Turkey is no longer a dependable strategic ally of Israel

[BRVoice]

vector7, I just want to say that I greatly appreciate your articles.

I'd like to know your opinion about the current crisis in the Middle East. Thank you in advance.

[vector7]

After 9/11, the Bush Administration had to reinvest in US readiness after 8 long years of Bill Clinton eroding military budgets and giving China access to strategic military technology while winking at a Islamic terror from 1993 WTC bombing through the USS Cole.

Frankly, IMHO the Marxist Obama/Clinton Administration has undermined most all of the achievements of the 2 terms of of the Bush Administration's WOT including our ME foreign policy we had in place for 30 years. However, the Obama Administration is keeping the Patriot Act in place and is cultivating structures to bypass the constitution to go after conservat....er I mean what they believe are terrorists.

Both the Obama and the Clinton Administration did not seriously view the Axis or radical Islam as an adversary but allies in their future vision of the world.

What is happening in the ME right now is a direct result of allowing a "Marxist Renegade" Administration in the WH to dismantle America on so many levels.

If we get another conservative Administration they will be faced with restoring foundations that took decades to build, by then America will be facing enormous budget deficits and fewer allies.

America's enemies knows this and are moving quickly.

[BRVoice]

http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/..._boom_999.html


Erdogan eyes blocking East Med gas boom
by Staff Writers
Tel Aviv, Israel (UPI) Sep 14, 2011


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's unprecedented threat to send the Turkish navy into the eastern Mediterranean to challenge Israel is primarily aimed at torpedoing efforts by the Jewish state and Greek Cypriots to develop rich offshore natural gas fields.

Turkey, until recently a staunch ally of Israel, is determined to become the champion of the Arabs and hitting at Israel's newfound energy resources would have a profound impact.

Greece is Turkey's historical rival and Ankara doesn't want to see the Greek Cypriots, who rule the southern sector of the war-divided island, joining with Israel to exploit the natural gas fields while cutting out the Turkish Cypriots.

Erdogan has been at odds with Israel for the last three years over its occupation of Palestinian land.

But the rift widened alarmingly May 31, 2010, when Israeli forces killed nine Turks aboard a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.

When Israel refused to formally apologize for the incident, Erdogan booted out the Israeli ambassador and senior diplomats Sept. 2.

He also pledged to reinforce Turkish naval patrols around the gas fields between Israel and Cyprus.

That threatens Israel's drive to start producing gas from two key fields -- Leviathan and Tamar -- which between them contain reserves estimated at 25 trillion cubic feet of gas.

That would transform the economy of Israel, which has had to import nearly all its energy requirements, and even allow it to export gas.

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that the continental shelf running from Syria southward to Egypt contains an estimated 122 trillion cubic feet of gas plus around 4.2 billion barrels of oil.

So there are rich pickings to be had but they lie in a region torn by political and religious disputes, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict and the age-old feud between Greece and Turkey.

At present, the Israeli objective is to work with Cyprus, which expects to start exploration of its own waters soon, to build an underwater pipeline from Israel to the island.

From there the combined output would be exported to energy-hungry Europe.
Greece and the Greek enclave in Cyprus are members of the European Union, a Christian bloc that has shown little enthusiasm for efforts by Muslim Turkey to join the 24-nation bloc.

Ankara claims the Greek Cypriots cannot develop offshore gas fields without the participation of the Turkish sector in the north of the island, carved out when Turkey invaded in 1974.

The Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia is internationally recognized. Only Ankara recognizes the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Reports from Ankara say that Erdogan will make an initial deployment of three frigates into the disputed waters.

That risks a confrontation with the Israeli navy, which in recent months has extended its patrols in the eastern Mediterranean to enforce an economic blockade on the Gaza Strip, ruled by the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

These patrols are largely intended to interdict arms shipments from Iran bound for Hamas and Hezbollah, Tehran's powerful proxy in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has also threatened to attack Israel's gas fields and its attendant infrastructure because the Beirut government complains gas fields claimed by Israel lie in Lebanese waters.

Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau declared Sunday, "Israel can support and secure the rigs that we're going to have in the Mediterranean."

Equally, an expanded Turkish naval presence could menace offshore drilling and pipeline construction, as well as scare off potential investors.

