McClatchy: Former air-force general Joseph Ralston, appointed a year ago to help end the activities of Kurd terrorists, blasted George Bush over American promises to Turkey about ending PKK activities in Iraq:
The officer who commands U.S. forces in northern Iraq, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Nixon, last week said he planned to do "absolutely nothing" to curb PKK activities.
Ralston, a vice chairman of the Washington-based Cohen Group, a consulting firm, said the statement was "directly opposite" promises Bush has made to Turkey.
'Directly opposite' promises Bush has made to Turkey...
We've been waiting for Ralston to speak. We were well ahead of the MSM on Ralston who is now confirming the tectonic loss of US soft-power, just as Japan, another un-happy ally, walks away from the US-led mission in Afghanistan.
Retired Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, in a brief interview, declined to say why he stepped down several weeks ago. But published reports have said that he was frustrated by the Bush administration's failure to act against the PKK.
The Corner wants the US and Turkey to re-invade Iraq, this time together. cskendrick's diary confirms that a joint US-Turkish strike may not be just talk. David Ignatius wrote that Turkey-US relations were coming apart in April. Fox recently grabbed the nettle by suggesting the US might be supporting terrorists in Northern Iraq. cskendrick figures Bush is giving the green light to Turkey. Mr. 24%, however, now has bigger fish to fry.
In his first extended comments since his departure, Ralston told McClatchy Newspapers that the United States is unwittingly "driving, strategically, the Turks and the Iranians together" because both nations share concerns about violent Kurdish separatist groups.
Bush wins support of 52% of Americans to attack Iran. Ahmed Chalabi , who provided 'curve-ball, the same clown who cooked intelligence for Cheney and Bush for the war on Iraq, has surfaced. Support for a US attack on Iran comes from some unusual sources, as well as the reliably stupid. Lawrence Haas, a former Gore flack, is also calling for a new coalition to attack Iran.
The problem is: Iran, Turkey, Syria, as Ralston points out, are now supporting one another. Meaning the US could easily end up fighting a war in which Turkey, a long-term US ally, ends up supporting Iran. Thus triggering a whole-scale regional conflagration; and a total break-down of US security agreements.
UPDATE: I strongly recommend geekesque's diary demanding Harry Reid get off his can and do something.