Free Republic

When Turkey refused to help the United States fight the war against Iraq, it did so with some ambivalence. Its parliamentary "no" to the U.S. was hardly enthusiastic and came about partly because Turkey's new Islamist regime caved to Turkish public opinion. The politically important Turkish military, which might otherwise have been inclined to help its old allies in the United States, was angry at the heavy-handed way in which America demanded support; therefore, it declined to lobby much for Washington's request. And some elites in Turkey bemoaned the "no" decision at the time, arguing that it would cost Turkey...