US election 2012: Turkey condemns Rick Perry's 'Islamic terrorists' comment "Obviously when you have a country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that sort of activity against their own citizens, then yes - not only is it time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong in Nato, but it's time for the United States, when we look at their foreign aid, to go to zero with it," Mr Perry said. "Turkey can be a valuable ally, but the actions of the current government undermine that country's role in an organisation like Nato," Ray Sullivan, Perry's communications director, said in an emailed statement. "We need to send the message to Turkey that internal violence, association with terrorist groups and radical Islamist influence are inconsistent with being a Nato ally and positive player in world affairs," he said. Turkey noted that it had joined Nato when Mr Perry was just 2 years old, and cited its long history of fighting terrorism, including co-chairing the Global Counterterrorism Forum with the United States. "We strongly condemn the unfounded and inappropriate allegations expressed yesterday evening about our country during a debate held in South Carolina by Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is running for Republican Nomination for the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said in Ankara. He noted that Mr Perry trailed in the race for the Republican nomination to oppose President Barack Obama's re-election next year and said, "This reflects the commonsense of the US electorate." In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the Obama administration fundamentally disagreed with the assertion that Turkey was run by Islamic terrorists.