Poland Opposed to Turkey's Participation in Reconstruction of Post-War Iraq

Rosbalt News Agency ^ | 2003.05.10 | Rosbalt News Agency

[pkpjamestown]

LONDON, May 9. The situation surrounding the participation of Turkey in the re-construction of post-war Iraq has become intriguing.

According to Kurdish Media, Poland is opposed to Turkey's participation in the international peacekeeping forces, which will be based in Iraq. Moreover, the Kurdish democratic party has called on Turkey to not only open an embassy in Baghdad, but consulates in Mosul and Arbil.

US Ambassador Robert Pearson told Turkish businessmen that if they want to participate in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq, they must have good relations with the Kurds.

[Beck_isright]

Payback is a female dog.

[9999lakes]

Serious question: What products does Poland make that I can use to replace the French stuff I'm no longer buying?

[Diddle E. Squat]

Weedeaters?

Their bowl game is usually pretty good.

[OldFriend]

Don't know about commestibles.......but Poland makes the most beautiful high quality chrystal and beautiful china too. Their economy is humming along because their products are high quality.

The troops on our bases in Germany make regular trips into Poland so the wives can shop!!!

You would be amazed at the great stuff!!!

[xJones]

Hm, this article comes out of "Russia, Saint-Petersburg", but it would appear to written by Kurds who certainly don't want Turks in Iraq. What the Polish government really thinks isn't stated, just Kurdish media reports, and a comment by a U.S. Ambassador telling the Turkish businessmen to be nice to the Kurds. IOW, a self-serving Kurdish piece.

[xJones]

Start looking around here: Google search for Polish products.

[A. Pole]

What products does Poland make that I can use to replace the French stuff I'm no longer buying?

Good ham, geese and vodka. They even have their own type of cheese - oscypek (pronounce ostseepek).

[SubMareener]

Some how I get the feeling that the Turks are in for a really big learning experience. :-) All the folks who think they are operating freely in Iraq, today, have no idea how short the leash really is.

Before Operation Iraqi Freedom started, I told you all that this war would amaze you and that it would be studied at War Colleges for years. Now, I am telling you that the post war period will amaze you as well, when it is finally revealed.

This is the first time that the concepts of Joint Operations and Combined Arms have been applied to a socio-ecomomic-political campaign. It is truly amazing!

[Gaelic]

It was the Polish King Jan Sobieski that defeated the Ottoman Turks and Tartars at the Battle of Vienna on Sept 11 1683. Click on address for more info
http://www.iyp.org/polish/history/vienna.html

[George W. Bush]

Since Poland is occupying the Kurish sector in the north, they have every right to insist on a restraint on the Turks. It's their troops who will get the trouble if Turks stir it up.

Turkey will lose to Poland on this one. Poland supported us before the war diplomatically, Poland sent troops, Poland is one of the three occupying powers. And Turkey has done absolutely nothing but make trouble for everyone.

The Stupid Party: still in control and trying to ruin Turkey's alliances.

[F-117A]

Thanks for posting that!

I was just thinking about the last Polish-Turkish meeting!

[browardchad]

Since Poland is occupying the Kurish sector in the north, they have every right to insist on a restraint on the Turks. It's their troops who will get the trouble if Turks stir it up.

It was brilliant putting Poland in charge of the northern sector, and although the Poles are being rewarded handsomely in U.S. trade deals, it was gutsy of them to take on the job, in marked contrast to the deal Turkey turned down.

[pkpjamestown]

My Polish father-in law will appreciate this! Thanks.

[pkpjamestown]

"The Stupid Party: still in control and trying to ruin Turkey's alliances."

If by "Stupid Party" you mean the army, you are dead right!

They are still in control. Turkey never had alliances. They were always well paid for their services, and as long as these services went along with their general interests, everything seemed fine. We never cared about the human rights abuses in Turkey, either. The Iraqi/Kurdish situation is what exposed the kind of allies/ (self-served lackeys) they are. The corrupt establishment is still in control, regardless of the new government!

[pkpjamestown]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/magazine/11ERDOGAN.html?ex=1053230400&en=8be1122058005f96&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

[pkpjamestown]

Unfortunately for him, Erdogan has been scrambling on several fronts. His government rattled the business community by advocating a pension increase, just the kind of populist spending measure that Turkey didn't need. Further, while he had pledged to push a plan to reunify Cyprus, his government ended up backing away from a showdown with Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, and the Turkish military at a critical moment. This greatly disappointed those who thought he would be an agent of change. To take on the military too soon might be suicidal, they acknowledged, but to defer confrontation could also render him impotent.

Slipping confidence in Erdogan, as always, has been colored by distrust of his intentions -- or at least his party's intentions -- on the religion issue. But maybe that concern is misplaced.

Maybe Erdogan doesn't have the guts or power to push through any serious reforms, least of all on religion. Or maybe Erdogan, straddling two worlds, is the perfect person to defuse the tensions between secular and religious forces in Turkey.

Deborah Sontag is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine.

[pkpjamestown]

ping!

[a_Turk]

After a few years in the US going to college I was back in Turkey for the summer, when I noticed a couple of huge cruise ships with Turkish names.. I was surprised, these were new.. I asked my father how they were acquired. He told me that the Poles owed us some money but, being unable to pay, built us the ships instead.

Polish/Turkish relations are great. This article is silly. A Russian interest group trying to create problems by using their old customers.. Then some Greek - stuck in the past - feels the need to post this unsubstantiated stupid little story.

Some may kiss my ass, others go practice on each other..

[pkpjamestown]

"Some may kiss my ass"

NOT necessary, you are doing a GREAT JOB on your own!