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2007-12-17 Iraq

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Posted by Fred 2007-12-17 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top

#1 The Turkish army has up to 100,000 troops near the Iraqi border.

The United States, Turkey's NATO ally, has begun sharing intelligence with the Turks about PKK movements inside Iraq. Washington wants to avert a large-scale Turkish ground offensive.

That's just plain stupid IMO. 100,000 troops? It is so obvious that they are planning a full scale invasion. They are going to need those PKK rebels when the Turks begin their invasion. I know the PKK are bad guys who deserve to die - but with 100,000 Turkish troops massing on the border, only the fools that thead the state Dept or CIA would ignore the obvious implication of 100,000 troops on the border. It's not like the Turks will be any less worse than the PKK. Come on, just because some Turks are civilized doesn't mean that this isn't goint to be a barbaric invasion. The handwriting is on the wall.

Who are these people that think that the Turks are going to play ball the way we want them to? Did they learn NOTHING when the Erdogan stabbed us in the back at the begininng of the Iraqi war. HELLOOOOOOO anybody home??? The Turkish Military has had plenty of time under Erdogan to rid itself of any moderating generals and replace them with those sympathetic to Erdogan and the Islamist forces. The Turks are not our friends. They are back-stabbing opportunists and anyone who thinks otherwise is nuts.

Posted by Whomong Guelph4611 2007-12-17 04:31|| 2007-12-17 04:31|| Front Page Top

#2 "They are back-stabbing opportunists "

Pretty much EVERYONE is a back-stabbing opportunist - it's the human condition (though even chimps have been known to do it.)

Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore 2007-12-17 07:34|| 2007-12-17 07:34|| Front Page Top

#3 True, but chimps are also known for applying rudimentary game theory to chimps who stab them in the back. The CIA, State Dept, etc. seem determined to play nice forever in the hopes the other players will reciprocate. In these circumstances, it is unnatural for an opponent to *** not *** take advantage.

Posted by Excalibur 2007-12-17 10:16|| 2007-12-17 10:16|| Front Page Top

#4 There is a fine line between Chimp and Chump.

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2007-12-17 11:22|| 2007-12-17 11:22|| Front Page Top

#5 Someone with stones needs to tell Erdrogan that if Turkey invades Iraq, Ankara disappears in radioactive fog. That's the only way to play in the Middle East.

I'm currently re-reading Leon Uris' "The Haj". This is a MUST READ for anyone who wants to understand the Muddled East. Uris has it right, and the book is a major eye-opener to anyone who is unfamiliar with the Arab culture. It also puts the British Foreign Office of the 1920's through about 1945 in a VERY bad light - deservedly so. Unfortunately, we're seeing the same pattern beginning to repeat.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2007-12-17 14:00|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2007-12-17 14:00|| Front Page Top

#6 100,000 isn't all that much when you consider Turkey has 600,000 in the military. Raiding PKK hideouts is one thing (red on red as far as I am concerned anymore). It is an entirely another matter to invade Iraq with and 200,000 Iraqi and 160,000 American troops plus a few hundred thousand Peshmerga, all of them not all that happy with the Turks.

Posted by ed 2007-12-17 14:46|| 2007-12-17 14:46|| Front Page Top

#7 Did they learn NOTHING when the Erdogan stabbed us in the back at the begininng of the Iraqi war.

You should really thank the US State Department for that. Someone in State leaked the details of the US-Turkey negotiations to let the 4th ID though and managed to tie an unrelated aid grant as a condition to the talks. The Turks got angry and embarrassed, and refused to deal.

Posted by Pappy 2007-12-17 21:26|| 2007-12-17 21:26|| Front Page Top

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