NATO is never going to let Turkey go, no matter what they do. They’re too strategically important.
386
tedsmittsMay 8, 2026
+169
The Bosporus is important, anyway.
169
MalkochsonMay 8, 2026
+166
And that Bosphorus is protected by the second largest army in NATO. An army who has been in a higher state of preparedness for active combat missions than every other member save the US for the better part of two decades. An army who is revitalizing and innovating its military arsenal at blazing speed.
Lets stop pretending that Turkey's importance begins and ends with the Bosphorus. Corrupt and authoritarian its leadership may be, Turkey is still one of the only countries in the world able to reliably project military power for an extended period of time without depleting its reserves or emptying the war chest.
166
Duckbilling2May 8, 2026
+45
it's not as though the USA has 50 nukes parked in turkey tho
45
Thurak0May 8, 2026
+54
> An army who has been in a higher state of preparedness for active combat missions
They also invaded northern Syria, so they have actual recent combat expertise.
54
MalkochsonMay 8, 2026
+56
Also conducted massive over-the-border counter-terror operations in Northern Iraq.
Also lets not forget active training/supply missions in Somalia and Libya; both war-torn countries with extremely demanding security needs.
The Turkish armed forces could may well have more recent combat experience than the entirety of the EU put together.
56
obs_asvMay 8, 2026
+40
Do you mean entirety of EU? Because I can bet some European countries has more recent experience than Turkey.
40
MalkochsonMay 8, 2026
+23
You're right; in my head I was referring to western Europe but somehow had a brain fart moment - edited for clarity!
23
QfromMars2May 9, 2026
+18
Dude: turkey is in a big Inflation spiral for years and their own industries arent exactly booming so to speak. Their Military Relies on conscripts and has a lot of old Equipment that is now Phased out by scetchy turkish-developed stuff with data not really shown.
Sure, they have a big army and airforce, as well as interesting Drone capabilities, but to say bigger than any other NATO member besides the US is wild. GB, FRA and ITALY all have more abilities to project Force overseas.
From sheer Numbers even the Nordic countries as well as poland, spain, romania and Greece come Close (because i guess you counted in Reserves).
All in all Turkey is Definetly a strong Part of NATO, but the geography of turkey is Definetly the factor that elevates it from an Average big member to a really important one.
18
ColtonComeauMay 8, 2026
+13
Not even the Greeks are scared of the Turks.
13
WorriedInterest4114May 9, 2026
+4
Project military power where? They have been fighting in their neighboring countries, not halfway across the globe
4
Hungry-Register9960May 8, 2026
+3
A smart leader, yes.
These fucks? Lol
3
gooberfishieMay 8, 2026
+80
Maybe if Israel were in NATO. If the threat of attacking Denmark didn't end nato, I doubt this will.
80
socialistrobMay 8, 2026
+50
> If the threat of attacking Denmark didn't end nato, I doubt this will.
The threat to Denmark did a lot of lasting damage to NATO. There's really no upside for members in coming out and saying "NATO Is dead" so even if they believe it's dead they're still going to at least on paper play along and pretend it's alive.
I think for a lot of Europe they're hoping that they can just get through January 2029 without Trump declaring the US won't honor Article V and without an attack on a member state. They're hoping that after that point the next US president honors the treaties. At the same time "hope is not a strategy" and one of the reasons that European countries are rapidly rearming and sending so many weapons to Ukraine is because they don't trust the US.
50
Zor_zMay 8, 2026
+78
Hosting an internationally recognized terrorist group in your borders is far worse than empty insinuations. I still think Turkey will get away with it anyways, but it's worse in a lot of ways
78
Kooky_Craft123May 8, 2026
+12
Turkey supports NATO...
12
gooberfishieMay 8, 2026
+3
Most nato members do. Hungary and Yankistan being exceptions of course.
