“It is very unnerving but at the same time quite believable that Turkey hasn’t been really going after these jihadist networks because Turkish law enforcement has been busy hunting down dissidents and government critics.”

“The US seems to insist on wishful thinking. Turkey is not going to give the S-400s back or keep them as a 2 billion dollar paperweight.”

“Turkey is the world’s biggest jailer of journalists. Beyond that, Erdoğan controls nearly 90-95% of the media outlets that do exist, and on top of that there’s still a very large crackdown where journalists are continuously arrested.”

“Erdoğan has no friends left in Washington. He is denounced as one of the worst, most repressive leaders in the world…So I think when we see the relationship between President Trump and President Erdoğan we have to put that in that context.”

“Turkey has viewed the United States as malicious and behaved as if Washington needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the United States. It has derived…that it’s cost-free to challenge the United States, and this has exacerbated problems.”

“[U.S. condemnations of atrocities in Syria must be] accompanied by a broader denouncement of Erdogan’s anti-democratic policies at home…as these are intimately tied to his foreign policy decisions and the bilateral crisis with the U.S. today.”

“In an ideal world any U.S. administration discussing foreign policy with Erdogan would be discussing the repression and crackdown on dissent that have made Erdogan’s aggressive foreign policy possible.”

“Trump himself is doing Erdogan’s bidding when it comes to transmitting Ankara’s propaganda to the American public. He does it better than Erdogan can in The Washington Post.”

“Courts in Turkey were never fully independent. But Erdoğan’s subjugation of the judiciary is unmatched in recent history. During his 18 years in power, Erdoğan has hollowed out Turkey’s judiciary, packing key judicial positions.”