Article

2016-07-18 Europe

France questions if Turkey a ‘viable’ partner in Islamic State group fight

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Posted by Fred 2016-07-18 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top
File under: Islamic State

#1 "...critically located Incirlik air base." If it was so critical, why did it take so long to make use of it in the fight with ISIS?

Posted by Voldemort Barnsmell8316 2016-07-18 07:22|| 2016-07-18 07:22|| Front Page Top

#2 I think we are going to find out just how critical Incirlik is when the Turks shut it down.

Posted by Steve White 2016-07-18 10:18|| 2016-07-18 10:18|| Front Page Top

#3 I vaguely knew much of this - from Wikipedia.
Even the early years of its existence proved the value of the presence of the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, not only to counter the threat of the communist Soviet Union during the Cold War, but also to responding to crises in the Middle East, such as in Lebanon and Israel.

Pilots began flying U-2 reconnaissance missions by late 1957, including nonstop flights back and forth between Incirlik and a NATO Air Base at the Norwegian town Bodø starting in 1958.

The Incirlik Air Base was the main U-2 flight base in this entire region beginning in 1956. Until 1 May 1960, when Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missiles shot down the U-2 of the Francis Gary Powers near Sverdlovsk, Russia.

I didn't notice anything about B-52s being based there. So not so useful today. Maybe Champ wants to trade it off?

Posted by Bobby 2016-07-18 13:25|| 2016-07-18 13:25|| Front Page Top

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