Turkey's Historic Blunder

TCS ^ | Ariel Cohen 04/24/2003 | Ariel Cohen

[EternalVigilance]

While I agree with most of the piece, the first sentence is a misnomer:

After weeks of the geopolitical equivalent of friendly fire casualties...

Friendly fire casualties happen accidently. What Turkey did to us was on purpose.

[Iris7]

When the second Turkish vote came in, I told my wife that "This means an independent Kurdistan." And it does.

[dinok]

As much as a Greek, I would love to see Turkey taken down a peg, I know that the State Department weenies will pander to the Turks within months if not week

[blam]

"There are whispered rumors in Turkey of a military Coup", in last week's Insight Magazine

[AmericanVictory]

There is an important opportunity here to work with the substantial elements in Turkey that see this as a blunder to muster effective opposition to the Islamofascists trying to take Turkey over and expose its truly backward, Luddite nature in a country that is proud of being more modern than the rest of Islam.

[konaice]

"When the second Turkish vote came in, I told my wife that "This means an independent Kurdistan." And it does"

----
I doubt any such indipendent state could include any Turkish territory, as their military is simply too strong for any rebel forces to overcome.

I doubt the US will be furninshing and significant military support to the Kurds with witch to attack the turks, thus burning any small remaining influence we have with the turks.

Unless Iran totally Implodes none of their territory will become part of a Kurdistan.

So that leaves nothern Iraq, but Bush has already promised that Iraw will not be partitioned or divided up.

So where will this Kurdistan come from??

[konaice]

"There is an important opportunity here to work with the substantial elements in Turkey that see this as a blunder to muster effective opposition to the Islamofascists "
-----

Its an opportunity IF and ONLY IF an islamic state does not come to existance in Iraq. If that happens all bets are off.

[gcruse]

So where will this Kurdistan come from??

The Republic of Iraq with three states?

[Iris7]

Watch, wait, and see.

[konaice]

"Watch, wait, and see."

Oh, come on, you can do better than that. I was really hopeing you could enlighten me....

[Iris7]

Your enlightenment is your problem.

[pkpjamestown]

What goes around.......

[vanmorrison]

One of the most stunning aspects of the Iraq War is the manner in which the bankrupt intellectual assumptions that have underlied American foreign policy since World War II have been brutally exposed. It has been a revelation to realize that many countries that have enjoyed privileged positions with the American government, and who expected that American servicemen would continue to bleed on their behalf when they had problems, couldn't have cared less when a time of US national crisis occurred. I have developed a real disgust for our Foreign Service because these incompetent bureaucrats have continually fallen down by improperly assessing these political situations time and again. It makes me sick to think of the American blood and treasure that has been squandered on ungrateful countries and unproductive alliances through the years, such as France, Germany, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia,and others. This situation could not have developed without the foolish and harmful recommendations of our incompetent State Department. Newt Gingrich is completely correct. Now that the idiocy of our foreign policy has been revealed, I'm waiting to see if there will be any positive and constructive change within our government to end this problem. I will guess that if the Republicans allow these things to revert back to their former decrepitude, they will lose the support of the very people that have put them in office.

[pkpjamestown]

Only the "foreign office" has a consistent, (good or bad), foreign policy.

[pepsionice]

Military Coups never happen in Turkey...the military simply tells the political parties in charge that its time for an election...thats the hint phrase. The politicans then spend three months trying to define themselves and the military forces them to admit what the party really wants. This usually is an effective manner of running the country.

[Iris7]

Laumer's "Retief" stories are the best written about the State Department. They are done with truly witty exaggeration.

[Owl558]

Good read. I don't believe that the Turkish betrayal signals the creation of an insependant Kurdistan, it signals the emasculation of the Turkish economy. Their betrayal of our alliance will come with huge consequences. Washington must pop their economy like a zit as an example to others. I hope the vote felt good for the 90% of Turks who wanted to slap us in the face because the 26 billion mentioned in the article is just a begining.

[Happy2BMe]

"For decades, Ankara counted on Washington to support it on a number of sensitive bilateral issues, but today Washington will be less likely to side with Turkey against Greek claims in the Aegåan Sea. The U.S. State Department may become more critical of Turkey on the Cyprus partition issue. Despite past support of the Turkish membership in the European Union, as President Bush repeatedly stated, this no longer may be the case. In addition, it may be more difficult to see Ankara as a balance to Moscow in Central Asia, especially as radical Islam, not Russian neo-imperialism, is currently viewed as the main threat in the region. Long-standing U.S. support to the Baku-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline (MEP), including financing issues, may not be as enthusiastic as it was. The Armenian-Turkish relations are particularly sensitive. For years, the American-Armenian community has built its muscle in the Congress. The Armenian lobby counts over 100 members on both sides of the isle, many on key committees and with a powerful political clout. Turkish experts fear that the Bush administration will drop its long-term resistance to classifying Ottoman atrocities against Armenian civilians in 1915 as an "Armenian holocaust". In 2000, President Clinton personally intervened to defeat House Resolution 596 - a draft legislation to express the attitude of the Unites States on the Armenian alleged genocide. While that Resolution was defeated, after the recent U.S.-Turkish friction, this may not be the case in the future. Congressional recognition of the Armenian 'genocide' by the Ottoman authorities may become relevant if and when reparation claims by genocide survivors or their heirs may be launched. Finally, the imbroglio may end potential U.S. support for future Turkish military involvement in domestic politics. If the Turkish military is incapable of weighing in on a matter of vital importance to the U.S., why would Washington tolerate in the future violations of democratic norms by the military as it did in the past? In the long run, Turkey may be dealt with "on case by case basis", a senior Washington military expert and a retired U.S. military intelligence officer said, "but the memory of what happened will hang like a dark cloud, slow to dissipate."

BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!!

[Happy2BMe]

The U.S.-Turkish ties that were forged during the Korean and Cold War are set back by decades, not years. Turkey is about to pay a high price for what many in Washington and Ankara see as the largest strategic blunder of its leaders.

BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!! BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!! BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!! BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!! BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!! BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!! BBWWAaaaaHHHaaaaahHhaaa!!!!!!!!!