Time: Turkish Special Forces Team held by U.S near Kirkuk

MSNBC

[Dog]

Nothing follows....looking for hard copy.

[cmsgop]

Maybe they were lost....

[Southack]

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Somebody's been playing in the adult area again...

[b4its2late]

Did they have a deck of our cards with them?

[VRWC_minion]

Turkish special forces team ? What do they do, cut the rope off the soap ?

[Dog]

Turkish Special Forces caught...

[AdA$tra]

They just don't want the Kurds to get into the "whey" of their agenda.

[Dog]

The Turkish Special Forces team put up no resistance though a mean arsenal was discovered in their cars, including a variety of AK-47s, M4s, grenades, body armor and night vision goggles. "They did not come here with a pure heart," says U.S. brigade commander Col. Bill Mayville. "Their objective is to create an environment that can be used by Turkey to send a large peacekeeping force into Kirkuk."

Someone in Turkey has some 'splaining to do..

[TheRightGuy]

Perhaps Time has an embedded reporter with Debka.

[george wythe]

Thanks for the link:

By Wednesday U.S. paratroopers were holding 23 people associated with the Turkish Special Forces team. Some were drivers and aid workers. But a dozen of them, says Col. Mayville, were identified as soldiers. "We held them for a night, brought them in, fed them and watched their security. After all," he says wryly, "they are our allies."

Early Thursday morning American troops escorted the Turkish commandos back over the border.

[adam_az]

someone burnt the turkey.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Thursday, Apr. 24, 2003
Even as the U.S. works to stabilize a postwar Iraq, Turkey is setting out to create a footprint of its own in the Kurdish areas of the country. In the days after U.S. forces captured Saddam's powerbase in Tikrit, a dozen Turkish Special Forces troops were dispatched south from Turkey. Their target: the northern oil city of Kirkuk, now controlled by the U.S. 173rd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade. Using the pretext of accompanying humanitarian aid the elite soldiers passed through the northern city of Arbil on Tuesday. They wore civilian clothes, their vehicles lagging behind a legitimate aid convoy. They'd hoped to pass unnoticed. But at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kirkuk they ran into trouble. "We were waiting for them," says a U.S. paratroop officer.

The Turkish Special Forces team put up no resistance though a mean arsenal was discovered in their cars, including a variety of AK-47s, M4s, grenades, body armor and night vision goggles. "They did not come here with a pure heart," says U.S. brigade commander Col. Bill Mayville. "Their objective is to create an environment that can be used by Turkey to send a large peacekeeping force into Kirkuk."

For the rest of the article.. go here:


http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,446392,00.html

[jriemer]

The Turkish Special Forces team put up no resistance though a mean arsenal was discovered in their cars, including a variety of AK-47s, M4s, grenades, body armor and night vision goggles. "They did not come here with a pure heart," says U.S. brigade commander Col. Bill Mayville. "Their objective is to create an environment that can be used by Turkey to send a large peacekeeping force into Kirkuk."

Someone in Turkey has some 'splaining to do..

I seem to remember that the whole 4th ID was over the fact that Turkey didn't want the Coalition meddling in Turkish affairs; however, I never saw an invitation for Turkey to meddle in the Coalition's affairs now that the 4th ID is in a liberated Iraq. Do the Turks have a series problem with the Ironhorse Division or something?

[Eala]

They just don't want the Kurds to get into the "whey" of their agenda.

Just knew somebody wasn't going to be able to resist milking that one...

[steveegg]

You working at the Improv? :-)

[putupon]

Jesse Jackson has offered to go fetch them back for the Turks.

[Dog Gone]

We've removed all our planes from Incirlik. We've lost a significant motivation to bend over backwards for the Turks.

This was handled the right way, but I think we should let Turkey know that they're getting off easy this time, and not to return.

[AdA$tra]

Just knew somebody wasn't going to be able to resist milking that one...

It received a harmonious groan at the Easter dinner table.

[MEG33]

Wonder what ATurk's opinion is on this?