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U.S. turns to Turkey for help on Iran, Syria
From Geostrategy-Direct, subscription req'd.
ANKARA — The United States has been seeking Turkish cooperation to contain Iran and Syria.
The U.S. Defense Department has discussed the use of Turkey as a base for American military operations in the Middle East, Turkish government sources said. They said U.S. European Command wants to use Turkish military bases for reconnaissance and intelligence missions in Iran and Syria.
"The first stage has been defining threats in the Middle East and ways to monitor them," a Turkish source said. "The next step is an operational plan whereby both Turkey and the United States would cooperate."
Cooperation would be nice, for a change, but how much will it cost us?
Over the past three weeks, Turkey and the United States have held high-level meetings on Iran and Syria. The discussions took place during visits to Ankara by U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph.
Officials said Joseph, during a Sept. 30 meeting, sought Turkey's agreement to the U.S. assessment that Iran's nuclear weapons and intermediate-range missile programs posed a threat to the entire Middle East.
They said the Turkish Foreign Ministry and General Staff recognized the Iranian threat, but stressed their support for a diplomatic solution.
Of course, what else are the Turks going to say publicly?
"We are not going to commit ourselves to helping the United States against Iran," an official said. "We also don't want to commit ourselves to anything that could be interpreted as cooperation for a military strike."
But by letting the US use bases for recon, Iran and Syria will look at Turkey as a facilitator for the US, i.e., an enemy. Cannot have it both ways.
Last week, a former senior State Department official said Turkey and the United States have an interest in preventing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Understatement of the week.
Former Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman told a meeting in Ankara cosponsored by the Washington-based Brookings Institution that the Iran issue could constitute a "new test in Turkish-U.S. relations."
Turkish sources said the U.S. military has also sought to expand its presence at the Incirlik Air Force base near Syria. They said the U.S. military wants to intensify reconnaissance from Incirlik of both Syria as well as northern Iraq.
[...snip...]
Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-10-24
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=133003