3
WayofchinchillaMay 8, 2026
American and Europe need to let Israel go
0
ihavestringsMay 9, 2026
+8
Because training terrorist is good! /s
8
LurkerEntrepenurMay 10, 2026
+2
Unironically average listnookor mentality
2
[deleted]May 8, 2026
+190
[deleted]
190
MajorGeneralMaryJaneMay 8, 2026
+66
Especially when you consider the source
66
Weird-Student-9302May 8, 2026
+30
Invade deez nuts.
No country on earth could invade Turkey. It’s so funny how some listnookors think Turkey is a random country in the same bracket as Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine etc. Israel looks invincible and could effortlessly destroy any target they deem dangerous but all of their foes that they managed to topple were bunch of clans cosplaying as states.
Everybody knows those countries are artificial states created by the British and French after WWI for the sole purpose of destabilizing the region.
The only power Israel has faced that could be compared to Turkey is Iran, and we see how that one goes with unlimited and unconditional support from the US. Mind you Iran has been embargoed for decades and have no meaningful air or naval force, completely disconnected from the world and very easy to demonize.
30
EcstaMay 9, 2026
+5
Why would Israel even want to invade Turkey? It makes no sense.
5
BillyJoeMac9095May 9, 2026
+3
In the end, Turkey's actions will be constrained by its membership in NATO.
3
ShermansFieldOrder66May 8, 2026
+198
Since the IRA is back will they be joining their old friends in Turkey?
198
uveroMay 8, 2026
+91
The IRA is what now
91
ProXJayMay 8, 2026
+103
These been a number of car bombs in northern Ireland again. Not sure if it's as far as the IRA being back though
103
CDoch10May 8, 2026
+77
They aren’t “back”. They do shit all the time it just happened to be a slow news day which then made headlines. Different IRA from back in the day. This new group do shootings and other terror stuff all the time.
Source
I live in a pro ira neighbourhood.
77
mcfc_099May 8, 2026
+6
Living in a pro-IRA neighbourhood must be scary, no?
6
zombietrooperMay 8, 2026
+68
Not if you're pro-IRA.
68
mcfc_099May 8, 2026
+5
Fair point but do you think they’re on the rise
5
YodaFamMay 9, 2026
+5
Live in a UDA area so can't speak purely on the IRA, but no, they're not on the rise, it's a small group of republicans who are doing it purely because they wish they were born 30 years earlier. There's no reason to cause death at this point, a united Ireland is already inevitable and closer every day. I haven't met anyone in my day to day life that would support a return to the violence of the troubles. Albeit I'm pretty sheltered, but they're a minority, and once there are some higher ups arrested it will fall apart.
5
mcfc_099May 9, 2026
+2
In your opinion out of 10 how likely do you think a United Ireland is and why?
2
YodaFamMay 9, 2026
+3
It's truly inevitable, educated unionists leave the country to go to England or Scotland, educated unionists that stay can't identify with any of the unionist parties because they're all actual dinosaurs. Then even uneducated unionists in their 20s have a general apathybdue to growing up integrated with "them mins" and I don't think could be counted on to vote in a referendum because they simply don't care. To be clear I'm saying unionists as in children of unionist/protestant parents not that they necessarily have that belief.
3
Hot_Disk635May 9, 2026
+2
What makes you think Irelands reunion is inevitable? Last I heard a very solid population in the north view themselves as British and therefore their kids as British and so on.
2
CDoch10May 9, 2026
+4
No I’ve grown up here. Although if you sell drugs/run a business and don’t pay the right people you won’t last long. I’ve also had friends get into fights with the “wrong” people unknowingly and pay for it later if they won.
4
CamisaMalvaMay 8, 2026
+9
Are they, really?
9
SnooChickens1534May 8, 2026
+31
I live in Ireland and thats news to me , you get the odd small bomb every few years but to say the IRA is back is ridiculous.
