Actually, the Turks were pretty good allies for many years. But that changed with the Iraq war. My own theory is that Chirac subverted them, probably promising them easy entry into the EU if they refused to let us use their territory for the invasion.
I remember arguing with Freeper a_Turk on those threads. The Turks not only refused us passage, they strung us along and stabbed us in the back, keeping one of our key units out of the opening of the war. They also prevented us from establishing a northern front, which is one reason why we are having so much trouble in the Sunni Triangle. Because we never had a chance to kill those guys in the war.
I still haven't given up entirely, but it's evident that the Generals don't dare clamp down on the Muslim fanatics the way they used to. Turkey will be unreliable, probably, as long as this ferment in the Muslim world continues--which may be a very long time indeed.
"The Turks not only refused us passage, they strung us along and stabbed us in the back, keeping one of our key units out of the opening of the war. They also prevented us from establishing a northern front, which is one reason why we are having so much trouble in the Sunni Triangle. Because we never had a chance to kill those guys in the war."
I remember it well. In addition to not having the northern front, we lost access to one quarter for troops in the war itself because of their action. That could have led to war defeat in the whole conflict.
I remember having a discussion with a pretty knowledgeable guy on Strategy Page, an ex-military guy who now has some role in the US intelligence community, who seemed to think the Turks really did constrict our troops because we didn't get final UN approval for the invasion.
In my mind, that leaves open the possibility that someone in our government assured them, before US troops were committed, that we would not invade without final UN approval. Aside from the US State Department, which is practically entirely filled with traitors, I can't imagine where that idea would've come from.