Turk's have made their bed . . .
Well it seems that Turkey has decided to cozy up to the French rather than allow US troops to use their soil from which to launch an attack on Iraq. Or at least, they dawdled for so long that we are signaling that we've changed our mind anyway. While I can't blame the Turks for hoping the French will help them get into the EU, they had best remember that there are consequences:- They are depending on the perfidious French to remember a promise. Historically, this is not a very good bet. On the other hand, it is a very good bet that America will remember the Turk's actions for a very, very long time.
- Turkey has the most devalued currency in the world (1.67 million lira to buy a single US dollar). Refusing billions in aid has already negatively impacted their economy.
- We are so pissed, we are going to maky certain that Turkey doesn't take any military action of their own - against the Kurds in northern Iraq. While I very much doubt that we would ever support an independent Kurdish state in what is now northern Iraq, the Turk's should be at least a little concerned that this might happen. And if it does, Turkey's western Kurds will want to join too, costing Turkey some real estate. And the Kurds will be in prime fighting shape, with 70,000 of them honing their skills on Saddam.
Blog post #1 in category
War, Terrorism,& the Military
posted 15 March 03