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sylvester80

02/28/03 4:01 PM

#7446 RE: goodluck #7444

Good post. This is very telling of the criminal policies of the Chimp:

"But the Turkish government doesn't trust U.S. promises. One good
reason is the shameful U.S. performance in Afghanistan.

Turkey headed up the international security force in Kabul for
eight months. Turkish leaders witnessed first-hand how the Bush
administration betrayed its pledges to rebuild Afghanistan,
focusing only on the capital city. "They have good reason to
believe we'll secure Baghdad and let the rest of Iraq go to hell,"
one U.S. official told me.

To assuage Turkish fears, U.S. officials would have to convince
Ankara that they plan to hold Iraq together. Instead, U.S. officials
appear to be following a strategy that will lead to the
dismantlement of Iraq.

To buy Turkish acquiescence, the administration appears to have
given Turkey the green light to send tens of thousands of troops
into northern Iraq. Their stated purpose is to prevent a flood of
Iraqi refugees into Turkey. But senior Turkish officials make clear
they want to use the troops to control Iraqi Kurds.

Although the White House cites the democratic institutions of Iraqi
Kurds as proof that Iraq can become a democracy after Saddam,
Bush officials seem ready to sell out the Kurds in pursuit of bases.

But if the United States allows the Turks to occupy northern Iraq,
it will precipitate the very scenario the Turks fear - a resurgence of
the Kurdish independence struggle inside both Iraq and Turkey.
New fighting between Turks and Kurds will bolster Islamists and
provide fertile ground for terrorism.

Time is short for Bush officials to rethink the issue of Turkey and
the Kurds and find a better way to meet Ankara's needs. This
issue will test whether the White House can cope with the
Pandora's box that an Iraq war will open.

If it can't cope, it had better call off the war."


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Tom K

02/28/03 4:40 PM

#7457 RE: goodluck #7444

The notion that the Bush Administration hasn't given serious thought to what would happen in the aftermath of an post-Saddam Iraq is silly. The discussion has been on the table in diplomatic/policy circles since 1990 - if not earlier. The thought that Bush woke up last week and said "Geez, what are the possible implications of this action" is simply nonsense.

Whether you choose to believe it or not, Bush is surrounded by some incredibly smart people. I disagree with your assertion that the administration believed that war with Iraq would be a domestic political coup. Everyone should have learned the lesson 12 years ago - this type of political capital evaporates rapidly. Churchill learned the same lesson.