The Turks Are In A Position To Stop The "ICORP*" In Iraq

Or at least to drastically curtail it.

Which is why the Commander-n-Chimp exhausted so much of his already scant and diminishing political capital to try to stop the Congressional resolution condemning Turkey for the Armenian genocide almost a century ago. (The Turks figger, with some justice, that in the interim they had Attaturk. Like the US uses Lincoln to deflect criticism about slavery. They have a point, imho.)

Anyway, here's his/our/the problem: Long supply lines, which have, so far, been the indefeasible bane of aspirant world-conquerors. Most (80%, mas o menos) of USer war materiel destined for Iraq comes through Turkey. The big stuff passes through the huge (formerly joint US-)Turkish naval and airbase on the Black Sea; many personnel come and go through the ginormous Incirlik AirBase, inland. After it gets there, it has to pass through Turkey to get to Iraq. There is just no other land route available, particularly if the materiel is not to pass through the really dangerous parts of southern Iraq from Kuwait.

So, if in response to the Armenian genocide resolution passed yesterday by the House, the Turks--who withdrew their ambassador today--started interfering by forbidding or impeding passage to US supply lines feeding and fueling the US invasion forces, it would--as we usta say in my war--put a hurtin' on the whole operation...

As opposed to the war as I am, I frankly could NOT support that as a way terminating the US involvement in Iraq. Though it will not surprise me if this is in some wise crept into the eventual framing of the issue, it would be dishonorable.

The US would not only be refusing the responsibility of ending the invasion on our own initiative and displacing the responsibility where it would not belong, we would also thereby certainly be hanging our soldiers out to dry. That way of stopping the war would leave our soldiers--our citizens--radically and unforgivably exposed. Granted they're where they shouldn't be; still that's not their fault. A withdrawal from Iraq without adequate fuel supplies, and ammo could be a real bloodbath.

Think Dunkirk without the boats?

This essay began as a comment in a thread on MyLeftWing.com.

* ICORP = Invasion, Conquest, Occupation, Rape & Pillage