Multiple videos at the link.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/l...rs-attack-protesters

Videos Show Erdogan Supporters Beating Protesters At NYC Speech

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to attack protesters who interrupted a speech Erdogan gave Thursday in New York City.

According to footage and reporting by Voice of America and other outlets, multiple individuals protesting Erdogan during an event organized by the Turkish-American National Steering Committee were dragged out of the event by security guards. Videos showed the protesters being kicked and punched in the head by audience members as they were escorted out of the venue.

A Turkish journalists’ Periscope feed showed a protester standing up and yelling at Erdogan before being escorted out by security. Voice of America reported that three protesters total were attacked by Erdogan supporters.

BuzzFeed reported that Erdogan asked the crowd, following the disruptions: “Don’t let three to five impertinent people, three to five hall terrorists ruin our lovely gathering.”

Soon afterwards, Erdogan met with President Donald Trump, who lavished praise on Turkey’s leader, despite global condemnation of Erdogan’s heavy-handed crackdown on dissent in his country in the wake of a failed coup in July 2016.

Asked about a May incident in which Turkish security guards beat peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C., Trump said Thursday: “We’ll be discussing many issues.”

“We have a great friendship,” Trump said of Erdogan.

Turkey, the up and coming Iran.

The President's stance on this guy is disturbing.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
The President's stance on this guy is disturbing.

Realpolitik. Turkey is a key regional power, and even though Erdogan and the Turkish government have done some awful things, our operations in the Middle East would be significantly more difficult/dangerous without their cooperation. US forces based at Incirlik Air Base, for instance, were handling 33% of air-to-air refueling missions and 20%-30% of close air support flights involved in Operation Inherent Resolve (the campaign against ISIS) as of last year.

quote:

Originally posted by S600MBUSA:

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
The President's stance on this guy is disturbing.

Realpolitik. Turkey is a key regional power, and even though Erdogan and the Turkish government have done some awful things, our operations in the Middle East would be significantly more difficult/dangerous without their cooperation. US forces based at Incirlik Air Base, for instance, were handling 33% of air-to-air refueling missions and 20%-30% of close air support flights supporting Operation Inherent Resolve (the campaign against ISIS) as of last year.

We should be securing their support through fear, not appeasement.

quote:

Originally posted by Monk:

We should be securing their support through fear, not appeasement.

And how do you suppose we do that?

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
The President's stance on this guy is disturbing.

just a little Kabuki theater I think, me boy. The president cannot have too many enemies at one time.

I don't feel sorry for "protesters" who are disrupting a speech. Shouting down someone you don't agree with during their time to speak can have bad results.

As far as the President's feelings about all of this; I'm not going to give much weight to someone who wants to summarize that for me.
.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
Turkey, the up and coming Iran.

Sad but probably prophetic. The smart people had him pegged almost 20 years ago but smart people didn't make up the majority. He swore he'd never do anything to undermine secularism and promptly set about chipping away at it. The generals were committed to maintaining it and when it came time to back one or the other we chose wrong. The rest is history and the miltary's been purged so there's no going back.

As we're seeing here, get enough morons worked up and raging in the streets and a little band of nitwits can extort just about everything, bit by bit, from naive folks who think they'll go away if they get there way just this time, every time.

All the political stuff aside, this is The United States. We as a country have constitutional rights. I don't care for loud rude protestors Escort those out; ok.

But if there were peaceful protests and his bodyguards (or whatever you refer to them as) decide to beat on them I've got a problem with that.
Our country, our laws and rights. Don't come here and abuse them.

Peaceful protest is ok in my way of thinking.
But the other side of the coin in this country is it turns into riots in some cities with the police ordered to stand back.
Private property get destroyed by bused in paid thugs.
I would like the authorities stop this cowering to these thugs and introduce them to a jail cell in mass

I dunno. I'm starting to really like his security detail. Regards 18DAI

quote:

Originally posted by Oldrider:
All the political stuff aside, this is The United States. We as a country have constitutional rights. I don't care for loud rude protestors Escort those out; ok.

But if there were peaceful protests and his bodyguards (or whatever you refer to them as) decide to beat on them I've got a problem with that.
Our country, our laws and rights. Don't come here and abuse them.

Yeah, I suspect if we were in their country, they'd expect us to obey their laws.

quote:

Originally posted by S600MBUSA:

quote:

Originally posted by Monk:

We should be securing their support through fear, not appeasement.

And how do you suppose we do that?

The same way it's been done throughout history. First you ask, then you tell. The most powerful nation in the world should not be relying on the goodwill of thugs and criminals for assistance. Unfortunately modern diplomacy has become all about the carrot with little regard for the stick.