ALLIES: Turkey withdraws troops from NATO drill in Norway.

“There was an incident in Norway,” Erdogan told ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party members in capital Ankara.

“They used an enemy chart in Norway. In that chart, there was my name and [Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk’s picture.”

The president said he was informed about the issue by Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik.

“They told me that they are withdrawing our 40 soldiers from there [Norway],” Erdogan said.

“I told them to do that immediately. There can be no alliance like that.”

NATO troops using Erdogan’s name as the enemy seems unlikely. Using Ataturk’s name (next to Erdogan’s, which is rich) seems unlikelier still.

So we have a big excuse about a minor offense (stipulating that it even happened) during a small exercise — which has me wondering if Erdogan isn’t prepping his country for a NATO exit.