United States Congress must not sell fighter jets to Turkey without a clear end to all Turkish offensives into Iraq and Syria and tangible progress towards a political resolution to the Kurdish conflict, Washington-based Kurdish Peace Institute Research Director Meghan Bodette said on Tuesday.
The sale of the proposed 40 F-16 jets would effectively amount to rewarding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for destabilising the Middle East under the deployment of the country’s current fleet, the researcher said.
The arms deal risks Washington’s involvement in Turkey’s grave human rights violations, she stressed, while emphasising the need for the Biden administration and Congress to impose specific conditions before proceeding with the sale.
Recently, Erdoğan committed to backing Sweden’s accession bid to NATO, leading the Biden administration to engage with Congress in an effort to gain support for the sale. However, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, who holds authority to block the sale, has expressed reservations about Turkey’s aggressive military record and called for a permanent end to such actions.
US Senate democrats called Erdoğan’s NATO promises “a significant step forward,” while expressing concerns over violations of Greek sovereignty, Turkey’s inadequate enforcement of Russian sanctions, and the ongoing aggression against Kurdish partners, Al-Monitor reported.
“Congressional leaders are right to be hesitant,” Bodette said. “A NATO quid-pro-quo on F-16s may cause more trouble than it is worth.”
The researcher highlighted that Turkish military operations in Iraq and Syria using F-16 jets have contributed to regional instability and provided opportunities for the Islamic State (ISIS), the Syrian regime, and Iran to strengthen their positions. The violence resulting from these actions has disproportionately affected ethnic and religious minorities, causing harm to countless civilians, she added.
Citing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), Bodette draws attention to the alarming increase in Turkish air and drone strikes in northern Iraq and Syria after Erdoğan secured another term in Turkey’s May elections.
Erdoğan’s recent conciliatory stance towards Sweden’s NATO accession does not signal an end to Turkey’s aggression, Bodette warned.
The use of F-16s against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and civilian infrastructure in Kurdish-led autonomous northern Syria disrupted the fight against ISIS and bolstered the positions of other regional players, namely the Syrian government, Iran, and Russia. Numerous civilian casualties and displacements have been documented as a result of Turkish military actions.
“With Erdoğan actively seeking rapprochement with Syria, it is possible to imagine a scenario in which Turkey uses its F-16s against the SDF for Assad’s benefit – or even in direct coordination with Damascus in attempts to retake Kurdish cities by force,” she said.
She suggested that a precondition for the sale must be bipartisan support for peace in Turkey, with arms and aid provided under set conditions for an end to anti-Kurdish aggression.
