When Turkey joined NATO in February 1952, there seemed to be a purpose to the expansion into traditionally Islamic territory. Proponents of Turkey's membership argued that the West needed this country as an ally to prevent Soviet expansion in the region. But this was a deal with the devil.
Fears of Soviet aggression may have been understandable at the time, but never to the extent that rationalized allowing Turkey into NATO. Other routes existed for NATO to thwart perceived Soviet ambitions throughout this area, including temporary military and economic support for Turkey and the further strengthening of conventional and nuclear forces in Western Europe. The spastic response in Turkey's NATO membership was short-sighted and unforgivable, and will ultimately lead to more problems for the West than it was intended to solve.