Turkey's EU minister, Egemen Bagis, declared last week: "It is for this that countries have warships. It's for this we Â…train our navy."

Turkey, a member of NATO, has a much larger navy than Israel -- 14 submarines, 16 frigates and six corvettes against three submarines, three corvettes and 10 missile-armed patrol craft.

Military analysts say the Turks would be wary of taking on the Israelis because of their powerful air force, which can cover the eastern Mediterranean.

The U.S. administration is also likely to be pressing Turkey to contain its military operations, and, for the time being at least, Ankara is likely to pay heed.

The Israelis, who are mired in crisis with neighboring Egypt and facing off with Iran and Hezbollah, seek to prevent the confrontation with Turkey deteriorating. But Erdogan appears to be ready to get tougher.

[BRVoice]

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business...#axzz1XyGKHtXB


Cyprus vows to block Turkey-EU energy talks
September 15, 2011 01:50 AM
Reuters

NICOSIA: Cyprus vowed Wednesday to keep Turkey’s EU-entry talks on hold as long as Ankara challenges the island’s rights to launch offshore gas drilling, in an escalating row among east Mediterranean neighbors over hydrocarbon reserves.

Rhetoric over ownership of possible oil and gas deposits has sharpened after a deterioration of relations between Turkey and Israel, the discovery of massive gas fields by Israel and plans by Cyprus to drill as early as next month.

EU-member Cyprus, split during a 1974 Turkish invasion after a brief Greek-inspired coup in which Turkey took control of the island’s north, has blocked the opening of several negotiating chapters in Turkey-EU entry talks. One of those is energy.

“The position of Cyprus has not changed. Turkey must make a formal commitment to the EU that it will end its provocations towards the Republic of Cyprus and stop obstructing Cypriot efforts in the field of energy,� said Stefanos Stefanou, the Cypriot government spokesman.

Cyprus is represented in the European Union by its internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government. Cyprus has no diplomatic relations with Turkey, which has yet to respond to calls from the European Union to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said last week Ankara was ready to deploy its navy across the Mediterranean in a dispute with Israel over an Israeli sea blockade of Gaza.

Cyprus falls under the radar of the warning since it coincides with Cypriot drilling southeast of the island, a right Turkey contests.

And there is Cyprus’ possible cooperation with Israel, whose rights to offshore reserves has also been questioned by Ankara.

Turkey, the only country to recognize a Turkish Cypriot breakaway state in north Cyprus, says any hydrocarbon reserves do not only belong to Greek Cypriots, but also to Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish Cypriots have not been part of any Cypriot government since 1963, when there was a constitutional crisis just three years after independence from Britain.

The row could complicate peace talks launched between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides in 2008.

Meanwhile, the drilling coincides with a major push from the United Nations to resolve the Cyprus conflict by mid-2012.

“The unilateral actions undertaken by the Greek Cypriots for oil exploration and to determine areas of maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean constitute a serious risk,� said Besir Atalay, a deputy Prime Minister of Turkey.

“If you are sincere about a solution, then you should refrain from doing these things and not create new problem areas,� he was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolian news agency prior to leaving Turkey for northern Cyprus for a four-day visit.

[BRVoice]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...ean-2011-09-15


Turkey, Turkish Cyprus mull exploring for oil in Med Sea


Thursday, September 15, 2011
ANKARA

This undated file photo shows an oil and gas complex. (Reuters Photo)

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot executives met in Ankara on Thursday to discuss recent developments in Greek Cyprus’ ambitions to explore for oil and natural in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Officials from the Foreign, Economy and Energy ministries of northern Cyprus gathered together with Turkish Foreign Ministry executives and experts from some Turkish public institutions in Ankara.

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot executives are expected to discuss implementing decisions that were made in Ankara on Sept. 9.

Last week, Turkey's Parliament Speaker Cemil Çicek visited northern Cyprus and met Turkish Cypriot executives. After the meeting, Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu's special envoy, Kudret Özersay, said Turkey and northern Cyprus began holding talks on the steps they would take against oil and natural gas exploration initiatives.

In 2010, the Greek Cypriot administration and Israel signed an accord to demarcate their maritime boundaries to facilitate searching for mineral deposits in the East Mediterranean.

