| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Rumsfeld confident on Turkish troops |
| 2003-09-15 |
| Rumsfeld confident on Turkish troops The two long time allies have the same determination to bring stability to Iraq, the Defence Secretary said. September 15â Washington was confident that Turkey would contribute troops to an international stability force in Iraq, according to Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld. Saying that the US was keen to Describing Turkey as a long term The Turkish government has yet to formally respond to a US request to send up to 10,000 troops to Iraq, with negotiations continuing over a number of contentious issues, including where any Turkish forces would be stationed and the command structure under which they would operate. |
| Posted by:Murat |
| #8 Murat, as far as the Baathists/al-Qaeda in the Sunni areas not wanting to kill other Muslims, I haven't heard that anywhere and it strikes me that al-Qaeda doesn't really care who they kill, just look at Algeria or Dagestan. By the Osamanauts' standards, the Turks are all "false Muslims" because you behave like members of the civilized world. SCIRI is allowed to stay in the Governing Council (though I believe that their rep quit after his brother's death in the An Najaf bombing) so long as they behave. The Badr Brigades were supposedly disarmed in return for them joining the council, but now they're back and we're going to have to deal with them. Another point to consider is that US policy in the Shi'ite areas is in all probability sorely being constrained by the usual idiots over at the State Department, the same people who whitewashed SCIRI after the An Najaf bombing. You don't have to have an under the table agreement to demonstrate stupidity. Sadr and SCIRI are pretty much in the same boat as KADEK is right now. Who knows, they might even wipe each other other while deciding who gets to be the Iraqi version of Khomeini. But as long as they do so peacefully we're going to focus our efforts on routing out the Baathists and al-Qaeda in the Sunni areas. It's all just a matter of priority. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-9-15 4:26:39 PM |
| #7 Okay, Murat, I have no problem with "occupation" whatsoever. But Turkey a "doormat"? If you had a doormat that wouldn't let you use it to get in the door, what would you do with it? And just what is it that that Turkish soldiers would be doing to get killed? Peace keeping? Rebuilding? Yeah, maybe you better stay away -- you wouldn't want to get involved with any of that stuff! No sense in helping your neighbor to stop shooting themselves in the foot! |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-9-15 3:10:01 PM |
| #6 Dan Darling So your boys get to go doing some adventuring in the southlands and maybe skirmish a couple of times with SCIRI, Sadr's Mahdi Army, or their IRGC backers. Iran's been trying to subvert your government for years, so killing these people would seem to be in Turkey's interest because it will deny them a power base in Iraq. Hopefully your leaders will see that. Well in and around Baghdad, Fallujah etc. are the places where the US likes to see their Muslim âalliesâ (Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaidjan), as it has been uttered in several cases. Seems that the US likes to think that they wonât shoot at Muslim brothers in the so-called âsunni triangleâ. Since when is the SCIRI regarded foe if I may ask, it is the US who placed members of the SCIRI in the council to represent Iraq remember. Sadrâs mahdi army and the IRGC backers, the Badr forces have the free hand, I havenât heard of any action by the US against them, secret alliance perhaps? |
| Posted by: Murat 2003-9-15 11:43:14 AM |
| #5 Or the Turks could throw their chips in with the Europeans. When do you think the EU will let Turkey join the Union? 2100? |
| Posted by: Daniel King 2003-9-15 11:39:36 AM |
| #4 Murat, the US would presumably repay Turkish assistance in Iraq by getting rid of that nasty KADEK enclave up in the north. You might remember them, they've been shooting villagers and tried to kill one of your governors a little while ago. It's a classic quid pro quo situation borne out of the incredible stupidity that KADEK has demonstrated ever since the end of the war by refusing the Turkish amnesty offer and unleashing a daily dose of Armed Struggle(TM) against a country that despite what you might think, is still regarded as an ally by many at the US. So your boys get to go doing some adventuring in the southlands and maybe skirmish a couple of times with SCIRI, Sadr's Mahdi Army, or their IRGC backers. Iran's been trying to subvert your government for years, so killing these people would seem to be in Turkey's interest because it will deny them a power base in Iraq. Hopefully your leaders will see that. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-9-15 8:59:55 AM |
| #3 You'll probably get your way - and that would make both of us happy. Damn, good heaven, there is indeed a point on which we agree, cheers my dear big mouth. |
| Posted by: Murat 2003-9-15 7:11:47 AM |
| #2 THey could be attached to the Kurdish Pershmerga (sp?) under the command of a Kurdish general. That would be cool, right, Murat? |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-9-15 7:08:56 AM |
| #1 LOL! Still bitchy after all these years! So, if you don't like what they do you can vote the scoundrels out, Murat! It's nice to live in a democracy, isn't it? And a secular democracy, at that, right? Or is yours still secular? Somehow, I'm not so sure, anymore... probably nothing for you to worry about - it's at most a 50/50 proposition whether or not Turkey will participate, despite Rummy's overstated optimism. You'll probably get your way - and that would make both of us happy. Take some Midol, it'll help your PMS problem. |
| Posted by: .com (Prez for Life - My Isles of Langerhans) 2003-9-15 6:43:00 AM |