Forget about Turkey as a supply route. We have a Navy and an Air Force that can get supplies in other ways.
Looks like Turkey is taking sides, just like they did in those old Crusades.
Bring it on, you Ottomans.
Yes, but it limits options with Iran as the Gulf would be blocked if an attack came, which is appearing more likely by the day. In this case Turkey, especially for sea lift, would be vital.
They do more stuff for our military behind the scenes then you can imagine!
“Forget about Turkey as a supply route. We have a Navy and an Air Force that can get supplies in other ways.”
Um, wow. You do know that, apart from the supply routes, which are important, there are other reasons we’d like Turkey on our side, right?
I’ll name a few:
*Alienating Turkey in this fashion gives more power to the islamo-whacko government vis-a-vis the pro-American military and secular opposition. Not good for us.
*Alienating Turkey is more likely to drive Turkey to seek more amiable relations with Iran, if for no other reason than to piss us off. I know they haven’t been the best of pals in the past, but I’m sure they could get along if we aggravate them enough.
*What about the fledgling republic we’re trying to build in Iraq? Losing a major trading partner certainly wouldn’t help our efforts there. It’s a stretch to think that this would happen, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
*Turkey’s got a pretty big and well-trained military. That military’s under a lot of pressure to deal with the Kurds (namely the PKK) that are believed to be operating. With the Turkish public feeling animosity towards the U.S., the military will be under even more pressure to step in and solve things. This doesn’t bode well for our shifty allies in Iraq, nor for our interests in the region.
*The Turkish Republic has been a traditional ally of the state of Israel. While I’m not a rabid fan of Israel like many FReeepers, it’s nice to see them have someone supportive of them nearby.
*Turkey has been a fairly reliable buyer of U.S. defense products. Recently they’ve been shifting more to European companies (trying to ingratiate themselves with the EU), and even South Korea. Furthermore, they have also been considering certain Russian arms. We don’t want to run the chance of losing our valuable military ties with Turkey just because of some wording.
Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got a headache and need to rest.
It makes a whole lot more sense to leave this in the past where it belongs and do what’s in America’s best interest at the present time. If the issue comes up later where we find ourselves in a more favorable position then we might be right do something, but not now.