[BRVoice]

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticl...#ixzz1Y1kR7SOB


Turkey’s familiar tactics
Tony Badran, September 15, 2011


Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit this week to Cairo, which Turkey is targeting as part of its plan to strengthen its regional influence. (AFP photo/Mohammad Hossam)

Throughout the 2011 Arab popular revolts, much ink has been spilled over the positive role the so-called “Turkish model� was supposed to have on the course of the protesters’ quest for democracy. However, as evident from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Egypt and his Nasserist performance there, the role Turkey is settling on is one of inflammatory demagogy, heating up tensions and potentially threatening US interests at a critical moment in the region.

Much like how Iran has sought to paint the Arab revolts with the brush of “resistance,� Turkey is in the process of refocusing the narrative of the Arab Spring back on the conflict with Israel. As with Tehran, Ankara’s objective is the promotion of its own bid for regional primacy. The arena for this power play is Egypt.

For all the hype around Turkey’s “soft power,� to advance his brand, Erdogan has fallen back on a familiar tactic: addressing the region’s masses over the head of their governments, and rousing their emotions with calculated anti-Israel rhetoric. As Michael Doran wrote a few months ago, Gamal Abdel Nasser wrote that playbook, but it is Iran that has made it its modus operandi since the Islamic Revolution took power.

Turkey is now following this well-trodden path. In explaining Ankara’s ambitious drive, Erdogan’s chief adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, offered these heady words: “We have made it clear we never had any kind of imperial intentions, but there is demand from the Arab street.�

For a government whose foreign minister has wondered why Turkey shouldn’t “rebuild its leadership in former Ottoman lands in the Balkans, Middle East and Central Asia,� Kalin’s pronouncement on imperial intentions is rather rich. But it was the reference to the “Arab street� that reveals the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) strategy—a strategy former US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey understood all too well, noting, in a 2010 cable, “the AKP’s outreach to populations over the heads of conservative, pro-US governments.�

Projecting the image of an “authentic� regional leader with street cred, as opposed to pro-American lackeys (as Erdogan portrayed former President Hosni Mubarak), was always part of the Turkish premier’s game and remains a critical component of his domestic sales pitch as an independent leader who marches to his own beat, not the Americans’. Take, for instance, the August fracas between Erdogan and the main opposition party when the latter (surreally) accused the prime minister of “being a subcontractor of the Western powers in the Middle East.�

But this image requires a corresponding confrontational narrative. And it is here that Turkey’s game becomes most destructive, as it effectively promotes a version of the “resistance� narrative and seeks to reframe the Arab Spring accordingly.

Witness the shift in Turkey’s rhetoric about the meaning of the Arab Spring. In a May op-ed, Kalin talked about transition to “a pluralist democracy,� emphasizing freedom and prosperity. This emphasis quickly changed giving way to prioritizing the conflict with Israel as the primary value of the Arab Spring. “Policies of occupation, dispossession and humiliation will no longer be covered up and justified by petty dictators in the Middle East,� he wrote in an op-ed on the eve of Erdogan’s visit to Egypt.

And that is where Kalin’s words are specifically aimed: post-Mubarak Egypt, where both Turkey and Iran are making a power play. Egypt is the prize, especially for its access to Gaza—not to mention the potential for turning the heat on Israel, which could embroil Cairo and threaten its peace treaty.

Erdogan’s desired itinerary in Egypt reveals as much. He had hoped to use his visit to address Egyptians in Tahrir Square and to cross into Gaza, hitting both birds with one stone. Tellingly, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt nixed his plans. Given the fragility of the border situation, Erdogan’s plan was particularly pernicious. It is one thing for a hostile Iran to attempt to light the fuse between Egypt and Israel. But to have a NATO member threaten the stability of two US allies is a different matter entirely.

Turkey’s destabilizing push in the eastern Mediterranean, all while it continues to maintain an ambiguous posture toward Syria (which Erdogan failed to even mention in his address at the Arab League), conflicts with US interests. However, as Lee Smith noted, so long as Erdogan feels he has little to worry about from Washington and believes he can have it both ways, he will press ahead with his irresponsible actions.

The stakes are too high for the US to maintain a passive posture. It must assert leadership and remind regional middle-range powers like Turkey of their natural place before they cause serious damage.



Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay.

[vector7]

'Warships could be in e. Mediterranean at any moment'

By REUTERS AND JPOST.COM STAFF
09/15/2011 17:41

Erdoğan says in Tunisia that Israel could not do whatever it wanted in Mediterranean; says Islam and democracy can co-exist in government.

Talkbacks ()

ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday Israel could not do whatever it wanted in the Eastern Mediterranean and that Turkish warships could be there at any moment.

Erdogan's comments, made during a visit to Tunisia as part of a tour of Arab countries, were the latest in a war of words between the two regional powers.

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"Israel cannot do whatever it wants in the eastern Mediterranean. They will see what our decisions will be on this subject. Our navy attack ships can be there at any moment," Erdoğan told a news conference on a visit to the Tunisian capital.

Turkey downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and halted defense-related trade after the Jerusalem confirmed last week it would not apologize for the raid on the Mavi Marmara, in which nine Turks were killed by IDF soldiers when the ship attempted to break Israel's blockade on Gaza.

Turkey and Israel had tried to mend fences before the publication two weeks ago of a UN report that deemed the blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip a legal means to stem the flow of arms to Palestinians but also said Israel had used unreasonable force.

Ankara said it was prepared to escort any future Gaza-bound ship with naval ships.

Israel has said it will maintain the blockade and that it wants to ease tensions with its former ally.

But in an interview last week with Al Jazeera television, excerpts of which were released by Turkish state media, Erdogan said he saw the Israeli storming of the ship in May, 2010 as "grounds for war" but that Turkey had acted "with patience."

The prospect of a showdown at sea with Turkey, both a NATO power and, like Israel, an ally of the United States, rattled Israelis already on edge over political upheaval in the Arab world and Iran's nuclear program. Washington has appealed for restraint.

Erdogan, seeking to expand Turkey's regional influence, is on a tour of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, where he has so far received an enthusiastic welcome. His criticism of Israeli has helped win him great popularity in Arab countries.

Erdogan also said that, as Tunisia's new government would show, Islam and democracy can co-exist just as they have in Turkey. His comment came after statements he made in Cairo on Wednesday, calling for Egypt to be a secular democracy, upset Islamist factions including Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood organization, one of Egyptian largest and most powerful political organizations.

[vector7]

Turkey vows to control Israel at sea

Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:25PM GMT
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the country's navy will patrol the Mediterranean to prevent Israel from assaulting ships in the international waters.

"Israel will no longer be able to do what it wants in the Mediterranean and you'll be seeing Turkish warships in this sea," Erdogan said after a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi, AFP reported.

The Turkish leader also reiterated Ankara's call on Israel to formally apologize for last year's deadly takeover of a Gaza-bound aid convoy.

On May 31, 2010, Israel navy commandos launched a deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while it was sailing in international wasters on a mission to break Tekl Aviv's siege on the Gaza Strip.

The strike left nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists, including a Turkish-American teenager, killed and dozens of others wounded.

"Relations with Israel cannot normalize if Israel does not apologize over the flotilla attack, compensate the martyrs' families and lift the blockade of Gaza," the Turkish prime minister stated.

On September 8, Erdogan said Turkey had taken steps to stop the Israeli regime from unilaterally exploiting natural resources in the Mediterranean.

"Turkish warships, in the first place, are authorized to protect our ships that carry humanitarian aid to Gaza...From now on, we will not let these ships to be attacked by Israel, as what happened with the Freedom Flotilla," he said.

Tel Aviv has refused to apologize for the last May bloodshed, prompting Ankara to expel the Israeli ambassador and cut all bilateral military ties with Israel.

Turkey has also vowed to take action at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to challenge Tel Aviv's four-year siege of Gaza. The blockade has been preventing the flow of food, medicine, and other basic supplies into the impoverished coastal territory.

MRS/MGH

[vector7]

Israeli-Greek defense pact invoked versus Turkish naval and air movements

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 15, 2011, 10:51 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Israel Greece Turkey Oil gas war Mediterranean Cyprus


Turkish warplanes

Israel and Greece have invoked the mutual defense pact they signed secretly only 12 days ago in the light of heavy Turkish sea and air movements in the eastern Mediterranean. debkafile's sources report that this was decided in a long nocturnal phone conversation Wednesday night Sept. 14 between the Israeli and Greek prime ministers, Binyamin Netanyahu and George Papandreou, and at Israel's expanded cabinet of eight, which was called into session over the Turkish threat to its off-shore oil and gas rigs.

