IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1195 

Condemning Turkey’s attacks on United States forces and allies and Turkey’s 

continued support for terrorist organizations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 16, 2020 

Ms. GABBARD submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning Turkey’s attacks on United States forces and 

allies and Turkey’s continued support for terrorist organizations. 

Whereas Turkey has been a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member since 1952 and as such Turkey is 

obligated to adhere to the principles and mission of the 

North Atlantic Treaty; 

Whereas under the nearly two-decade long authoritarian rule 

of Recep Tayyip Erdog ̆an, Turkey has eroded that relationship by— 

(1) implementing domestic policies that violate the 

founding principles of NATO to live in peace with all 

peoples and governments, and safeguard the freedom, 

common heritage, and civilization of their peoples, foundVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Oct 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1195.IH HR1195

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•HRES 1195 IH 

ed on the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and 

the rule of law; and 

(2) taking deliberate hostile actions against NATO 

allies as well as aggressive actions that threaten regional 

stability, undermine United States security interests, and 

risk drawing NATO into a larger conflict of Turkey’s 

own creation; 

Whereas Turkey’s use of the S–400 air defense system on 

United States-made F–16 fighter jets returning from the 

Eunomia exercise conducted by France, Italy, Greece, 

and Cyprus in August of 2020 was an act of unwarranted aggression on a NATO ally; 

Whereas, in June 2020, the Turkish Navy was found to be 

escorting a vessel suspected of shipping arms to Libya in 

violation of an arms embargo and that the Turkish Navy 

acted to prevent a French naval vessel from investigating 

the suspected vessel, prompting a NATO investigation; 

Whereas Turkey has threatened other allies in NATO and 

disregarded international law by sending a research vessel and naval ships into Greek waters around the island 

of Kastellorizo on an oil exploration mission in waters 

that the United Nations, the European Union, and international law maintain are within the Greek Exclusive 

Economic Zone (EEZ); 

Whereas the buildup of Turkish tanks in the Province of 

Erdine on the border between Greece and Turkey, and 

Turkey’s threatening rhetoric against Greece on state-run 

media, has further increased tensions between the European Union and Turkey; 

Whereas Turkey has provided indirect and direct military, 

economic, and political support to known terrorist organiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Oct 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1195.IH HR1195

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•HRES 1195 IH 

zations such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda-linked 

jihadist groups such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) 

and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in northern Syria; 

Whereas, on October 11, 2019, Turkey deliberately attacked 

Kurdish forces with indirect fire, with full knowledge that 

United States special forces were co-located with them 

and that their artillery rounds could hit United States 

forces; 

Whereas this attack forced the withdrawal of United States 

troops from their observation post, whose exact location 

was known to the Turkish military; 

Whereas General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff, said that because Turkey knew the exact 

location of United States troops, this was a deliberate 

show of force against the United States and its Syrian 

Democratic Forces (SDF) partners, as all artillery operated by the Turkish military would have United States 

locations programmed as No Fire Areas (NFAs); 

Whereas former American envoy for the anti-ISIS coalition 

Brett McGurk released statements supporting General 

Milley’s assertions; 

Whereas Turkey has continually undermined the efforts of 

the United States-supported Syrian Kurds by taking military action against them, including— 

(1) heavy artillery attacks on Kurdish SDF in the 

Abu Rasin region of Al-Hasakah on September 23, 2019; 

(2) a bombardment of a Kurdish SDF outpost on 

October 8, 2019; and 

(3) an attempted assassination of a Kurdish SDF 

defense official near Ain al-Issa by an armed Turkish 

drone in August of 2020; 


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•HRES 1195 IH 

Whereas continued aggression by Turkey and its proxies 

against the SDF in northern Syria has led to a resurgence of ISIS and Al Qaeda, and further destabilization 

of the region; 

Whereas Turkey has sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters with links to Al Qaeda and ISIS along with 

Turkish soldiers to Libya to fight in its civil war, undermining the peace and reconciliation process there and 

providing a haven for terrorist organizations; 

Whereas Turkey has escalated its involvement in the conflict 

between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh, previously 

offering political support for Azerbaijan’s position, but 

now providing direct military support; 

Whereas Turkey maintains a closed border with the Republic 

of Armenia, a country with friendly relations with the 

United States, and has repeatedly issued threats against 

the Republic of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, and Armenian communities in other parts of the world, at times 

thinly veiling its threats with references to the genocide 

of Armenians in Turkey that took place in the early 20th 

century; 

Whereas reports indicate that Turkey has sent Syrian fighters, many of whom have been associated with Al Qaeda 

and ISIS, to fight against the Armenians of Nagorno 

Karabakh; 

Whereas it has been reported that Turkey has participated in 

or taken outright control of Azerbaijan’s air command 

and military offensive against Nagorno Karabakh and 

that its F–16 fighters have been engaged in attacks 

against both Nagorno Karabakh and the Republic of Armenia; 


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•HRES 1195 IH 

Whereas NATO has called for the immediate cease-fire to 

hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh in response to Azerbaijan’s military attack on Nagorno Karabakh while Turkey has contradicted NATO’s position by publicly supporting and assisting with Azerbaijan’s continued military aggression; 

Whereas in response to Canada’s decision to suspend arms 

exports to Turkey in response to its involvement in Azerbaijan’s military offensive, Turkey cited the NATO relationship as the reason for its disappointment in Canada’s 

decision, associating NATO with its actions in the 

Caucasus; and 

Whereas this conflict threatens to draw Russia into the conflict, as they have a mutual defense agreement with Armenia, therefore heightening the possibility of NATO involvement should Turkey invoke Article 5 of the North 

Atlantic Treaty: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly condemns Turkey’s attacks on 

3 United States forces, allies, and partners including 

4 the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces; 

5 (2) demands the end of Turkey’s support of ter6 rorist groups such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, and others; 

7 and 

8 (3) calls on the President to work with NATO 

9 to create the necessary process to remove Turkey 

10 from NATO. 

Æ 


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