[a_Turk]

>> On the other hand, if they had helped us as we asked, Turkey would be in a real position to get more involved in the northern Iraq.

That's no guarantee. The US grudgingly agreed to our involvement and then wouldn't sign on the dotted line.

Read this for a 3rd party western account of the negotiations.

[SubMareener]

There is no doubt that the State Department screwed up the negotiations. However, based on my experience with the Turkish Army and MIT, I would have expected the Turks to be able to handle the idiots at State. They didn't.

Hopefully, the Turkish Government will learn from this, and the Bush Administration will get on with Transforming the State Department. Then things can go more smoothly in the future.