the region in immense danger. Biden’s comments included allegations
that some of their own allies, such as Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab
Emirates, had financially supported a multitude of groups that were opposed to
the President of Syria, Bashar al Assad. “Mr. Erdogan, despite widespread
evidence to the contrary, denied that Turkey’s long, porous border had enabled
thousands of militants to cross onto the Syrian and Iraqi battlefields since
the Syrian civil war began in 2011” (Arsu 1). He went on to demand an apology
from the American Vice President, and he was provided with one late Saturday.
Biden expressed an appreciation for the work Turkey and other allies had put
into stopping ISIL, ignoring the fact that Turkey had refused to partake in
military combat.
This is an excellent but rather
saddening example of a failure to let truth overpower political gain. As the
author of the article noted, there is extensive evidence that refutes Erdogan’s
plea of innocence in the matter. Turkey has a long history of denial, as they
continue, to this day, to deny their perpetration of the first genocide of the twentieth
century. If the truth is withheld in order to not upset any political “friendships”,
then the international community will not reach progressive steps towards the
abolishment of extremist militant groups such as ISIL, who deem vast terror on
humanity, who dare to destroy churches build in the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the aforementioned genocide.
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| An enraged Erdogan |
Clever title Armine! Your title was definitely intriguing enough to get the audience to suck up all the information published on this blog post. It just seems like Turkey does not learn. They have lied about the Armenian genocide and now they are at it again, lying once more. Great choice of an article Armine!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, your title was what caught my attention and dragged me to read this blog post. It is true! Turkey, once again, got away for apologizing with their mistakes. Majority of politics are lies and you clearly mentioned that. It saddens me to see that Biden had to apologize for the many mistakes of Erdogan. Overall, what a captivating news article. You definitely informed the audience Armig!
ReplyDeleteYour title truly grabs the audiences attention! The title makes one want to learn more of the issue presented in your blog post. As usual Armine, your writing is amazing. You depict your point very explicitly. The Turkish government always surprises me with their inhumane acts.
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ReplyDeleteDenial seems to be a recurring theme with Erdogan. At first I thought the author of this article was an Armenian, so I visited the link you posted. You did an excellent job of relating the article to Hye Tahd and Armenia's conflict with Turkey. The title of this post captivated my mind, urging me to read about the flaws and lies of the political world. Superior effort!
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