The Biden Effect: Turkey holds massive military exercise in Aegean, increases presence in Africa
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Jihadis and Islamic supremacists see the world in terms of strength and weakness. If you project an image of weakness and appeasement on the world stage, they will be emboldened.
“‘Turkey continues to increase its presence in Africa,'” by Burak Bir, Anadolu Agency, February 22, 2021:
Given the rise in the number of Ankara’s diplomatic missions across Africa, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Monday his country’s presence in the continent continues to increase.
“The African continent with its 33 Least Developed Countries [LDCs] is in need of solid leadership and support from its developed partners for economic growth, social progress, woman and youth empowerment,” said Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Speaking at the Africa Regional Review Meeting for the 5th UN Conference of the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), the Turkish foreign minister said there is still much to be done for helping the least developed countries especially at a time when the world is facing additional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A decade ago with the Istanbul Programme of Action, we put forward an ambitious vision for LDCs. Since then, the LDCs have achieved progress in bringing the people out of poverty. However, only three countries have graduated from the LDCs category in the last decade,” he said.
The foreign minister added that Turkey, as the co-chair of the Group of Friends of the LDCs, will continue to do its best to help them reach their objectives on economic growth, social progress, woman and youth empowerment….
“Turkey Announces Massive Military Exercise in the Aegean,” by Tasos Kokkinidis, Greek Reporter, February 22, 2021:
Turkey announced on Monday that it will conduct large-scale naval exercises in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea between February 25 and March 7.
The announcement came from the Turkish Ministry of Defense, which said that Turkish Naval Forces will launch the exercise dubbed “Blue Homeland 2021.”
The Turkish Army and the Air Force will also participate in the drill.
More than 80 ships to take part
According to the announcement, the purpose of the exercise is to evaluate the preparedness of the headquarters, units and ships affiliated with the Naval Forces Command.
A total of 82 ships, 5 maritime patrol aircraft, 12 naval helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Amphibious Marine Corps troops will participate.
In addition, general purpose and attack helicopters from the Land Forces Command, and F-16, F-4 and HIK (Airborne Warning and Control) aircraft from the Air Force Command, will also take part….