In Debate, Perry Questions Turkey’s Place in NATO
Presidential hopeful Rick Perry questioned Turkey’s place in NATO, on Monday, claiming it is “being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists.”
The Texan governor was vying for the support of South Carolina’s Republican Party in a debate sponsored by Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the South Carolina Republican Party in Myrtle Beach.
Perry said that Turkey’s murder rate of women has spiked since the “Islamist-oriented party took over,” and added that it had “threatened military force against both Israel and Cyprus,” and yet it is still a member of NATO.
“Obviously, when you have a country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that type of activity against their own citizens, then yes, not only is it time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong to be in NATO, but it’s time for the United States, when we look at their foreign aid, to go to zero with it”.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO