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Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Iran So Far Away
One of my former students in Istanbul sent me a link to an Asia Times article which seems to indicate that Turkey may be willing to play a role in dealing with Iran:
But as a Muslim (albeit strictly secular), non-Arab country, Turkey can offer Tehran advice in a way that the EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) can no longer lay claim to. In the event that talks fail, Turkey is the only country in Iran's vicinity on which the US has prepositioned tactical nuclear weapons (an estimated 90) that it could deploy against Iranian facilities.
The veritable who's who of US and Israeli officials who processed through Turkey in recent weeks for consultations may be a reflection of this.
First came US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, followed by Federal Bureau of Investigation chief Robert Mueller. Porter Goss, the new head of the Central Intelligence Agency, also visited, just days before the arrival of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization secretary general, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer.
Finally, Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz held discussions with the head of the Turkish military, General Hilmi Ozkok, and Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer. The leading left-nationalist daily, the Cumhuriyet, reported that talks centered on how to deal with Iran.
The Turkish Weekly journal claimed further revelations. In a December 27 article it said Halutz had asked permission for training Israeli commandos in Turkey's Bolu and Hakkari mountains. The magazine speculated that the Israeli request had to do with preparations for operations in northwestern Iran's mountainous territory.
Interesting stuff, and a tad bit heartening. Read the whole thing.
Cross-posted at Wonkitties.
Posted by wonkitties on January 24, 2006 in International Politics | Permalink
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Comments
Er, am I the only one who thinks tactical nukes are a REALLY, REALLY bad idea?
The Yanks have a whole lot of deep penetrating bunker busters. I'd rather see them use a hundred thousand of them than 90 tactical nukes...
Posted by: Warwick | 2006-01-24 9:01:39 PM
I just ran. Iran all night and day.
Posted by: Dishwasher | 2006-01-24 11:54:53 PM
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