Posted on 02/22/2006 10:35:13 PM PST by Wiz
The U.S. military is quietly preparing to withdraw its forces from Turkey.
Government sources said the military and Defense Department have concluded that Turkey is no longer a reliable military ally. The sources said that by 2008 the United States would have no more than a token military presence in Turkey.
"For two years, the Pentagon waited for a turnaround in Turkey," a source said. "That hasn't happened and the Pentagon will be looking elsewhere for basing and deployment."
The Bush administration was deeply disappointed by Ankara's refusal to host U.S. troops in 2003 as part of plans to form a northern front against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. Last year, despite numerous pledges, Ankara blocked another U.S. effort to expand its military presence and use of Turkish military installations.
As a result, the Pentagon has been changing its deployment in Turkey and ended incentives for U.S. soldiers to be based in that country, which is also a member of NATO. The Pentagon has also terminated Turkey's certification as an area in direct support of the U.S. military operation in Iraq.
On Dec. 31, the Pentagon ended most incentives for U.S. soldiers to be based in Turkey, an area deemed as high risk amid rising anti-American sentiment during the war in Iraq. The Pentagon ended the exemption of U.S. soldiers from federal taxes in an arrangement known as combat zone tax exclusion.
U.S. soldiers in Turkey began receiving this benefit in January 2003 in anticipation of the war in Iraq. But in a review in late 2005, U.S. European Command determined that Turkey no longer fulfilled combat zone requirements.
(Excerpt) Read more at kurdistanobserver.servehttp.com ...
YA THINK???
About time!
The Turks are not going to be happy with any lean toward a Kurdistan nor will the Iranians. Old lesson:no such thing as permanent allies.
Just imagine how much fun this would be for our side, were Turkey actually engaged in running our seaports.
We knew that when they stiffed us in iraq. I wonder about their NATO status.
If and when the Bush Administration decides to pull our bases out of Turkey, I doubt that they will keep every news organization in the U.S. in the dark about it and only release the information to the Kurdistan Observer.
And hopefully this means the end of
1) that big annual foreign aid check
2) American pressure on the EU to admit Turkey.
Really? What was your first clue?
Most likey Romania or Bulgaria. Both countries would be tripping over themselves to land a major US base / bases.
The Transcaucasian states would be a bit too provocative with regard to the Russians. Afghanistan and Iraq, on the other hand, would be better places for US bases than Turkey. Basing there would also have benefits beyond the obvious military ones (Bracketing Iran and flanking China). There's something to be said for pumping money into the economies of our newest allies.
ping
ping
Sure as hell took them long enough to figure that out, jeez.
If we no longer care about appeasing Turkey, does this mean that we can do the right thing now and permit the partition of Iraq?
Both locations way to hostile right now or in the near future.
<< On Dec. 31, the Pentagon ended most incentives for U.S. soldiers to be based in Turkey, an area deemed as high risk amid rising anti-American sentiment during the war in Iraq. The Pentagon ended the exemption of U.S. soldiers from federal taxes in an arrangement known as combat zone tax exclusion. >>
Cutting the benefits of the servicemen assigned there because the Turks aren't cooperating?? WTF? Is that supposed to punish the Turks?
Stiffed us in Iraq and by doing so left the Sunni Triangle to become an Al Qaeda base. Ever think how different things would have been if the 4th ID casme down from the North?
Could we have avoided this if we had reached out to them and let them manage some of our ports?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.