THE IMPORTANCE OF TURKEY

Boy at Fethiye Market, in Turkey. By Chris. P

Turkey opposes sanctions against Iran.

Russia's Putin apparently still supports moderate sanctions against Iran. (Why did Russia fall out with Iran? )

However, countries such as Russia, Turkey, India, Pakistan, and China seem to be increasingly aware that Obama is not necessarily their friend.

On 8 June 2010, there was a meeting in Istanbul of CICA - the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. (FACTBOX-What is the CICA?)

This CICA meeting gave Russia, Turkey and Iran a chance to meet. (Russia, Turkey and Iran Meet, Posing Test for US Diplomacy)

At the meeting, Turkey and the 20 other nations, condemned Israel's attack on the Gaza flotilla.

At the meeting, Putin declared that the proposed Blue Stream II natural-gas pipeline, to transport Russian gas to the Middle East via Turkey, may no longer extend to Israel. (Israeli pipeline deal could be scrapped, Putin says)

The meeting gave Iran's Ahmadinejad the chance to remind people of the nuclear agreement brokered by Turkey and Brazil in May 2010.

This agreement seemed to frustrate Israel's plan for an attack on Iran.

Mardin, Turkey, by zz77

On 9 June 2010, Pepe Escobar, at Asia Times Online, (The method in Israel's madness‎) argues that the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla was intended to send a "signal" to Turkey about the Brazil and Turkey-mediated Iran nuclear fuel-swap deal.

According to Pepe Escobar, Israel wants a Turkey which is weak and which has little influence in Europe or the Middle East.

Israeli wants to stop any Turkish-led move to solve the Palestinian problem.

One faction in the Pentagon may see things differently.

70% of all supplies for US troops in Iraq go through Turkey.

Turkey has troops in Afghanistan.

Israel has concerns about Russia and China.

Pepe Escobar (The method in Israel's madness‎) points out that:

Israeli tanks are now vulnerable to Russian-made rocket-propelled grenades.

Israeli ships are now vulnerable to Hezbollah's made in China missiles.

Israeli planes will soon be vulnerable to Russian S-300 surface-to-air missiles.

Turkey has increasing worries about being undermined by Israel and the USA. (The method in Israel's madness‎)

Israel is close friends with Iraqi Kurdistan.

The US actively supports the Iraq-based Kurdish Workers' Party separatists in eastern Anatolia in Turkey.

The Turkish government may see the need to have have a Turkey-Iran-Syria alliance. (The method in Israel's madness‎)

And the Turkish government may want to draw closer to Russia.

So, the CIA may want a coup in Turkey to bring about a new pro-USA, pro-Israel military dictatorship.

(Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. His new book, just out, is Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009).)

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