Esper: Turkey responsible for war crimes 2019-10-23 13:40:05 NEWS CENTER - US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, stating that he believed that Turkey may have committed war crimes and that Ankara can be held responsible.  During his visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday, Esper was asked about the extrajudicia killings and torture of the militants fighting for Turkey in a CNN interview.   Esper, stating that he too have seen those news and that they are trying to follow that up, said: "These are horrible. And if they are true, and I think they are, they are war crimes. Those responsible must be held accountable and that will be Turkey in many cases.  US Defense Secretary Esper said "We can't allow these to happen"     ERDOĞAN IS RESPONSIBLE   Esper said AKP President Tayyip Erdoğan is responsible for the possible war crimes in a statement he made last week.