It’s time to tame Erdogan

NATO's responsibilities

Although Erdogan is presumably allied with the West, his independent streak and foreign ventures make him a serious liability. As a French defense ministry official recently said, "We have known complicated moments in the alliance, but we can't be an ostrich and can't pretend there isn't a Turkey problem at NATO. We have to see it, say it and handle it."

Indeed, there must be limits to the concessions the West is making, regardless of how advantageous they may be. Contrary to Trump, the great facilitator of Erdogan's criminal misadventures, the NATO member states must warn Erdogan that he has exhausted their patience.

NATO member states must make it unequivocally clear that he will no longer be allowed to compromise their security and undermine their strategic interest in the eastern Mediterranean and threaten allies such as Cyprus and Greece. Moreover, they must warn him that he will suffer severe consequences if he continues to commit gross human rights violations, disrespect the sovereignty and the independence of other countries, and disregard international conventions and accords. Finally, he must grant ethnic groups, especially his own Kurdish community, the right to live fully while embracing their tradition and culture without fear.

The fact that there is no precedent for kicking a NATO member out of the organization does not mean that there cannot be a first. The preamble of NATO's charter states that "[member countries] are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law." Erdogan has grossly and consistently violated the letter and the spirit of the charter. NATO must begin distancing Turkey from the organization by not sharing sensitive intelligence and technology and imposing selective sanctions as a warning shot.

He must be convinced that the EU will take any necessary action to preserve its values and that his days of blackmailing are over. Russia has little to offer Erdogan compared to the magnitude of what the EU can provide. He must be warned that he will be eased out of the European orbit completely if Turkey continues to be a destabilizing power while challenging Western ideals and geostrategic interests.

To be sure, Turkey is not an indispensable power and Erdogan must be tamed and disabused of the notion that the West needs him more than he needs the West. Otherwise, the failure of Western powers to protect human rights, their democratic values, and commitment to the alliance will dangerously erode the foundation of their democracies and lead to increasing instability and violence, which will swiftly come knocking on their doors.