|
US military official: 'We were outraged' when Turkey pulled a fast one right after the anti-ISIS deal
[Bus Insider] An American military source told Fox News that US military leaders were "outraged" when Turkey began launching airstrikes against the Kurdish PKK in northern Iraq just hours after striking an anti-ISIS deal with the US."A Turkish officer came into the [the allied headquarters in the air war against ISIS] and announced that the strike would begin in 10 minutes and he needed all allied jets flying above Iraq to move south of Mosul immediately," the source said. "We were outraged." The US special forces stationed in northern Iraq advising and training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters had virtually no warning before Turkish jets started striking the mountains, where the PKK is headquartered. A ROZ (Restricted Operating Zone) in 10 minutes. Yea, I'd say 10 minutes is pretty much no warning. "We had no idea who the Turkish fighters were, their call signs, what frequencies they were using, their altitude or what they were squawking [to identify the jets on radar]," the source explained. Turkish military leaders asked coalition officers to reveal the trainers' specific whereabouts in order to avoid bombing them, but the officers flatly refused. "No way we were giving that up," said the military source. "If one of our guys got hit, the Turks would blame us. We gave the Turks large grids to avoid bombing. We could not risk having U.S. forces hit by Turkish bombs." The confrontation highlights the tension growing between the US and Turkey, which became a reluctant ally in the fight against ISIS after years of turning a blind eye to the jihadis' illicit activity on its southern border. Posted by: Besoeker 2015-08-12 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=426053 |