Turkish Claws on Northern Iraq

Hurriyet ^ | 8/8/2002 | N/A

[a_Turk]

The countdown is on for the US attack on Iraq. Turkey has taken position in Northern Iraq in a blitz.

As concerns of an imminent US attack on Iraq grow day by day, Turkey has secured the Critical Bamerni airport in Northern Iraq.

Operational

Turkey has sent heavy machinery and electronic support equipment to the airport along with military and civil personnel who have made the airport available for military use in short order. Ankara, thereby, made it impossible for any other to strategically control the oil rich regions of Mosul and Kirkuk. Turkey has, additionally, established a umber of security checkpoints in northern Iraq.

Talabani explains

This surprize development was reported by PUK leader Celal Talabani, who had been in Ankara on 8/7.

Reports of 5000 Soldiers

The security apparatus inside Iraq was expanded to include a number of forward bases. According to unofficial sources, Turkey has about 5000 soldiers in the region.

Another unofficial report suggests that there are a few Americans who come and go to the Airport.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Not by us.

Of course some say that Bush has stealth moves, so who knows?

It is a good move , that's for sure!

[Nam Vet]

This ol' man has always been thankful and amazed with Turkey at the same time. I never thought we would have an Islamic ally.
I was in high school, and Kennedy was President, when I first learned that Turkey held our closest 'ears' to the Soviets. They have always been great allies. No matter what I read in the press, my personal first reaction is to trust them. In my lifetime of almost 56 years, I've known them to act in a way that ends up benefitting America. FWIW

Nam Vet

[BOBTHENAILER]

And every Turk made P.O.W. by China during that war survived to go home and, no Turk was ever brainwashed to the point of breaking.

I wasn't aware of that info, but I'm not surprised. Thanks for the insight.

The cold war should be sufficient for any American to understand what a great ally the Turks have always been.

[DrCarl]

I see no reference to this situation in the Turkish Press. Can it be verified?

[decimon]

Big deal. If we ever need a load of soldiers they'll just draft us.

Huge deal! Reinstate the draft and there will be a replay of the sixties; riots in the cities and turmoil on the campuses and marches on the Pentagon and all the rest.

[George W. Bush]

Turkey has been our loyal friend and ally for many decades. How refreshing our Turkish friends are by comparison with our fair-weather friends in western Europe. I particularly like reading about the Turks' night attack methods, something admired by our past military leaders.

I'd favor giving Turkey half of Iraq's oil, deposing Saddam and installing a democratic republic in a rump Iraq.

Of course, Turkey will continue to have a Kurdish problem, just like Saddam did. But Turkey never massacred their Kurds or engaged in the vile practices of Iraq. I would generally favor establishing a Kurdish province of Turkey because a Kurdistan will never be anything except unstable and problematic. Another of the small nations that cannot survive among stronger neighbors. Turkey is the best chance they have for some autonomy and human rights.

[far sider]

Fact is that Kurds and the rest of the citizenry of the Republic of Turkey are intermingled and intermarried, live side by side in peace. Now that the Marxist Leninist terror group PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) has been eliminated, the emergency rule in the southeast provinces is discontinued and life has returned to normal.

The things you learn on FR. I think I like Turkey more and more. What about the Kurds in Iraq? Do you think they want independence from Iraq? Do they want to be part of Turkey? If and when Saddam is overthrown how will they fit in with the other people of Iraq?

Also, the guy that hooked up my cable is Greek. He said he hated Turks. Is that type of anymosity typical?

[George W. Bush]

Too smooth to be coincidental, but keeps lingering in my mind as a suspicion that we were suckered into joining the Germans.

Not really. Germany had aspirations to found a neocolonial empire but was a late starter compared to other European powers. Germany went to some considerable lengths to attempt to build railroads and other improvements throughout Arabia. They committed vast sums of money and made many diplomatic deals with other European powers to do this. World War I Germany was truly a friend to Turkey. There is some interesting economic history of this in Carrol Quigley's history text, Tragedy and Hope.

Let's be careful to distinguish WW I Germany from Nazi Germany. The two were very different creatures in their means and aspirations. And you need to understand that WW I Europe, outside of Germany, were all enemies of Turkey and worked to prevent anyone from helping Turkey to develop economically. WW I Germany was Turkey's only friend and benefactor, although not entirely disinterested of course. But Germany never made any real money off their assistance to Turkey.

If you're interested in the matter, I could perhaps type in some of Quigley's text. Quigley's focus on economic history is very valuable in understanding the era and the intrigues of the European colonial powers.

