Gen. David Petraeus, wearing his new hat as director of Central Intelligence, made an unannounced visit to Ankara on Monday, according to Turkey’s flagship daily Hurriyet. Turkish sources cited in the newspaper said greater cooperation between Turkey and the United States to fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (known better by its Kurdish acronym, the PKK) would top his agenda. Petraeus’ visit comes against the backdrop of fighting between the PKK and the Turkish army which killed 13 Turkish soldiers.

The United States should certainly assist other countries in their fight against terrorism but, simultaneously, the State Department, Pentagon, and the CIA should ensure that any country receiving anti-terror assistance likewise commits itself to fight terrorism without regard to political sympathies. The current Turkish leadership actively supports Hamas. According to Hurriyet yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may visit Gaza tomorrow, crossing from Egypt in order to show his support for the rabidly anti-Semitic terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction. There is no logical way to condemn the PKK as a terrorist group and yet embrace Hamas as legitimate.

It is time the United States use its leverage and demand any country receiving counter-terror assistance to sign onto a common definition of terrorism and to cease any direct or indirect support for terrorist groups, no matter how sympathetic foreign governments might be to their cause. Gen. Petraeus should realize  the war on terrorism cannot be won so long as his partners believe terrorism to be legitimate. The same goes for Congress and any U.S. department which funds the anti-terrorism campaign in Turkey regardless of whether Turkey turns around and supports terrorism against U.S. allies.