In comments that are spawning considerable surprise in the Pakistani media, former United States Ambassador Dennis Kux, visiting Pakistan to help sell his book on the history of US-Pakistani relations, opined on the Afghan War.
In his comments, Kux suggested that the United States and the rest of the NATO occupation force should, when their supposed “end” date of 2014 arrives, hand over the country to Turkey and let them do the occupying.
“In my opinion, Turkish Army has the track record and past international engagements for maintaining peace and could do the same in Afghanistan,” Kux insisted. His proposal seemed to suggest that some other international troops could remain to help Turkey run things.
The suggestion is a major surprise not only because the US is currently negotiating on an occupation through 2024, but because Turkey really doesn’t have a “track record” of occupations of this size, at least not since World War 1. It is also unclear why Turkey would want to try to occupy Afghanistan, beyond some vague notion that they could.
This is the same story of world war one Muslim against Muslims as the britishers did i.e. Iron- against Iron.
Afghanistan history will never let occupiers in peace and non can control.
I.E. "Hey U.S. ! Can we stick *our* peckers in that fire when you're done ?"
No, Turkey should occupy Palestine. And while they are there it would give the Israelis the opportunity to apologize for executing-style murders of Turkish humanitarian aid workers.
Of course if they could dump Aghanistan on Turkey that would elimate Turkey as a major player while clearing the field for Israel in the Middle East
Oh yes, at the same time furnishing arms for the "peace project."
Probably surprised the heck out of the Turks as well.
Typical American arrogance. Since they are wanting to dump a problem off onto someone else, they just assume that Turk wants for some strange reason to occupy Afghanistan for the first time in its history. Even the Ottoman Empire didn't want to go to try to occupy Afghanistan.
Anyone think to ask the Armenians about the Turks record as an occupying power?
Or the Kurds?
The reason why they would want to do so would probably involve their Pan-Turanic/Turkic ideology/ geopolitical approach which desires to leverage the Central Asian Turkic nations (all but Tajikistan in essence) as a geopolitical bloc. Those countries are threatened by Islamic insurgency flowing out of Afghanistan. Of course, Turkey's current government is itself Islamist in tendency, if not on par with Afghani Taliban. Geopolitically, Turkey also seems close with Pakistan, and increasingly with GCC countries, who have backed Afghan Taliban, which creates another conflict. Secular/Fascist Turkey would have a better rationale for this plan. But the other side of the coin is does the US see Turkey doing this as a signifigant favor? If so, what benefits could Turkey reap in reward for doing this? If Turkey could satisfy the interests of the Central Asian Turkic states along with Pakistan, the pieces might fall in place for this. Of course, this would be a huge undertaking that would likely prevent any other signifigant role for Turkey's army. They are also facing a civil war against PKK which also argues against this really happening. But the US is known to be living in fantasy land… They also circulated maps showing a dismembered Saudia Arabia along with Iran separated into ethno-religious states. That makes sense vis-a-vis US policy on Iran, but none at all re their alliance with the Saudi royal regime.
apparently the politicians // militarists in America are so power-hungry they will go to any and all fantasy lengths to insert, suck and swallow any load Israel deems fit for US consumption. If this means killing millions and millions of Arab Muslims in the M.E., dividing, destroying, re-drawing lines in the sand so troublemaking nuclear whiners in Israel can be THE major power in the region (and let's not forget sacrificing more of America's young men and women in this fruitless paranoid endeavor), then so be it.
The Cold War defense spending will be a drop in the bucket compared to the money pissed away in the War on Terra.
How about revenues from pipelines?
I'm sure power centers in good old Turkey would maybe leave the door open for a longer talk.
why does any outside power need to occupy Afghanistan? do they really want to threaten people with war?
oh the pipelines need to be secured…I forgot
will America be under control by real Americans again someday, not dual citizens?
The follow-up question that really needs to be asked is: What is this experience that Turkey has? Cyprus?
This when Turkish Generals are on record describing how the Turkish military manufactured mosque attacks, etc, to justify their invasion of Cyprus.
But maybe that's exactly the example of worthy ethics that is needed to make the US happy.
True but remember that Greece had organized a coup to annex Cyprus first. Turkey was trying trying to protect the Turkish minority against the Greek invasion.
Turkey day coming and every1 is talkin Turkey…. But it a'int no feast in Afghanistan, more like famine..
"Kux insisted. His proposal seemed to suggest that some other international troops could remain to help Turkey run things"
OOOOO YAAA…. Maybe the Russians….??? Don't they have " track record and past international engagements for maintaining peace….. ??" I guess the rub would be…. "and could do the same in Afghanistan" China…?? Just joking…!!! The Afghans would make short werk of Turkish occupiers… Look at their record, it's quite impressive.. There is NOTHING there to make the expense of holding it in occupation…..viable. It;s drip… Drip… Drip… Ten dead today, twenty with no legs, thirty no genitals and It costs a billion every few days… Pretty soon it's 55,OOO like VIETNAM….. and everybody goes back to their own problems at home….. All those broken men broken lives…. Plus a few TRILLION wasted…… No chance of getting Turkey in there anyway…. It's another 1 of l thoz Imperial Dreams… {Delusions}
the best solution is divide it on ethnic line part to Iran and part to Pakistan