[a_Turk]

>> How much risk do you think there is of Turkey succumbing to the religious fanaticism that has gripped the Arab-Muslim nations?

None whatsoever.

[George W. Bush]

Don't be offended by the Freeper who refered to Turkey as a pawn. In chess, the first offensive move usually involves a pawn taking control of the center of the board.

Well, let's remember that the pawn can, if moved to the heart of enemy territory, can then be promoted to the most powerful pieces on the chess board, all under the sovereignty of the king.

Turkish hegemony of a substantial portion of Arabia would be in our best interests.

[a_Turk]

>>I assume the Kurds are Islamists, since that is prevalent in the Middle East, but are they extremists?

Most Kurds are Muslim, yet not extremists. They wear colorful dress, don't cover up more than their folklore suggests, and are hard working and loyal to their families.

Every community has their extremists..

[a_Turk]

>>the guy that hooked up my cable is Greek. He said he hated Turks. Is that type of anymosity typical?

Greek and Armenian incursions into Turkey came immediately after a peace treaty which disarmed and disbanded the Ottoman Turkish Army after WWI. These intruders were pushed back out, along with their supporters. This humiliation left a mark on many Greeks and Armenians, who in turn taught their children, who then taught their own children to hate us. You have such blind Turk-haters on this forum too. They surface every now and then.

Most Greeks don't share in this hate, however, I know plenty personally.

[a_Turk]

I'll look up the book "Carrol Quigley's history text, Tragedy and Hope."

I am aware of the German "Drang nach Osten" and the Berlin to Baghdad Railroad, the last leg of which was never finished in time.

[dyed_in_the_wool]

The Turks never, ever, ruled Persia/Iran as far as I know.

Persian/Iran is a sticky wicket for a lot of reasons. In the 19th Century is was part of the plum that the Russians and English were going after (though not as central as Afghanistan since it was considered a gateway to India which, at that time included Paksitan.)
Regions of Persia were definitely, shall we say, influenced by the Ottomans, in as far as their was any 'governing' going on. This is similar to the situation in Georgia before the Russians moved in.
Admittedly, their main influence was southward, but they did have influence over areas of Persia that are now part of Iran (hence the border war with Iraq.)

[Jim Noble]

>>installing a democratic republic in a rump Iraq<<

C'mon, think big!

Dissolve Syria, Jordan, and south-central Iraq (I agree Mosul and Kirkuk must revert to Turkey).

Make the whole thing the Northern Arab Republic, our good friend and staging area for the assault on the real enemy-"Saudi" Arabia.

[George W. Bush]

I'll look up the book "Carrol Quigley's history text, Tragedy and Hope."

A difficult book to find but Amazon can get it if you wait a month or so. Quigley's book is an excellent modern history that draws its subjects in terms of economics instead of personalities and tribalism, the usual bane of conventional histories.

It's valuable reading for anyone who wishes to understand the Third World and the problems they face in improving the lives of their people. It is replete with examples of successful and unsuccessful models of development in the history of many civilizations.

[mikhailovich]

8,000 Afghans received billions - read: BILLIONS of dollars in arms and training from the United States, add a little CIA satellite imagery, throw in some walkie-talkies, and you got yourself some stiff resistance.

Cheers!

[skeeter]

The British did not need the ship, which ended up being a Turkish ship finally mothballed in the 1970s.

That'd be the Goben.

I'm still p*ssed at you guys for scrapping her. The only remaining example of first generation battlecruiser extant up until the seventies.

[George W. Bush]

Dissolve Syria, Jordan, and south-central Iraq (I agree Mosul and Kirkuk must revert to Turkey). Make the whole thing the Northern Arab Republic, our good friend and staging area for the assault on the real enemy-"Saudi" Arabia.

I think our Turkish friends would have their hands full with just half of Iraq to deal with. They could be the allies of a democratic republic of Iraq and, tacitly, of Israel and perhaps Egypt. These would all be constitutional countries that observe human rights and would serve as a check upon their unruly Arab neighbors.

This solution would also make Turkey an even more powerful stabilizing influence on all of its neighbors in the region. Given Turkey's strong performance in secular government and basic respect for human rights, this could only be a positive outcome.

Moreover, Turkey simply cannot retain its own culture and constitutional government if too much responsibility for Arabs is thrust upon it. Turks and Iranians are not and have never been Arabs, something we need to remember.

[BlessingInDisguise]

Not if the nation is in danger. Get real. The sixties are over.