Turks shower U.S. soldiers with eggs, stones

alertnet.org ^ | 29 Mar 2003 12:28:16 GMT | Reuters

[Destro]

29 Mar 2003 12:28:16 GMT

Turks shower U.S. soldiers with eggs, stones

SILOPI, Turkey, March 29 (Reuters) - Turkish villagers showered U.S. soldiers with eggs and stones on Saturday when they arrived to recover pieces of a Tomahawk cruise missile which came down in eastern Turkey on Friday.

Scores of people in Urfa province set upon four jeeps carrying some 10 American soldiers, breaking windows and shouting slogans against the U.S.-led war in neighbouring Iraq, Anatolian news agency reported.

Turkish gendarmes later intervened to break up the demonstration. There were no initial reports of injuries.

Sukru Kocatepe, governor of Urfa province, told Reuters on Friday a Tomahawk cruise missile, launched from U.S. navy ships in the Mediterranean, had fallen in the sparsely populated area gouging a deep hole but without exploding.

It was believed to be the third U.S. missile to land in Turkey since the Iraq war began. Two Tomahawks misfired and landed in Turkey last Sunday, a U.S. defence official said.

Some 90 percent of Turks are against the war and the people of the impoverished east, fearing further falls in living standards, say they have much to lose from the conflict.

Turkey opened its air space to U.S. military aircraft and missiles after parliament rejected Washington's request to station up to 62,000 troops along its southern border with Iraq to open a second front against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Anatolian said the U.S. soldiers handed about $3,600 in cash to five villagers to meet the damage the missile had caused to their crops. U.S. officials were not immediately available to confirm the report.

"This amount of money does not cover the damage we have suffered but we accepted it to close the episode," local government official Mehmet Yilmaz told the agency.

Turkey's National Security Council, a powerful body of military and civilian leaders, on Friday called on the United States to end its war on Iraq quickly and to prevent further civilian casualties there.

[Az Joe]

Gee I wonder how they would have felt had Saddam gone north in '91?

[Cicero]

I imagine $3,600 would pay for a pretty big hole in some farmer's field, even in this country, let alone the back end of Turkey.

[EaglesUpForever]

the people of the impoverished east, fearing further falls in living standards, say they have much to lose from the conflict.

They would have had alot to gain from the conflict had they chosen the right side.

[pepsionice]

The funny thing here...is that they immedately laid into this US team....and the team never got a chance to deactivate the missile...LOL. Its still active and sitting in the field. The US troops will refuse to go back out unless the Turkish military accompanies them....which will take weeks to negotiate....while the missile sits there.

[Cold Heat]

The turks need to put a sock in it and stop watching Al Jazz Bag TV.

They are in real trouble and are not likely to get our assistance except reluctantly through NATO.

They need to put the entire country on tranq's!

[nmh]

Sic the kurds on em. Maybe then they'll be more appreciative of what we are doing for them. Need I mention the extortion for use of the air?

[ET(end tyranny)]

Well, geeeee. What has their panties in a wad? Same thing has bunched the panties of the French, and the UN??? They don't like finding out that they are IRRELEVANT??

[ET(end tyranny)]

Yeah. We can use their airspace. No we can't. Yes we can. No we changed our minds again, you can't. Same with off loading our troops. They can piss up a rope. I'd tell them we changed OUR mind and they can forget about ANY foreign aid!

[Centurion2000]

Some 90 percent of Turks are against the war and the people of the impoverished east, fearing further falls in living standards, say they have much to lose from the conflict

My heart bleeds .. /not ... get in America's way ... miss out on our help.

[nravoter]

They don't like finding out that they are IRRELEVANT?

It's amazing that these knuckleheads couldn't imagine how good life would have been had they simply done the right thing and joined the good guys on this one. They would have gotten the aid package, more participation in NATO, and a share in the rebuilding of Iraq.

Spain figured it out, but these guys are running as fast as they can away from progress and prosperity.

[Enemy Of The State]

maybe we should shower them with Patriot Missiles?

[Allan]

Sic the kurds on em.
Maybe then they'll be more appreciative of what we are doing for them.

Silopi, where this incident took place, is about 90% Kurdish.

So I presume what you mean is sic the Kurds on the Kurds?

[Hugin]

I say we remove all of our forces from Turkey ASAP. Now that we have airbases in Iraq we don't need them anymore. Let all our fair-weather "allies" go to hell.

[SENTINEL]

Damned rock chuckers !

[Travis McGee]

I'll bet $3,600 US would buy the damn farm outright, lock, stock and barrel.

[ET(end tyranny)]

That's because they WANT to be a part of the EU and France dangled EU membership over their heads. Someday France will get exactly what it deserves, when the muslims take over that country and enfore sharia law. It will be a sad day, and the French will have no one to blame but themselves.

[Travis McGee]

Now that we have airbases in Iraq we don't need them anymore.

Sweet!

[ET(end tyranny)]

Let all our fair-weather "allies" go to hell.

YEP! That's why my tag line has 'true' in it. I felt from the beginning of the war talk, that we would see quasi-allies. As soon as their objectives are met, I think they will bail if not out right turn on us.

[FirstTomato]

Uh oh, I have a suspicion that Jesse "shakedown" Jackson was seen in that village earlier in the day.