US Marines Assaulted on Streets of Western Turkey

It would now appear that our service members are not even safe in our fellow NATO countries.

Case in point, two Marines were attacked on the streets of Turkey by what appeared to be pro-Palestinian Turkish citizens.

According to reports, a total of 15 assailants were arrested on charges related to the attack.

Not Safe

The Marines were in civilian clothing and traveling through the Konak district when they were attacked.

Local authorities are describing the attackers as members of the Turkey Youth Union (TGB), a youth branch of the nationalist opposition Vatan Party.

As the Marines were being attacked, five other service members jumped in to help defend them until police arrived to break up the fight.

The U.S. Embassy to Turkey posted on X, "We can confirm reports that U.S. service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an assault in Izmir today, and are now safe.”

The White House, in typical spineless fashion, stated that it was “troubled” by the incident.

While I am far from suggesting that Biden should be dropping the hammer on Turkey, a much stronger response is needed to ensure our citizens are not attacked abroad, especially in a fellow NATO country.

The Marines are stationed on the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship.

Turkey and the United States have had a strained relationship in recent years due to Turkey purchasing the Russian S-400 defense system (this is a deadly accurate surface-to-air missile defense system) that resulted in sanctions against Turkey as well as the nation being removed from the F-35 jet program.

That tension has only increased with the war between Hamas and Israel, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan being very critical of Israel in the conflict.

The relationship has gotten better in recent months with Turkey playing a significant role in the hostage release negotiations between Hamas and Israel.