Snubbing Turkey--State Department missteps played a part in Saturday’s embarrassing vote.

National Review ^ | 3-3-03 | Joel Mowbray

[dixiechick2000]

He's agreeing with Just mythoughts post #15.

[dixiechick2000]

He's agreeing with Just mythoughts post #15.

[a_Turk]

>> Is there a realistic chance of a second (and successful) vote this week by Turkey?

Not unless the ruling party is willing to risk that this crack among their ranks might turn into a split...

[dixiechick2000]

He's agreeing with Just mythoughts post #15.

[Just mythoughts]

With Hurl-all-do, yes this guy has been on several times over the past week, and it was a hoot to hear him blame CNN and American press for insulting the people.

This is why I was not surprised with the vote.

[dixiechick2000]

Sorry about the hiccup!

[dixiechick2000]

I saw him a couple of times with different interviewers. They had a hard time getting him to talk about anything else.

[johnb838]

It was Turkey who screwed up big

Eenie-meenie-minie-mo The hell with Turkey, we gotta go. Hey, no hard feelings turks... didn't work out this time. We need to move the troops now... you can't sit and wait for something that may well never happen. I'm waiting for the turks to start trying to pressure us to give them the money anyway, without providing access.

[Just mythoughts]

Well, considering that appartently what was being played on CNN in Turkey, there must have been quite an uprising with the population complaining they wanted nothing to do with this deal.

This was days before the vote, I took note because he used the name of CNN and American press calling Turkey blackermailers and he was trying to say something.

Who knows what all was going on and if the State Dept. was the actual source since CNN has a Clinton base on site.

[I Am Not A Mod]

This thread just was added to the Free Republic Highlights, 3/03/03 thread.

[justshutupandtakeit]

You aren't falling for this baloney are you? State is not undermining anything. The relationship between the DoD and the Turkish military is much easier to obtain that any with the party of nuts which is taking over the government.

There is no split here.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Baloney. Not a word of truth in your post.

[colorado tanker]

Well, Turk, you've been right all along and people like me who bought State's spin were wrong. What's next? Are we completely screwed out of a northern front?

[William McKinley]

While I am disappointed in the vote, I do think that it would be unfair to place the blame squarely at your country's feet. You guys got screwed during the last gulf war, you guys absolutely should be involved in a post-Saddam opposition coalition, and so on.

[a_Turk]

I am afraid the fat lady has sung..

You've still got rights to use the air bases though.. That's probably salvagable without actually having a pouring out of LUV and coming to a full alliance sort of partnership agreement. We both have to preserve our manhood (/sarc) afterall..

You guys are strong and magnificent babes in those woods full of old wolves. I don't know how else to put it.

[justshutupandtakeit]

That is full of crap. Nothing has been harmed by going to the UN except the UN. It has not slowed us down at all. Buildups continue while we gave the organization a chance to show it has some value. It couldn't.

It has allowed our "friends" France and Germany to show their true faces. And it was done for Tony Blair's benefit to try and convince his nutty party that this was not a two man show. That worked as the vote last week showed.

In FACT, as opposed to ideological claptrap, this move has been productive and was well done. In the last months the irrelevence of the UN and NATO has been pointed out.

Our strategic thinking will change because of this. It has been most illuminating and underlined most of the points we have been making on FR for a long time.

[William McKinley]

Yep.

[dixiechick2000]

Yes. He said specifically CNN and the American press.

There was a thread this weekend about members of the Turkish Parliament(?) passing around political cartoons from our press. Apparently, these cartoons reiterated what CNN had said re: blackmailers. To say they were not flattering towards Turkey would be an understatement.

He seemed, to me anyway, to know that the vote would be tight, and was trying to explain why it would be. Also, he may have been trying to get CNN and the press to back off. Can't say that I blame him.

[gcruse]

I wonder how many Clinton holdovers still work there?

The question is, when it comes to the State Department, does the President delegate or does he abdicate?