Erdogan tones down rhetoric in light of Qatar's fate
Turkey fears it could be next in line to be ostracized in the region due to guilt by association with Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Will Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ever be welcome in Washington again? Many US legislators would like to think he wouldn't dare come back after the horrid events of May 16, when his security detail attacked peaceful protesters.
Just days later, a bipartisan House resolution was introduced to condemn Turkey and ask for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. Dana Rohrabacher, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Europe, said Erdogan "is an enemy of everything we stand for. … More importantly, he is an enemy of his own people.” These are some of the strongest words of public criticism Erdogan has received from an American lawmaker. In early June, the measure asking that those involved in the Washington mayhem be brought to justice was accepted by a 397-0 vote.
Two powerful members of the Senate also voiced sharp bipartisan criticism of the incident. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and John McCain, R-Ariz., in a May 18 letter told Erdogan that his staff had blatantly violated American freedoms and that the "affront ... reflects poorly on your government." McCain chairs the Armed Services Committee, and Feinstein is the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
On June 15, Washington law enforcement officials announced criminal charges had been filed and arrest warrants issued for 12 members of the detail. Though the guards had already returned to Turkey and it's unlikely they will ever stand trial, media coverage of their photographs with the word “Wanted” at the top sent shock waves to Turks. Most Turkish media outlets were not quite sure whether to publish the news or ignore it.
