[Marxism] Coming war against Iran: Increasing Anglo-American pressure on Turkey

[Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx]

Coming war against Iran: Increasing Anglo-American  pressure on Turkey


By Cem Ertür

URL of this article: 
 
<_www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9407_ 
(http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9407) >

_Global Research_ 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001FSDdm4GlrL9edaumUHBdarg82EEFU6_M0o8OjBaBwhU67Wkq5yJySL4bkZcu009vjuja__C7wK8b32ev1fL9OGx2Cbqw4-hIOAOYvrRBFEjLou
7j_u6wpg==) , June 21, 2008


Covering the period of March-June  2008, this article will try to highlight 
the political pressure applied by  the US and UK governments on Turkey in view 
of their war plans against  Iran. It is complementary to an earlier article 
titled "Will Turkey be  Complicit in Another War Against Another Neighbour?" 
[1] 

"[The Middle East] is capable of a  very bright future:... a place of 
innovation and discovery, driven by  free men and women. In recent years, we've 
seen 
hopeful beginnings  toward this vision. Turkey, a nation with a majority 
Muslim population,  is a prosperous modern democracy. Afghanistan under the 
leadership of  President Karzai is overcoming the Taliban and building a free 
society.  Iraq under the leadership of Prime Minister Maliki is establishing a  
multi-ethnic democracy." -- US President George W. Bush (World Economic  Forum, 
Sharm el Sheikh, 18 May 2008) [2]

Turkey was the last stop of US Vice  President Dick Cheney's tour in the 
Middle East in March. Coverage of the  event by the Turkish press gave the 
impression that Mr Cheney did not make  any demands from Turkey's President, 
Prime 
Minister or Chief of General  Staff, concerning the US foreign policy in the 
Middle East and/or  Afghanistan. Given the increasingly evident Anglo-American 
hostility  against Iran on all fronts, this wasn't very plausible. In fact, all 
the  evidence since then suggests otherwise. 
Shortly after Mr Cheney's visit, the  US-based RAND Corporation published a 
report on the US-Turkish  relations: 

"Given its growing equities in the  Middle East, as well as the current 
strains in U.S.-Turkish relations,  Turkey will be even more reluc-tant to 
allow 
the United States to use  its bases in the future, particu-larly the [U.S.] 
airbase at Incirlik,  to undertake combat operations in the Middle East... 
Turkey 
is unlikely  to support U.S. policies aimed at isolating Iran and Syria or  
overthrowing the regimes in either country." [3]

Frequent visits by senior US officials  continued after Mr Cheney. In April, 
US Ambassador to the International  Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Gregory 
Schulte commented on Iran's Shahab-3  ballistic missile: 

"Shahab-3 could strike most of  Turkey and the Middle East, and the 
longer-range missiles would reach  deeper into Europe." [4]

The following month, in a conference  held in Washington, Ambassador of 
Turkey to the US Nabi Sensoy echoed Mr  Schulte: 

"Iran has run 'clandestine (nuclear)  programs for more than two decades,' 
and those programs are 'a threat to  Turkey as well as to the U.S.' "  [5]





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