Republican Senator Wicker of Mississippi said not everyone understands the Turkish-American relationship as well as those people in the hall where the gala was held. “Sometimes we have to stand up on the floor of the House and Senate and remind our colleagues of the strong and historic relationship that US and Turkey have, dating back to our treaty in 1839, making Turkey one of our earliest allies, and the Truman Doctrine post-World War II. The way we are working together with the NATO effort in Afghanistan, in Iraq and our efforts on counterterrorism. I’m proud to stand with my friends in Turkey. I’m proud to be part of this gala event. Everyone is having a good time, but when it’s all settled down, we are going to be there to stand up for the relationship that’s been so important to both of our countries,” he said.