Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/19/erdogan-visits-us-amid-disagreements-with-president-biden
Due to the developments of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is traveling to the United States in hope of strengthening ties to the US. After the purchase of Russian missiles, Turkey was declared a partner to the United States by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Turkey was also declared an important NATO ally after the capture of the Afghan capital. This meeting between Biden and Erdogan is considered to be a ‘glimmer of hope’ after years of disputes, as stated in the article. However, Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara believes that Erdogan is using Afghanistan as a way to obtain benefits from the US. Basically, Turkey is also pushing for Russian influence which is something the United States tries to limit; Turkey is also pushing to help run the Kabul Airport, which could create tension between Turkey and the US as well as expand tension that has already been addressed.
In my opinion, strengthening our relationship with Turkey is beneficial because of their ties to Russia as well as Afghanistan. Like the article said, these improved ties could lead to more developments in Afghanistan, especially with the use of the Russian Missiles. As I read the article, it also stated that Erdogan was going to attend the UN General Assembly, which made me think about how Turkey could salvage relations with other countries besides the US. Also, the mention of the NATO summit and the safeguarding of the Kabul airport makes me think about the current state of Turkey vs. Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule.
This relates to our class because it discusses the affairs of two different countries and how they can affect the countries around them. The discussion of the Taliban as well as the state of Afghanistan relates to our class because of the mentioning of different social issues as well as political issues. It also mentions the different tensions between the US and different countries such as Russia, which is something we started to go over. Also, the use of terms such as state relate to our class because it is a vocabulary word that we learned. The author also used the word nation which is another vocabulary word that we went over in class. All in all, this article relates to class because of its vocabulary as well as the topic it discusses.