On April 25, The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA), and the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA), representing the voice of over 500,000 Turkish-Americans and 300,000 Turkic Americans nationwide, sent a letter to President Obama urging the U.S. administration to support Macedonia’s NATO membership at the upcoming Chicago Summit this May.
The joint letter stated that: "Macedonia has proven itself to be a committed member of the Alliance since entering the Partnership for Peace program in 1995 and submitting its Membership Action Plan (MAP) in 1999. Macedonia has been actively involved in NATO's KFOR Mission in Kosovo…Additionally, Macedonia has remained active in the ISAF Mission in Afghanistan, currently hosting the fifth most troops per capita…Likewise, Macedonia has proven its commitment by sending troops to allied missions in Iraq, Bosnia, and Lebanon, as well as through the provision of humanitarian assistance in Darfur… Macedonia has fulfilled all of the MAP requirements for membership."
The letter further noted that: "This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of NATO’s first enlargement, which encompassed Greece and Turkey. Inclusion in NATO has been of tremendous value for these countries, as well as for global security, and the inclusion of Macedonia into the Alliance is well overdue."
Please click here to read the joint TCA, ATAA, and FTAA letter to President Obama:
http://umdiaspora.org/2012/04/25/turkish-americans-inclusion-of-macedonia-in-nato-well-overdue/