We don’t need Turkey in order to defeat Saddam Hussein!
The argument used by Turkey’s proponents and paid foreign agents that we cannot defeat or use force against Iraq without Turkey is without merit. The U.S. does not need the Incirlik NATO air base in southeast Turkey to use force against Iraq. The U.S. has several air bases as near and nearer to Iraq than Incirlik, including the British base on Cyprus and several U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf area and aircraft carriers. The Washington Post lists nine air bases in addition to Incirlik and aircraft carriers in an article "War Plans Target Hussein Power Base" (Wash. Post, Sept. 22, 2002, at A1, col. 5).
The Persian Gulf War proved that the U.S. does not need Turkey regarding our use of force against Saddam Hussein. Turkey refused the use of its air space and Incirlik during Desert Shield from August 2, 1990 to January 16, 1991; refused the U.S. request to open a second front against Iraq (Wash. Post, Jan. 16, 1991, at A6, col. 5) and allowed large-scale smuggling along its 206 mile border with Iraq (Wall Street Journal Oct. 30, 1990, at 1, col.1).