[jhpigott]

on a related note . . .

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey warned Thursday it will declare a border on the continental shelf if the island of Cyprus proceeds with offshore oil and gas drilling activities.

Turkey’s warning also coincides with expected deployment of Turkish warships in the east Mediterranean over Israel’s refusal to apologize for the killing of nine Turkish activists on an aid ship that attempted to break the blockade of Gaza last year.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/15/general-eu-turkey-cyprus-gas-drilling_8681014.html

[GonzoGOP]

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey warned Thursday it will declare a border on the continental shelf if the island of Cyprus proceeds with offshore oil and gas drilling activities.

Going after Cyprus would be a tempting, but foolish move for Turkey. That island is almost 80% Greek Orthodox religion. Now that won't stop the Turks for conquering it, but it will PO their neighbors to the North. The Russians have decided to use the "Defenders of the faith" argument to buy them some pull in the Balkans. They thumbed their nose at NATO in Bosnia when Russia was at its weakest and the US at the peak of its post cold war, pre 9/11 power. Today with Russia the stronger nation in the region they would not hesitate to get involved if they thought it was to their benefit. Vald doesn't to PC. He's a good old fashioned imperialist.

The real reason would be to split NATO. Gain influence over the Balkans, who justifiably fear the rise of Islam in Turkey. And to cut the Turkish pipelines that are the only competitor with Russian natural gas for Europe. Turks seem to find great satisfaction in how vulnerable Israel is due to US weakness. However they fail to realize how vulnerable Turkey is without that same protection. Vlad would love to take out the competition. And neither Erdogan or Obama are in his league.