With defense appropriations season in full swing on Capitol Hill, offering Turkey military aid would only reward President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threats against Washington’s allies, strain NATO’s cohesion, and enable Turkey’s further slide into autocracy.
Members of Congress are in the midst of proposing several much-needed amendments to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. Among these are programs to strengthen security coordination with Washington’s Mediterranean allies, investigate Turkey’s special relationship with Hamas, and punish Erdogan’s abysmal treatment of the Turkish people and Ankara’s formal allies.
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Throughout the past year, Erdogan’s behavior on the international stage has clearly reflected his willingness to undermine NATO at every opportunity. Between entrenching Turkey in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and conducting naval exercises against Greek maritime sovereignty, Erdogan offers no pretense of respect for the alliance.
All the while, his bid to bankrupt Turkish democracy, with a seemingly insatiable desire to repress and jail political opponents and civilians alike, is turning Turkey’s authoritarianism into autocracy. Despite an abysmal track record, Ankara still seeks to acquire strategic weapons capabilities from Washington — specifically the F-35 joint strike fighter.
During the dog days of summer, Erdogan poured political capital into dismantling what remains of Turkey’s democratic opposition. The process began in March, when the Erdogan-controlled judiciary forcibly removed Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, from office. Imamoglu, widely expected to declare himself the presidential candidate of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was Erdogan’s most formidable challenger since 2003. He now sits in prison, with virtually no chance of release.
Imamoglu’s jailing marked a turning point. It showcased Erdogan’s readiness to weaponize the judiciary to eliminate the rival most capable of defeating him in 2028. Turkey now resembles Russia, where qualified candidates are treated as threats precisely because they are qualified.
The crackdown did not stop there. Erdogan is now targeting CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozel, who led the party to victory in the 2024 local elections. The president is maneuvering to reinstall former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, whose repeated failures, most notably in 2023, pose no risk to Erdogan’s rule.
By midsummer, Erdogan’s campaign to hollow out the opposition intensified. In July, the mayors of Adana, Adiyaman, and Antalya were arrested on dubious corruption charges. In August, nine provincial CHP mayors defected to Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP. On June 7, the AKP petitioned Parliament to strip 61 of 135 CHP deputies of their immunity, leaving them vulnerable to a pliant judiciary.
The assault culminated on Sept. 2, when an Istanbul court dissolved the CHP’s elected provincial leadership, replacing it with regime-appointed caretakers. Many expect this to pave the way for Ozel’s ouster, cementing Erdogan’s effort to neuter the opposition into irrelevance.
The United States now faces a moment of truth. Erdogan is not just undermining Turkey’s democracy — he is hollowing out NATO’s credibility by turning Turkey into an autocracy within the alliance. Washington has a narrow window, this budget cycle, to impose meaningful consequences. Sleeping on this opportunity would mean acquiescing to the death of democracy in a NATO member state.
Bipartisan amendments calling attention to Ankara’s undemocratic behavior are crucial for enforcing Turkey’s commitments as a NATO ally and reminding Erdogan of the price to pay for his autocratic bent. Starting with policy on the Eastern Mediterranean, representatives have proposed several measures in the NDAA to put Turkey’s regional aggression in check.
First among them is a push to expand counterterrorism cooperation in the “3+1” partnership between the U.S., Greece, Israel, and Cyprus. In particular, the bill pledges to establish a joint counterterrorism program, known as CERBERUS, that will train all four countries’ forces for future terrorist threats. Erdogan’s vocal support for Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, demonstrates clearly Turkey’s poor track record on counterterrorism in the Eastern Mediterranean. In light of this, lest the U.S. forget Ankara’s backing of jihadist militias and open threats against U.S. counter-Islamic State group partners in Syria, a 3+1 counterterrorism framework offers much promise.
Naval cooperation is also a much-needed boost to the security of U.S. allies in the Eastern Mediterranean. The bill’s proposed TRIREME program complements counterterrorism efforts through training all four countries’ coast guards and navies at the Greek naval base in Souda Bay, Crete. Washington’s blind eye to Turkish aggression has allowed Erdogan to tout his Blue Homeland doctrine with rhetoric and drills threatening Greek and Cypriot maritime sovereignty. By cementing joint naval exercises and training out of Souda Bay, Washington can meaningfully discourage Erdogan’s saber-rattling.
Last but certainly not least, members of Congress are calling to investigate Turkish malfeasance in the Middle East and restrict arms exports to Ankara. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) proposed two key amendments for this year’s NDAA — one to commission an intelligence report on Turkish support for Hamas and Syrian armed groups, and another to restrict arms sales to Turkey should Erdogan threaten Israel militarily. Furthermore, a proposal from Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) would ban all arms exports to Turkey until the Trump administration confirms that Erdogan’s government is no longer encroaching on Greek or Cypriot sovereignty.
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But conditioning military aid to Turkey should also depend on Erdogan’s treatment of Turkish civilians and democracy, not just his international conduct. NATO’s fundamental values, “the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law,” charge its members to stand against threats from autocracy’s peddlers in Russia, China, and Iran. Restricting defense spending for Erdogan’s autocracy is a stand Congress ought to make for the sake of NATO’s principles and for those persecuted for believing in Turkish democracy.
Turkey’s status as a NATO treaty ally is a responsibility, not an excuse to write off Erdogan’s autocratic practices or his shameless threats against vital U.S. allies. Congress should consider these proposals with great interest if the U.S. truly seeks a more committed NATO, a safer Mediterranean and Middle East, and a standard of democratic freedom for the treaty’s citizens.
Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow and director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. William Doran is a research intern in the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.