Ankara denies report US wants Turk base to hit Iran

[katinmn]

Remember...up is down, and black is white....

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L02669724.htm
Ankara denies report US wants Turk base to hit Iran
02 Jan 2006 17:48:43 GMT

Source: Reuters

ANKARA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Monday that newspaper reports which say the United States has asked Ankara for permission to use military bases in Turkey for possible attacks on neighbouring Iran are not connected with reality.

Some Turkish newspapers have reported or repeated similar stories in newspapers published in other countries which say that a series of high-profile U.S. visitors to Ankara in recent months have been preparing the ground for U.S. strikes from Turkey against Iran's nuclear facilities.

"This speculation has no connection with reality," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the accusation but insists on its right to produce enriched uranium, a vital component for nuclear power plants or bombs.

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[no_hypocrisy]

1. I would have changed affiliation to "republican" if Turkey flatly admitted

the rumor that it would allow the U.S. access to its bases in order to attack Iran.

[mom cat]

7. There was never any real threat of Turkey telling the truth.

But I am glad that you did not have to take extreme measures.

[katinmn]

2. Kick!

[cliss]

3. We'll see....

I would say Turkey is the 'wild card' in this mix. Washington should not underestimate them. The last time around, they shocked Washington by forbidding the US to use Turkey as a staging ground. This was in the build-up to war with Iraq. They U.S. actually had several Navy destroyers on the way. They were even unloading U.S. troops there. The plans had already been made to attack from the north.

Suddenly, Turkey voted on it and they said "NO". You're not using our country to stage your war. Get out.

It was a huge shock to Washington. They were not expecting it. They had to change their plans. Believe me, when you have several destroyers on the way, you don't just call them and tell them "Turn left in the Atlantic". So it delayed the start of the war by several weeks. They were beyond upset in the Pentagon. They even tried bribing Turkey with I think $25 billion big ones, and it didn't matter. They still said no.

So Washington should NOT second-guess these guys. Haven't they learned their lesson by now?

[oblivious]

6. Just to give credit where credit is due it was the Turkish PEOPLE

...who were overwhelmingly against the war and, being a democracy, the elected representatives said no and the military followed.

I remember the US being disgusted that the military let a little thing like that get in the way of a decision.

[daleo]

4. Well, Turkey didn't play nice for Bush in the Iraq invasion

I don't know why they would cooperate for an Iran invasion and/or bombardment. But I don't doubt that Bushco is trying to strong-arm them.

[HuffleClaw]

5. i'd heard they were trying to buy them off by

giving 'em carte blanche to crush THEIR kurds without a peep from washington, but i'm guessing by now they would know not to trust bush even a tad