31
unclear_warfareMay 8, 2026
+561
Interesting how the article alleges co-operation of the Turkish state, but provides no evidence at all
561
ringtail_catzMay 8, 2026
+74
Turkey has provided financial and material support for Hamas as long as Erdogan has been in office. It’s the reason why the rhetoric between Turkey and Israel has been so heated since 10/07. Now that Iran isn’t in a position to do much and Qatar no longer wants anything to do with Hamas OR Iran (a lot of Iranian financial assistance for Hamas was funneled through Qatar as well) Turkey is seeing an opening to position itself as the main benefactor for Palestinian “liberation” efforts and gain regional influence.
74
[deleted]May 8, 2026
+22
[removed]
22
ringtail_catzMay 8, 2026
+25
You can “call bullshit” all you want, it’s documented reality.
25
poulan9May 8, 2026
+11
He called BS because it conflicts with his worldview and he wants it not to be true, not because you are wrong.
11
JustTaxLandbroMay 8, 2026
+223
Turkey literally admitted to shielding terrorists which were the Muslim brotherhood who were ousted from Egypt (trying to make it a sharia state)
On top of that they have said multiple times they no longer support the west (and Europe) over the conflicts occurring in Syria, Lebanon, Libya and pre 2000s Cyprus.
They’ve always been a European Pakistan
223
[deleted]May 8, 2026
+9
[deleted]
9
TacoIncomingMay 9, 2026
+4
F****** 🦃🤖 comment. If there isn’t cooperation, then it would imply that the Turkish government is unaware that there are foreign terrorists conducting training on their soil. Hell, that’s almost worse lol
4
unclear_warfareMay 9, 2026
+2
Unsure what chicken robots have to do with this, but Turkey hosts a huge number of foreign refugees within its borders, literally millions (which is a good thing for them to do IMO). If a few individuals within that affiliate themselves to Hamas and stay underground, it's pretty hard for the Turkish state to spot - they're not exactly going to advertise it. Foreign terror cells exist in a lot of countries (eg France, USA), and it's an ongoing challenge for police in those places
2
Mike_Milburys_Shoe_May 8, 2026
-10
Turkey has always played both sides how is this news to you lmao. This is why they should never be in EU. Not should they be in NATO.
-10
Kooky_Craft123May 8, 2026
+6
Turkey is a good NATO ally. They support Ukraine and are anti Russian sphere of influence
6
Mike_Milburys_Shoe_May 8, 2026
+12
Yeah Turkey is such a great nato member lmao. They encroach on Greek waters, still illegally occupy half of Cyprus, still refused to sanction Russia like the EU, and probably do back door weapons deals with them still. Don’t give me that bullshit they’re the epitome of playing both sides lol
12
Kooky_Craft123May 8, 2026
+6
Oh yeah forgot about Cyprus, that sucks
6
loskiarmanMay 8, 2026
+8
Greek waters according to Greece lol. Illegally occupied for 50 years without anyone lifting a finger because they knew it was needed to stop an ethnic cleansing.
Also when it comes to Russia, Turkey fought them on 3 fronts in last 10 years while EU twiddled their thumbs.
Turkey fought them in Libya supporting UN recognized government while some EU countries backed Russia and a warlord.
Turkey fought them in Syria while EU countries just got what they wanted, fucked over the region and left a year ago and they even had the audacity to denounce Turkey for entering Syria. Turkey fought a maniac that murdered its own citizens and caused a huge refugee wave literally next door while EU was 'omg that is so bad' like they didn't rub their d*** all over Syria recently.
Turkey sold arms to Ukraine, trained Ukrainian soldiers, upgraded Ukrainian gear from communication to transport pretty much in every field to NATO levels, made multiple arms production agreements, starting in 2014 while EU were afraid to anger Russia and were even crying about how we helped them. Then war came along and it was thanks to Turkish drones that Russia's rush to Kiev was stopped, do you need to look up again and see their burned convoys for kilometers long? Meanwhile EU was hoping Ukraine would roll over to Russia and they wouldn't need to lift a finger or lose their precious gas, they were writing strong worded letters and sending f****** helmets. It took a lot of people protesting their government to politicians to go 'oh shit we gotta actually help them'.
