American Pastor Detained in Turkey Freed at Last

10/16/2018

Two years after being incarcerated for bogus reasons by the authoritarian regime of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, American Pastor Andrew Brunson is a free man. President Trump's dogged fight for his release made it possible.

Contrast President Trump's accomplishment in using economic pressure to secure Pastor Brunson's release with former President Obama's capitulation to the demands of state and non-state captors holding Americans hostage during his administration. President Trump did not agree to a quid pro quo trade of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for Pastor Brunson as Erdogan had reportedly first demanded.