Posted on 02/03/2006 8:28:56 AM PST by thehumanlynx
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - In the most expensive Turkish movie ever made, American soldiers in Iraq crash a wedding and pump a little boy full of lead in front of his mother.
They kill dozens of innocent people with random machine gun fire, shoot the groom in the head, and drag those left alive to Abu Ghraib prison - where a Jewish doctor cuts out their organs, which he sells to rich people in New York, London and Tel Aviv.
"Valley of the Wolves Iraq" - set to open in Turkey on Friday - feeds off the increasingly negative feelings many Turks harbor toward their longtime NATO allies: Americans.
The movie, which reportedly cost some $10 million, is the latest in a new genre of popular culture that demonizes the United States. It comes on the heels of a novel called "Metal Storm" about a war between Turkey and the U.S., which has been a best seller for months.
One recent opinion poll revealed the depth of the hostility in Turkey toward Americans: 53 percent of Turks who responded to the 2005 Pew Global Attitudes survey associated Americans with the word "rude"; 70 percent with "violent"; 68 percent with "greedy"; and 57 percent with "immoral."
Advance tickets are already selling out across Turkey for the film, which has dialogue in Turkish, Arabic, Kurdish and English. In addition to Turkey, the film is set to be shown in more than a dozen other countries - including the United States, Britain, Germany, The Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, Russia, Egypt, Syria and Australia.
The movie's American stars are Billy Zane, who plays a self-professed "peacekeeper sent by God," and Gary Busey as the Jewish-American doctor.
U.S. soldiers have become hate figures in Muslim countries around the world after the unpopular war in Iraq. But here in Turkey, a personal grudge fuels the resentment.
"Valley of the Wolves Iraq" opens with a true story: On July 4, 2003, in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, troops from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade raided and ransacked a Turkish special forces office, threw hoods over the heads of 11 Turkish special forces officers, and held them in custody for more than two days.
The Americans said they had been looking for Iraqi insurgents and unwittingly rounded up the Turks because they were not in uniform. Still, the incident damaged Turkish-U.S. relations and hurt Turkish national pride. Turks traditionally idolize their soldiers; most enthusiastically send their sons off for mandatory military service.
In the movie, one of the Turkish special forces officers commits suicide to save his honor. His farewell letter reaches Polat Alemdar, an elite Turkish intelligence officer who travels to northern Iraq with a small group of men to avenge the humiliation.
There they find a rogue group of U.S. soldiers led by officer Sam William Marshall - played by Zane. In the bloodfest that ensues, the small band of Turks bonds with the people of Iraq and eventually ends American atrocities there, killing Zane and his men in the final scene.
"The scenario is great," Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas told The Associated Press after the film was shown at a posh opening gala Tuesday night. "It was very successful. ... a soldier's honor must never be damaged."
But Topbas and other Turks at the premiere weren't too concerned about how the movie would be perceived in the United States.
"There isn't going to be a war over this," said Nefise Karatay, a Turkish model lounging on a sofa after the premiere. "Everyone knows that Americans have a good side. That's not what this is about."
Gee Whiz. Is anyone surprised? We have people in this country who don't understand Oliver Stone's "JFK" was a fiction, not a documentary. Why should it surprise Americans that people hate them and invest them with every negative perjorative they can think of? Oh, wait, we were talking about Turkey, not the NYT...
It's too bad, really. From the sound of it, this pile of steaming feces would've been a lock if it had made it in time for this year's Oscars.
Gotta see this - ping.
Gary Busey as an "evil Jew" doctor stealing organs for rich Americans and Israelis.
When will the ADL rebuke him?
Thanks for the heads up, but, many times a story gets posted in a different section, or gets buried deep in the page and people cant see it, this gives them a chance to see it.
Then all one needs to do is bump it rather than repost.
Or post with a different title as I did. If it annoys you, sorry.
Nope--that's the point: reposting the SAME thing with another title is wasteful for several reasons (and against the rules here).
sorry stickler. Thanks for taking time out of your day to show me how wrong I was, the others who commented hadn't seen the story so it wasn't wasteful to them. Calm down.
Hey--no problem. Carry on...you're doing us a great service here (snicker). But remember: in life, originality counts.
Further, I doubt that I am doing anyone any disservice as your snicker would indicate. Is it really a disservice to read something twice? doubt it. To me, the miniscule amount of bandwidth it takes up, is an even trade to have someone who hasnt seen something take a look at it.
Anyway, you keep up the "originality" in your article posting, I bet you rack your brain deciding which persons story you'd like to post to keep up your original content.
Just save me the time and scroll right on past my posts if they are redundant, that would be the way to save us both extra time. Keep on keepin' it original, Mr. Beacon of Creativity.
OK, now follow me here: if you're concerned that people did not see a particular story (as you state) since it was not on the board in a while, BUMP IT UP! This story had THREE separate threads going--NO NEED to add ANOTHER one, just bump it up. As a matter of fact, BUMP ALL THREE. See? Simple.
Even had I bumped it up,(I understand the concept of bumping a post to the top, thanks) it still is a possibility that they would miss/overlook it with the current title. I realize there was 3 threads, and that there was no need to add another one, I admit that I could have searched it first, but even so it causes very little problems, except with you apparently. It may be in bad form on a message board, but it does not cause any sizable damage to anyone/anything.
So again, sorry that I annoyed you. Please accept my apology, and if you could, kindly bend over and remove the stick that is causing you such great discomfort.
Just trying to find some common ground, cause I'd like to be friends with you.
If you look back to my original post to you with the links to the three previous threads, I said, "I report, you decide" which clearly left the whole thing up to you--I was being non-judgemental. It was only when you offered--in my mind--a lame excuse for posting a fourth thread on the topic did I begin to offer you ways to accomplish your goal without posting another thread. And, my remark about typing slowly was sarcasm...
And I've never fired a polymer gun (other than my son's Glock). I actually liked the feel of it...
Take care,
PB
1. I admit I didnt search first and I did post the same story, but, in hindsight, I do believe my statement about people not seeing the original stories based on their headlines is legitimate. There are thousands of stories posted here and you typically judge which one you will view by reading the headline only, and even with a bump some will scroll right past the same story a few times. So I do believe some read this who wouldnt have otherwise. Agree to disagree.
2. I am aware of the sarcasm.
3. Although it is up to the shooter. I prefer the XD to the glock, it is designed in such a way that makes it a comfortable and easy pointing shot.
I'm gonna go ahead and drop this whole deal. Thanks for the time, see ya around.
lynx
Just for reminding purposes;
AP: Video Shows Iraq Wedding Celebration
Google that =) i won't comment..
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