Local GOP group calls for NATO withdrawal

COEUR d’ALENE — The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee passed a resolution Tuesday calling on U.S. Sen. Jim Risch and Congress to extricate the U.S. from the NATO alliance.

Precinct Committeeman Bjorn Handeen said he introduced the resolution after the country of Turkey started shelling Kurdish rebels, who the U.S. and Russia are supporting in their fight against ISIS in Syria.

“If we pull out Turkey would no longer be able to use NATO as a shield,” Handeen said.

Handeen said Turkey expects cooperation from its NATO allies in combating the YPG, a Kurdish militia supported by both the U.S. and Russia.

Just this week, Handeen said Turkey began shelling the Kurdish fighters, known as the YPG, in Aleppo Syria because the Islamists who control the city of Aleppo have had their Turkish supply lines cut off by the YPG.

Handeen believes the defeat of the Turkish supported Islamist militia in Aleppo and the defeat to Turkish designs in Syria is close at hand.

“We have no idea what Turkey may do, but I know there is no legal or moral justification to continue to allow ISIS to benefit from our military alliance with their sponsor state,” Handeen wrote in speech to the central committee. “I understand that some people with misplaced historic grievances may ignore, or just be blind, to these arguments because of some vague notions that NATO is still important as a counter to Russia or China.

“But why fool yourself? Any countering can and must be done by us, not NATO. They need us, we don't need them,” Handeen told committee members.

He said there was some debate among the committee and most of the opposition came from members who still fear Russia, but in the end the resolution passed 23 to 17.

Handeen said his resolution has already started to garner national attention on websites such as Antiwar.com and Twitter.

He said the chairman of the central committee will now draft a letter and send it to Sen. Risch as soon as possible.