OPINION:
Why was the news that pro-Palestinian rioters tried to storm a U.S.-Turkish military base in Turkey earlier this month not more widely reported (“Blinken wraps up frantic Mideast tour with tepid, if any, support for pauses in Gaza fighting,” web, Nov. 6)?
International media such as Reuters reported this important news (including video documentation) of hundreds of protesters throwing rocks, chairs and even barricades at Turkish police who were trying to protect Incirlik Air Base. The police had to resort to tear gas and water cannons to disperse the rioters.
U.S. weakness was on full display as the protest at the base occurred just hours before Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey.
As a veteran, I am shocked that the majority of U.S. media appears to have blacked out this news of a significant threat to our troops in Turkey. What is Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin doing to protect our military in Turkey? Why doesn’t Attorney General Merrick Garland issue an international arrest warrant and extradition order for the Hamas leaders harbored in Turkey and Qatar?
Hamas killed and kidnapped U.S. citizens at the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, and our country must prosecute the international terrorists responsible.
JOHN MEINHOLD
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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