How Turkey Destroyed Its Own Air Force

http://nationalinterest.org/ ^ | 3/16/18 | Michael Peck

[Zeppo]

But it left a gaping question: who would be left to fly Turkey's jet fighters?

Erdogan don't need no stinkin' jet fighters anyway. He can simply request hundreds of flying carpets from Saudi Arabia to pick up the slack.

After all, isn't that what Mohammed would do?

[AdmSmith]

Most of the pilots in Turkey are secular, that is why they are kicked out

[Joe Boucher]

tell it to Les Nessman.

[Texas Fossil]

A friend of mine in Syria told me that Putin would chose his own time to even the score of Erdogan’s military shooting down Russia's jet near the Syrian border. This article makes the downing of the Russian jet more understandable.

Then there is the jet that was shot down in Deir Ezzor area with a shoulder launched missile. Russians said early on that it was made in the USA. I think they concluded that it was shipped to that area by Turkey and was in hands of one of Turkey's Jihadi groups. I never heard if the person who actually used it was ever identified. I'm sure something that expensive would be heavily tracked.

Putin was an accountant for the KGB. He is methodical. Obviously he learned other traits there too.

I agree, this will not end well for Erdogan or Turkey.

[SunkenCiv]

The Deir Ezzor event involved a helicopter; any US weapons used could have come from almost anywhere.

[Texas Fossil]

I was relying on my memory. Is this the event you were talking about? This is not the original article I read, but this is photo I remember.

http://www.english.iswnews.com/1135/militia-shoot-down-a-russian-su-25-jet-over-saraqeb/

It is not specifically in the Deir Ezzor area. That might have been my point of confusion. (or just my age? smile)

[FLT-bird]

Why are we still in NATO? We can make mutual defense pacts with the handful of real allies we have over there. The rest (ie the vast majority of them) are just ankle biting free riders counting on us to pay for their defense so they can waste more money on socialism. Screw ‘em.

[SunkenCiv]

Old age kinda sucks, but also beats the alternative. ;^)

[Texas Fossil]

Rodger on that.

[SunkenCiv]

Maybe, maybe not, but they weren't the fanatical bigots that Erdogan wants in there. All these missile systems (S400, Eurosam) are getting installed for one reason only -- to protect the approaches to Iran's nuclear weapons program.

[Cronos]

Erdogan culls his military

Erdogan then over-extends agaisnt Kurds

Erdogan gets himself kicked out of NATO, so no NATO support against an attack by outsiders

Russia gets the Dardanelles.....

[Texas Fossil]

Very appropriate analysis.

My friend and I have long speculated that Russia is playing with Erdogan.

You are perceptive.

Thanks

[Texas Fossil]

Next step?

Tal Rifat handed over to the Turkish regime

https://anfenglish.com/news/tal-rifat-handed-over-to-the-turkish-regime-25763

FR Comments: https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3642772/posts

[Cronos]

Not so perceptive as having read a few books (hasn't made me wise, just put two and two together):

1. Ivan IV declaring Moscow the "Third Rome"
2. Tsar Alexander's aim to push and free the Balkans from Turkish rule
3. Tsar Nicholas' aim to crush the Turks and win Crimea and thence onwards to Constantinople (books on the Crimean war) which was stopped by the English
4. "1920: the miracle on the vistula" by Adam Zamoyski which talked of Tukachevsky, the Soviet military genius who nearly won the war to spread the revolution to Germany and Western Europe. Even though he hated Christianity (called it "the religion of the dead Jew") and pretended to worship the ancient Slavic deities, he still wanted to lead Russian armies to conquer Constantinople

Constantinople is so ingrained in the Russian mindset since the baptism of the Rus that they will strive for it no matter what.

Let Erdogan play the fool (I hope I am not being short-sighted and don't see a card he has up his sleeve)

[Texas Fossil]

He has weakened his military to the point he uses ISIS and al Qaeda to bleed for him. That animal will turn on him an eat him. Oh, I forgot he is one with them.

Will NATO see that he is NATO’s enemy? I think the US does. Won’t admit that Turkey is lost, but understands what is at stake. Most of EU is blinded by the socialist dogma and dream. Much like Erdogan is blinded by his dream of being the Sultan for a great movement. He will over reach and self destruct, with great human loss.

[SunkenCiv]

Eventually his two new "partners" will be using his flayed skin for a sex toy. The former, failed states of Syria and Iraq should be renamed "Quagmiria" on world maps.

[Cronos]

The best approach would be

1. to tear off western Iraq and Eastern Syria (the Sunni dominated areas), attach them to the Hashemite dynasty ruled Jordan
2. Give Assad the city dominated West Syria and Latakia with the condition that Sunnis are pushed to the east or they convert
3. Shia dominated south Iraq
4. Kurdistan
5. Yazidi land
6. Assyria

[SunkenCiv]

If it comes to rebuilding the boundaries, I'd go for most of those, but the only thing the Assad family would get is bullets in the cranium. The Hezbollah would be annihilated, and the Alawite and western Sunni remnants of Syria joined to Lebanon.