So maybe be glad there is actually an active NATO member like Turkey instead of all talk, profitmongering others.
8
MayDayBeFourthMay 8, 2026
+3
Turkey and Russia have made many deals supporting Russia.
3
Current-Function-729May 8, 2026
+50
> The operatives, who wear civilian clothing, regularly participate in training sessions on the use of small arms and tactics at public shooting clubs, as well as training in drone operations. They have even received official licenses to fly drones in Turkey, the report said.
They’re just there doing civilian things.
Getting the drone license is trivial and something you do online.
50
BekanntesteZiegeMay 8, 2026
+24
I got a drone license for free after filling a 40 question test.
24
Current-Function-729May 8, 2026
+11
Yes, even famous goats can do it.
11
secliferedMay 8, 2026
+41
How are they getting in and out of gaza? Israel literally has it surrounded except for the closed egyptian border. I don’t believe Israel is letting thousands of hamas fighters out
41
Particular_Bug0May 8, 2026
+43
They dug a tunnel from Gaza, under the Mediterranean Sea, to Turkey
43
melixxaMay 9, 2026
+9
This is sarcastic right? Lol
9
reigenxMay 8, 2026
+174
Where is the evidence?
174
mbashsMay 8, 2026
+39
It’s a jpost article. Is legit. /s
39
CamisaMalvaMay 8, 2026
-14
Erdogan literally admitted to it last year? lol
-14
Syn_IckMay 8, 2026
+52
Have a source?
52
AquilliferMay 9, 2026
+6
'It came to them in a dream'
6
Battlefleet_SolMay 8, 2026
+52
This article contains lies. First of all, it portrays Türkiye as having provided military training. In reality, anyone residing in Türkiye can receive drone training and practice shooting at the firing range.
52
tikolmanMay 8, 2026
+147
Looks like Turkey is next in Israel's sights.
147
NegevThunderstormMay 8, 2026
+66
Turkey's leader has threatened Israel numerous times
66
stivonimMay 8, 2026
-7
turkey has israel in it's sight more like.
Erdogan said bunch of times how he can "take jerusalem" if he needs to
-7
LePetitConcombreMay 8, 2026
+36
Erdogan will say whatever he can but he will walk the line like the good dog he is
36
Consistent_Rent_3507May 8, 2026
+4
Walk the line as in keep the peace? The horror! /s
4
hswilson26May 8, 2026
+17
Well if Erdogan says it then it must be true..
17
stivonimMay 8, 2026
+55
it's not about if he really means it, it's about how popular it became in his country to say turkey should use it's army to destroy israel
55
Rick-burp-SanchezMay 8, 2026
+64
So the US is going to invade/bomb Turkey in 5-20 years. Got it.
64
GloomWorldOrderMay 8, 2026
+16
That's optimistic of you.
16
Qwarkl1May 8, 2026
+39
That buffer zone is going to extend to Istanbul
39
Colonelclank90May 8, 2026
+82
So if I'm reading this correctly people are going to civilian gun clubs and getting basic firearms training and practice, joining civilian drone clubs and learning to fly drones and then using those skills to fight Isreal in occupied Gaza and Occupied Lebanon. It doesn't sound like the Turkish government is doing this on purpose. The article headline makes it seem that way, but the article itself doesn't say that the Turkish government is purposely training terrorist militias.
82
BeebajazzMay 8, 2026
+60
Jerusalem post. I don't trust the source.
60
elchapoguzmanMay 8, 2026
+34
It worked well all so far for every country doing so
34
MaksimilenRobespiereMay 8, 2026
+64
So another Turkey bad “news” from radical far-right from Israel huh?
Interesting.
64
ColegDropOutMay 8, 2026
+48
Hm wasn’t turkey on the list of the next country to be attacked by Israel? Not suspicious coming from jpost at all!
