During his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump occasionally told a parable about a woman and a snake. The snake was in need, and the woman took it in. After being cared for and provided for, the snake suddenly lashed out and bit the woman. When the woman protested, the snake replied, “You knew I was a snake before you took me in.” The soon-to-be-elected president was using this story as a warning against illegal immigration, but I think he would be wise to revisit it as he seeks to make foreign policy deals with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

After the Ottoman Empire collapsed in the aftermath of World War I, Turkey emerged as a moderate, peaceful, and even friendly democracy. Later in the century, the nation became a model for Muslim reformers—those who were eager to separate themselves from the violent extremists and join the democratic mainstream. NATO welcomed Turkey, and they became an ally of the West against the Soviet Union. The nation’s economy grew, freedom blossomed, and people from all over the world, including Israel, flocked to this new tourist destination.

Then came the snake. In August of 2014, after thirteen years serving as prime minister, Erdogan took the reins of the country. An Islamic radical, his visions of grandeur include a desire to restore the former greatness of the Ottoman Empire. His goals and his ideology are leading him to seize churches, crack down on the Internet, and wage an all-out war with the press, seeking to suppress any challenge to his brutal dictatorship. In 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that ever since a failed 2016 coup attempt, Turkey has consistently jailed more members of the press than any other nation in the world.[1] Now, President Erdogan and President Trump have made a deal that opened the door for Turkey’s passage into northern Syria, thereby giving the nation access to destroy the Kurds. Even with the apparent cease-fire that is being discussed at the time of this article’s writing, the U.S. president is trusting that Erdogan will deal in good faith. I would be quite surprised if that were proven true.

People reveal their true character through their actions, and we have seen enough of Erdogan to know he is someone who cannot be trusted. The true nature of a person is also often demonstrated by the company they keep. The deepening ties between Turkey, Russia, and Iran should be more than enough to tell us that Erdogan is in no way a straight shooter. Now that he has moved Turkish troops into northern Syria, the Middle Eastern presence of this triumvirate of evil is that much greater.

I appreciate the U.S. president’s desire to protect American troops and to disentangle the nation’s military from various regions of the world. I am also thankful to see the strong sanctions backed by Congress and the president. However, by making the decision to step out of Erdogan’s way in northern Syria, it is possible that President Trump may have invited a snake into the home of his foreign policy. That’s a choice that will most likely bite back. And when it does, no one should be surprised. America knew quite well that Erdogan was a snake before we invited him in.

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[1] Beiser, Elana. “Hundreds of Journalists Jailed Globally Becomes the New Normal.” Committee to Protect Journalists, 13 Dec. 2018, https://cpj.org/reports/2018/12/journalists-jailed-imprisoned-turkey-china-egypt-saudi-arabia.php.