Article

2003-03-13 Iraq

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Posted by Steve 2003-03-13 07:00 pm|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 There still seems to be movement of equipment going on into Turkey, according to reports:
Meanwhile, American ships anchored off Iskenderun continue to unload vehicles and other military hardware. Turkey's private NTV television channel reports daily on continued activity around the port, showing lines of civilian Turkish trucks heavily loaded with U.S. equipment streaming towards the Iraqi border. Kurdish media say part of this equipment, including missile batteries and other heavy weapons, has already reached Iraqi Kurdistan, which is beyond Baghdad's control. On 7 March, Istanbul's daily "Hurriyet" reported that most convoys leaving Iskenderun were heading for Mardin, a city located some 30 kilometers north of the Iraqi border. The paper speculated that should Turkey eventually ban massive U.S. deployment, all equipment stored there could easily be transferred to northern Iraq's Kurdish areas. Other Turkish media report that U.S. military hardware is reaching Mardin through the Mediterranean port of Mersin and Incirlik, the southern air base that American and British aircraft have been using for the past 12 years to enforce Iraq's northern no-fly zone.
The AP yesterday reported that the Pentagon had already set up two logistics bases in Turkey's southeast. The activities of the 4,000 U.S. soldiers believed to be deployed in the region are reportedly under strict Turkish military control. Turkey's Army General Staff, which backs the possible deployment of American troops, claims ongoing U.S. preparations cannot be considered illegal because they are covered by a bilateral memorandum of understanding signed after parliament gave its go-ahead to the upgrading of military facilities. Details of the memorandum have never been published.
I figured that there were loopholes in that agreement big enough to drive a tank through. Wonder how busy those Kurdish Air Force bases are?

Posted by Steve 2003-03-13 14:09:09|| 2003-03-13 14:09:09|| Front Page Top

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