Turkey puts 140,000 Troops on the Iraq Border

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6284718.stm

Turkey has between 7 and 14 divisions on the Iraq border, what do you think is up???

 

not too long ago, there was an actual border incursion involving kurdish and turkish soldiers. i wonder how we'll handle an open conflict involving two of our strongest allies in the region.

 

Remember reading about that. I wonder how many have gone unreported?

 

You American think Turkey is ally, I think not. They on edge of fundamentalists government along line of Iran any time now. They prevent USA from from launch invasion of Iraq from Turkish territory. They prohibit USA aircrafts based Incirlik AFB to fly Iraq territory. They support illegal government in Cyprus, northern part.

Rethink your "friends", they might work against you actually. Turkish republic not so concern of Kurdish insurgency, as possible of controlling of oil in Mosul region of North Iraq.

 

you're right, turkey isn't a true "ally" like great britain...i think it's more accurate to call them a "friendly"country. a lot of the supplies we get are turkish, and a sizeable amount of turkish workers are here for construction, truck driving, and other labor jobs. turkey might be teetering on the edge of fundamentalism, but the secular movement in the country is strong. hopefully they'll keep it that way for a long time to come.

 

this could be the catalyst that the middle east has been waiting for leading to all out muslim on muslim war. At that point we can leave them to their own devices and pick up the pieces of ruined countries to our advantage 5 years down the road

 

But we (The United States of America) will be back... No matter who's in office we'll be back.

 

Turkey may well have their eye on the oil fields in northern Iraq. The US can't even successfully occupy Baghdad and Turkey may perceive that the US is too weak to stop them. Since they are armed with western technology and have superior numbers, absent the use of nukes, they might be correct. The US military ground forces and equipment is largely used up. Turkey might be waiting to see if we get into an all out shooting war with Iran, under the assumption that we can't fight Iran and oppose the occupation of northern Iraq at the same time. This might be a pretty good bet on their part. It would be wise to exit the region as quickly as possible and let the chips fall where they may.

 

Hmmm, I wonder what the sociopolitical pulse in the Turkish government and population is. A country could do a lot with 140,00 troops within walking distance and the nations people supporting the war/occupation effort to a man.

 

Turkey has a significant Kurdish minority in their southeast, right along the Iraqi border. And that minority has fought an on again off again war against Turkish rule. Ankara's greatest fear since the US invasion has been that an autonomous, or worse yet, independent, Kurdish state would be established in northern Iraq. And then the assumption is that that state would support, or at least be a "friendly neutral," to the Kurds in Turkey (ala Serbia in relation to the Slavs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the First World War). The Turkish troops are on the Iraqi border to prevent that, either by stopping cross-border traffic of arms and people, or by invading Iraq (or something in-between).

 

This aint good, this aint good AT ALL. Those Turks are hot heads and we need to tell them to BACK OFF the Kurds.

 

I tend to agree with you on this. I say the USA needs to back the Kurds.

 

Of all the people in the Middle East I say the Kurds are our best friends. I hate this war and all war, but we have already put the Kurds through hell.

 

Pelosi conned them into it.
She's going to get W out of Iraq, one way, or another.

 

Just think:
Better them than us.
We have our hands full right now.

 

Frank welcome glad to have you here.

 

Thanks, Bruce.

Wow, I have to admit that some of the posts are kinda scary.

 

Looks the beginning of a long drawn out Turkey season eh Bone...

 

Yes they are at times but you will do just fine here.

 

Chuckle.... How long has Turkey been a member of NATO?