Posted on 01/03/2005 10:20:05 AM PST by knighthawk
JERUSALEM, Jan 2: Israel is to host an annual joint search and rescue exercise with the Turkish and the United States navies off its Mediterranean coast in the middle of the month, officials said Sunday.
"The objective of this exercise is to practice coordinated emergency search and rescue procedures in order to save lives in times of distress at sea," a spokesman for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said in a statement.
"By familiarizing themselves with each others capabilities and working together, elements of the three naval forces which regularly operate in the Mediterranean Sea will be able to provide humanitarian aid and more effective responses to actual maritime emergencies," it added.
It is the seventh such joint exercise between Israel and two of her most important allies. Turkey, a strictly secular country with a Muslim majority population, infuriated Arab nations in 1996 when it struck a military cooperation accord with the Jewish state.
Ping
A Muslim nation jointly exercising with Israel. This may piss off the Euroweenies and jeopardize Turkey's quest to join the Israel-haters at the EU.
"This may piss off the Euroweenies and jeopardize Turkey's quest to join the Israel-haters at the EU."
One can hope! Can you imagine Chirac and Schroder having a coniption about this?! It would curdle their Evian! Heeheehee! It would be fun to watch, that's for sure! Turkey could do better staying out of the EU.
What makes Turkey the only half way sane country in the Islam network. Turkey is a mystery to me.
It's half way sane, for now. It is not going to last.
Do Chirac and Schroeder drink Evian? I would have thought that they favored Vichy Water instead.
"I would have thought that they favored Vichy Water instead."
:) Thanks, I stand corrected. It would curdle Chirac's and Schroeder's Vichy Water. Evian is the drink by the USA media, academic and Hell-y-wood "elites!" "Elite" being used very loosely. That lot is about as elite as a scrub brush.
Evian is the drink by the USA media, academic and Hell-y-wood "elites!"
Remember evian spelled backwards is naive!
Arabs and Turks have had mutual emnity for centuries. Turkey allowed and encouraged Jewish immigration into what is now Israel and was also a safe haven during the second World War. There hasn't been conflict between Jews and Turks in centuries.
When one knows the history of the region the longstanding friendship and alliance between Israel and Turkey is not only understandable, it's expected.
You base this conclusion on what?
Supposedly John Kerry is out there as we speak, touring the Middle East. Can't find much news about it. Maybe the media are so steamed they refuse to cover his latest jaunt.
Turkish-Israeli ties have got rocky since the US invasion of Iraq as the Slammic wackos in Turkey blamed it on the evil zionists.Moreover,there seems to be a concerted attempt at weakening the power of the military(Which is the only identifiable reservoir of sanity there) as far as influencing politics goes & were the main force in establishing strategic ties with Israel.If Turkey hopes to join the EU,it has to prove it's democratic credentials ie. the military will have to be totally sidelined from policymaking.This in turn will allow Slammic political & social organisations to dictate policy directly or otherwise.
The Islamists have one exactly one election in Turkey and their party isn't terribly popular at the moment. I don't necessarily see things to be bleak the way you do. Israelis and Turks, the people as well as the government, have always gotten along very well indeed.
Compared to how things were 10 years ago in Turkey,this is indeed a worrying development.The Israeli-Turkish partnership may not be over,but the strains are not invisible.
Turkey controls the majority of the water that flows into the Middle East. For that reason alone, it behooves us to stay friendly with them and encourage a more secular govt.
Thank You. I have missed Turkey, I have always thought of it as intriguing, and exotic.
Don't major oil pipelines run to Turkey. But your right. Water is more valuble than oil in some parts of the world.
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