This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.

President Trump heads today to a summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  To his credit, it will make tangible progress on increasing the member nations’ investment in their respective and collective military capabilities. 

Ironically, such increased NATO defense spending is necessary due to intensifying nuclear and other threats from the man with whom Mr. Trump will be meeting next week in Helsinki: Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Unfortunately, NATO summiteers seem likely to ignore the proverbial – and strategically alarming – “elephant in the room.” Namely, the fact that Turkey is an ally no more. 

Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey is aligning itself not only with Putin’s Russia, but China, Iran and other Sharia-supremacists, as well. NATO must urgently come to grips with this reality, not ignore – let alone reward it with America’s new F-35 fighter, intelligence and political legitimation.

This is Frank Gaffney.