Turkey is a formal U.S. ally under the auspices of NATO and houses American troops belonging to the US Air Force 39th Air Wing Command at Incirlik. While formally allied with America, the government of Islamist Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly threatens the alliance with open support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and NATO-flouting agreements with key adversary Russia. Erdogan has presided over a period of
rising anti-American sentiment in Turkey. Anti-Americans of both Islamist and secularist varieties often denounce the presence of American troops at Incirlik and occasionally
attempt to attack the base.
Anti-Americanism has become louder in Turkey in the past month in response to the unprecedented terrorist attack against civilians in Israel by Hamas on October 7, which left over 1,400 people dead. Hamas terrorists
invaded Israel from their stronghold in Gaza and went door-to-door in residential communities killing entire families. Israeli responders have
documented evidence of the terrorists raping, torturing, and gruesomely murdering civilians, including the bodies of infants found decapitated and burned.
“Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it is a group of
mujahideen defending their lands,” Erdogan
proclaimed at a meeting of his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) on October 25, objecting to Israeli operations to defend its territory against Hamas.
The Turkish newspaper
Cumhuriyet reported on Sunday that a group of men broke away from the “Freedom Convoy” once the group approached Incirlik and attempted to run into the base through the surrounding airfields. Turkish authorities responded with police on horseback, tear gas, and water cannons to subdue the mob.
Reuters
estimated that the mob numbered in the hundreds of people, attempting to tear down barricades and throwing projectiles at police.
“Footage from the protests showed police firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse crowds waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans. Protesters toppled barricades and clashed with police in riot gear,” Reuters narrated. “Protesters were also seen hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds. ”