The “Other” News from Turkey
Turkey is on everyone’s minds currently, almost exclusively due to their slaughter of the Kurds to their south, enabled by the U.S. betrayal of its former ally. Of far fewer column-inches is Turkey’s oil and gas exploration ships that are now in the eastern Mediterranean and will soon begin drilling southwest of Cyprus.
As one might expect, rights to the area are hotly contested. Low-level saber-rattling and harsh words have dominated relationships between Turkey and Cyprus for years, but the situation has heated up recently. The problem stems from the fact that Cyprus split after a Turkish invasion in 1974, and now has both an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government that represents Cyprus in the EU, and also a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north recognized only by Ankara.
Of course, the underlying issue is that oil powers over 95% of the world’s transportation, and is therefore fought over all around the globe.
Craig,
The Turkish Republic of Cyprus has existed since 1974, and only came about after Turkey was required to intervene during the aggression of the Colonel’s brutal coup in Greece.
As I corrected you in another post, Turkey is also a very long standing ally of the US and a member of NATO. So far, there has been no “Kurd’s Slaughtered”.
But the US President has responded with sanctions against Turkey which will intensify if the Turkish military acts badly.
But, what on earth has Mediterranean oil got to do with the Kurds?
Do you want to start a war with Turkey? Turkey ? Although not a super power like the US, is still retains a very capable and powerful regional military.
Yours, is the kind of superficial, “goodies and baddies” sort of simplistic thinking that has seen the US mired in endless, humiliating, costly wars over the last 50 years.
President trump made no promises to the Kurds, he always said he intended to disengage US forces from the conflict as the served no useful purpose to furthering US interests.
The President has already stated very clearly, the era of the US playing “world policeman” is over.
The mess created in Syria was initiated by those who still believe the US military can successfully intervene in local civil wars. Not only do they believe the US has a role to play, but a “moral obligation”.
The fact that such policies have always led to failure and humiliation for the US, doesn’t seem to deter the Washington establishment.
If President Trump deployed more troops in Northern Syria, you would be screaming he’s a war-monger and dangerous! When he refuses to be drawn into dubious military adventures, preferring to use the weapon of America’s economic might, you still call him a psychopath!
Make up your mind, he can’t be both!