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In this mailing:
* Con Coughlin: Selling F-35s to Turkey Guarantees a New War against Israel
* Amir Taheri: Trump: Don't Fence Me In


** Selling F-35s to Turkey Guarantees a New War against Israel ([link removed])
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by Con Coughlin • December 14, 2025 at 5:00 am
* US President Donald Trump may believe that selling F-35 stealth warplanes to Turkey will help the country forge closer ties with the US at the expense of Russia. The reality, though, is that by providing such sophisticated fighter jets to a country that supports Hamas terrorists -- and whose president recently said ([link removed]ğan-his-senior-officials-and-his-controlled-media-are-talking-about) that "Israel will have no choice but to kneel in front of Turkey" -- Trump is merely stoking the flames of a future war aimed at destroying Israel.
* [Trump] is under the impression that Turkey played a key role in helping to persuade Hamas to agree to Washington's 20-point peace plan for ending the war in Gaza, and possibly his hope that Turkey might join his Abraham Accords.
* Ambassador [Tom] Barrack, however, has been called out for "misrepresent[ing] President Erdogan's hostile and war-threatening statements against Israel."
* The prospect of Turkey, together with other Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, being equipped with the F-35 stealth aircraft has prompted grave concerns in Israel that the jets -- which have also been deployed to great effect by the Israel Air Force -- could be used against the Jewish state in a future conflict once Trump's term in office has ended.
* The Israelis are particularly concerned about Turkey receiving the warplanes so long as Erdogan remains in power.
* Israeli security officials are warning ([link removed]) that Turkey is quietly working on a plan to encircle Israel, extending its influence in countries such as Syria, in anticipation of a future conflict.
* Acquiring F-35 stealth fighters would significantly increase its war-fighting capabilities in the event of Ankara becoming involved in direct hostilities with Israel after Trump leaves office.
* There are also reports that Turkey and Qatar, which is also one of Hamas's staunchest supporters, are now attempting to thwart attempts to force the terrorist organisation to surrender its weapons -- one of the key requirements stipulated by Trump's peace plan.
* The United Arab Emirates, which has strong ties with the Trump administration, has expressed "concern" over Turkey's and Qatar's disruptive policies in Gaza in support of Hamas. The UAE recently decided not to participate in the proposed International Stabilization Force for the Gaza Strip.
* In such circumstances, it would be extreme folly for the Trump administration to press ahead with its plan to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, a country that actively supports Hamas terrorists. To do so would place Israel in the very real danger of becoming involved in yet another war with a country that is supposed to be a U.S. ally.

Pictured: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to supporters at his party's Istanbul mayoral candidate Murat Kurum's campaign rally on March 29, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump may believe that selling F-35 stealth warplanes to Turkey will help the country forge closer ties with the US at the expense of Russia. The reality, though, is that by providing such sophisticated fighter jets to a country that supports Hamas terrorists -- and whose president recently said that "Israel will have no choice but to kneel in front of Turkey" -- Trump is merely stoking the flames of a future war aimed at destroying Israel.

Trump's problematic relationship with Ankara dates back to his first term in the White House, when he removed Turkey from participation in the multinational F-35 programme after it purchased Russia's supposed state-of-the-art S-400 air-defence system, which was designed with the express purpose of shooting down F-35 warplanes.

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** Trump: Don't Fence Me In ([link removed])
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by Amir Taheri • December 14, 2025 at 4:00 am
* The NSS paper reflects Trump's view that the aim of foreign and security policy should be greater prosperity for the US and its allies and partners. In that vein, US ambassadors are instructed to focus on economic issues and act as promoters of US business abroad.
* Obviously one should read the NSS paper. But it would be a mistake to regard it as a gospel to Trump's future behavior. The best advice to all those concerned is: read and listen to what Trump and his team say and write, but wait and see what Trump himself does.
* Trump cannot be bound by any manifesto.

The 2025 National Security Strategy paper reflects President Donald Trump's view that the aim of foreign and security policy should be greater prosperity for the US and its allies and partners. Pictured: US President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, at a cabinet meeting in the White House in Washington, DC on December 2, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

How does the US see its role in global politics, at least for the remainder of President Donald Trump's tenure at the White House?

That is the question that, following a procedure adopted by all presidents since the 1970s, the just published National Security Strategy wishes to address.

The new paper is the second such document bearing Trump's name.

Issued during Trump's first term as president, the initial one was in fact produced by the foreign policy and military establishment of the time, inherited from previous administrations, and didn't reflect Trump's unorthodox views. It was three times longer, laden with clichés, politically correct in tone and designed to dance around difficult issues.

The new NSS pretends to reflect Trump's deeper convictions.

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