Posted on 10/11/2007 11:19:05 AM PDT by yoe
Except they won ‘t let us use Turkish territory to support our troops in Iraq. Indeed recently we have had to threaten them not to invade Iraq themselves while attacking Kurds. Muslim countries are our allies when they can gain from the arrangement but stab us in the back when we ask favors of them in return. Only fools believe that Muslim countries are really our allies.
They are secular because the army overthrows the democratically elected Islamic government at regular intervals. They are threatening to do so again. If thats your idea of a reliable ally, so be it. I think they are full of Islamic insanity and don’t trust them any more than I do any other Islamic country.
“Except they won ‘t let us use Turkish territory to support our troops in Iraq.”
That’s incorrect. For example, they host thousands of U.S. military personel at the Incirlik Air Base. From wikipedia:
[On January 6, 2004, more than 300 soldiers of what would become thousands transited through Incirlik as the first stop back to their home post, after spending almost a year in Iraq. Incirlik was part of what was described as the largest troop movement in U.S. history. Incirlik provided soldiers with a cot, warm location, entertainment and food for a few hours outside of a hostile war zone.]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incirlik_Air_Base
“Muslim countries are our allies when they can gain from the arrangement but stab us in the back when we ask favors of them in return. “
You are accusing a lot of nations of stabbing us in the back. When did nations like Kuwait and Qatar stab us in the back?
Turkey isn’t the best ally, and pretty soon we are going to have to choose between them and Iraq.
Some say that the Kemalists are the most "dangerous." Followed by the Islamists, they're second because the Army has the responsibility to thwart them.
The large number of Turks who subscribe to Western values are perhaps the larger of the three main groups and overwhelmingly support the Army's role IMO.
And yes, I do wish our military (in conjunction with local, state, and federal law enforcement) would take seriously their oath to protect against domestic enemies.
Deconstructionists and others (e.g., the New Left) may not nuke our cities but otherwise they are just as dangerous as Communists, radical Islam, etc.
From a political point of view this was a great play by the RATS. The Republicans never saw this coming.
And they are making it non-binding to boot, the cowards.
In 1944 would you have overlooked the purges of Stalin out of political convenience? Yes you would have, because the alternative was a Soviet "separate peace" with the nazi's and a very real likelihood of losing Europe to Nazi tyranny for the indefinite future. If the Armenians' gripes can wait 90 years they can wait till the war against islamic fascism has decisively turned the corner.
Well the Irish defensibly claim that at least 1 million perished in the Irish holocast. A quarter of that number of Boer farmers perished in concentration camps and the war of British conquest in South Africa. Multi millions died when Britian decided India was becoming unprofitable. I notice no effort to haul Queen Elizabeth into the dock. Why this resolution against the Turks, absolutely the first secular and truly ANTI SHARIA Muslim state? And why now?
This war has already been declared lost by the Dems and has become the a political tool for the next election. There has been progress in southern Iraq. I can’t help but think they are slapping themselves on the forehead and thinking “Well..now what are we supposed to do. What if the U.S. actually pulls this off. We are going to look like idiots???? Let’s do a little 5th Column work.”
I hope my cynicism is unwarranted. But this has made me pretty sick if it is as appears to me right now.
Good questions. Everyone including modern Turkey acknowledges that the final days of W.W.I and the Ottoman Empire brought horrific conditions and death -- and not just to the Armenians.
Why is that one word, genocide, so important?
My (googled) guess is reparation and territory.
The Europeans established the borders following W.W.I. The former Soviet "republic" claims eastern Turkey as theirs. Turkey once "convicted" worldwide of genocide, even before She became a country -- will help the Armenians get reparations and territory.
Since posting that same response above I've also thought of a third reason. Turkey is NATO, Armenia is a former USSR "republic" -- perhaps partly all this is also for the sake of revenge.
Pelosi stated that the reason for the resolution was there were a lot of Armenians in California who deserved justice. In other words, there really is no reason for this.
The only reason to do this was to tick off the Turks and cause them to close down the supply lines into Iraq.
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