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NATO: Reject Turkey's Veto Against Israel

(Friends of Israel Initiative) The Atlantic Alliance will celebrate its 63rd anniversary with a Summit of Heads of State and Government in Chicago on May 20-21. NATO and Israel have intensified their mutual collaboration. They have exchanged officers and designed military exercises in which Israeli units were invited to participate. Many NATO troops deployed to Afghanistan have gone through counterinsurgency training on Israeli soil. Yet, the Western allies have allowed the alliance to be hijacked by the growing anti-Israeli stance of NATO's sole non-Western member, Turkey, which has just vetoed the presence of Israel at the Chicago summit on the basis that it still has not received an official apology from Israel for the assault on the Mavi Marmara. Turkey's veto of Israel's participation at the Chicago summit is not only reprehensible, it is also a matter of huge embarrassment for the rest of NATO. First, as UN investigations have shown, Israel properly acted in self-defense, so it goes against all logic for NATO to collectively adopt the position of Turkey's Islamist government. Second, and more importantly, Israel is, in the current strategic context, a high-value asset to NATO and to the security of its members. As all of NATO's southern periphery is rocked by instability, Israel is the sole island of stability and the only democracy to hold a strategic dialogue that benefits the security interests of the allies. In addition, the only thing standing between us and the Iranian bomb is Israel. With perseverance and patience, the Jewish state has shown the world the dangers of the Iranian regime, which has led us to adopt the necessary measures to deter the ayatollahs from acquiring a nuclear bomb. If NATO were to honor its rhetoric of being an organization in defense of democracy, freedom, and the dignity of man, then there would be no doubts: We should go in favor of Israel, an integral part of the Western world. Thus, we should reject Turkey's veto, a nation that, thanks to its current leaders, is increasingly becoming less of an ally and more of a problem. President Jose Maria Aznar, Ambassador John Bolton, Robert Agostinelli, President Alejandro Toledo, Lord David Trimble, Lord Weidenfeld, Fiamma Nirenstein, Marcelo Pera, William Shawcross, Andrew Roberts and Carlos Bustelo
2012-05-10 00:00:00
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