48
BehemothheekMay 9, 2026
+3
No, definitely not. Turkey is a nuclear weapons holding NATO member with a defense budget 5 times bigger than Iran. It’s also significantly less threatening to Israel than Iran is. Israel isn’t attacking it anytime soon.
3
Not_a_N_Korean_SpyMay 8, 2026
+18
Really? Not enough with Palestine, Lebanon and Syria? (And Iraq, Iran). Now you want to build consensus to eventually attack Turkey too?
18
likely-highMay 9, 2026
+3
Then Egypt
3
Mogwai_ManMay 8, 2026
+11
This isn't state sponsored.
11
hkotekMay 8, 2026
+13
Psyop initiated.
13
ringtail_catzMay 8, 2026
+2
Trump has been wanting to peel the US away from NATO literally since the 1980s. I find it very unlikely that Congress will agree to it (which they will have to do in order to completely remove the US from NATO because it’s a Congressionally approved treaty).
2
omniuniMay 8, 2026
+12
This is why Hamas needs to actually be dissolved.
While everyone is busy somehow shifting blame to Israel, it's worth considering: regardless of your opinion on how Israel responded, Hamas brought incredible destruction to Gaza by starting that fight. As it stands, Gaza will have decades of recovery ahead of them. Does it make any sense to train more terrorists to start another war like this?
It should be a reminder that Hamas does not care about Gaza, and they never have. They will sacrifice Gaza over and over until either they are eliminated or Israel is eliminated. And only one of those stands any chance of happening.
12
senior_yodaMay 8, 2026
+17
Source: Jerusalem Post. Yeah sure buddy
17
HorselessHorsemanMay 8, 2026
+9
False flag to attack turkey up ahead. Israel been drooling to attack turkey forever. Turkey is a key NATO member though which means if you attack turkey everyone else in NATO has to defend turkey. But conveniently US has been trying to back out of NATO. Writing is on the wall. They want Turkey to get attacked and for it to not have NATO protection
9
[deleted]May 8, 2026
+7
[removed]
7
DRKMSTRMay 9, 2026
+4
I was wondering why some random countries declared war on Turkey.
Good ol intelligence agency wars. 🤦♂️
4
Old_BoahMay 8, 2026
+4
Increasingly clear that Israel will never be able to fight a popular war. They're going to have to figure out a) how to end wars so that the world can move on or b) find a new way to combat terror cells that doesn't target civilians. Because the current method is just going to lead to more anti Israel thought forever.
4
likely-highMay 9, 2026
+2
> find a new way to combat terror cells that doesn't target civilians
Are you talking about the IDF?
2
[deleted]May 8, 2026
+4
[removed]
4
[deleted]May 8, 2026
+3
[removed]
3
xadiantMay 8, 2026
+3
Yyeeaaah regardless, Turkish army consists of ~500 thousand active personnel. There is some corruption, but nowhere near Lebanon or some shitter rebel force. Anything less of nuclear attack would be a suicide mission for Israel.
Before all that hopefully Mr. Yaho kindly throws himself into a hole in Gehenna.
3
LudicrousPlatypusMay 8, 2026
+5
Is this the start of Israel attacking Turkey and claiming it is self defence?
5
Complete-Sort1617May 8, 2026
-28
Turkey is so terrorist state sponsor baby girl.
-28
Abu_NimrMay 8, 2026
+24
There should be a captcha on English language articles so at least the commenters can speak an understandable level of English
24
rhnltnsy16May 8, 2026
+4
Title is ragebait because article says some Hamas-affiliated people are living in Turkey and practicing at public shooting ranges.
4
Elderberry4everMay 8, 2026
+2
Cue an Israeli a ‘defensive’ attack in 3,2,1…
2
Schuperman161616May 8, 2026
+2
This reeks of those soft psyops that prepared us for a war with Iran as it's "liberators"
106 Comments