The Greek Prime Minister added to the information recorded so far on Turkish fleet movements in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. He was particularly concerned by the observation flights suddenly increased in the past 48 hours over the Greek island of Kastelorizo in the southeast Mediterranean just two kilometers from the Turkish coast. Those flights are escorted by Turkish combat jets.

Athens fears a Turkish attack on the island, whose population is fewer than 1,000, and an attempt to damage or seize it. Israel suspects that a Turkish attack on the Greek island will be the signal for Turkish military aggression against its oil and gas platforms located in the Mediterranean between Israel and Cyprus. Papandreou said the Turks are capable of surprise attacks on additional Greek islands near the Turkish coast.

Ankara would be acting on the pretext that Israel and Cyprus have no right to mark out and exploit the gas and oil zones of the eastern Mediterranean – a fuel-rich region known as Block 12 – without the consent of Turkish Cyprus (the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus – TRNC).

Turkey also backs Lebanon's complaint that Israel is robbing it of its natural resources. Talks between Lebanon and Cyprus to resolve this issue broke down. Beirut refuses any discussion with Israel.

Neither Jerusalem nor Athens has disclosed in what way they have invoked the new defense pact.

debkafile's military sources surmise that in the first stage, Israeli navy and air forces are to be posted at Greek Mediterranean bases. The two intelligence agencies are already sharing input.

Up until now, Israel could only respond to a Turkish threat from its own borders. With a presence at Greek military bases, Israel will be able to operate from the rear of Turkish forces in the event of an attack by those forces in the Mediterranean.

Monday, Sept. 12, Ankara dictated conditions for Israel to obey in order to keep its navy afloat free of Turkish aggression:

1. Israel vessels are prohibited from taking action against Turkish ships heading for the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has declared "null and void" the UN report confirming the legality of Israel's blockade of Gaza.

2. Israeli warships crossing the 12-mile line bounding its territorial waters will be challenged by Turkish warships, which are instructed to approach them to within 100 meters and "disable their weapons."

This threat covers not only shipping bound for Gaza but also Israel's oil and gas drilling platforms which are more than 60 miles out to sea.

Israel's political and military spokesmen have been trying hard to downplay the Turkish menace. On Wednesday, Sept. 14, they brushed aside reports of Turkish naval and air movements in the eastern Mediterranean. After the cabinet of eight's meeting, the official line was that Israel is practicing "restraint in contrast to Turkish wildness" and they should be given time to cool down. In any case, the US and NATO were closely monitoring the crisis Ankara is generating with Israel, Greece and Cyprus, and won't let it degenerate into Turkish military action.

But both Israel and Greece appear to know better: They decided to invoke their mutual defense pact – not before obtaining a green light from Washington – because they believe the Turkish threats indicated by its military movements are real and tangible.

[BRVoice]

Guess who is showing up to the party...


http://www.cyprusnewsreport.com/?q=node/4540


Russia Sends Nuclear Subs To Patrol Cyprus Waters - Report

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• What links here

Thu, 25/08/2011 - 09:21 — Sarah Fenwick



Russia has sent two nuclear-powered submarines to patrol Eastern Mediterranean waters around Cyprus and enforce the island's right to explore for undersea oil and gas in its territorial seas, according to information from Defencenet.gr, citing a Russian FM spokesman.

Alexander Lukashevich said that Russia supports Cyprus and guarantees its security if it is threatened: "Under the UN Convention on International Law, among 162 other signatory states, including Cyprus, each state has sovereign rights in its EEZ for exploring, exploiting and protecting both live and non-living natural resources, including water, the seabed and subsoil," said Lukashevich in comments made on August 19th and reported by Defencenet.gr (in Greek).
So far there has been no reaction from the foreign ministry on reports that Russian submarines will be sent to protect Cyprus from any potential military threat from Turkey. A telephone call to the foreign ministry for comment has not yet been returned. A telephone call to the press attache at the Russian Embassy in Nicosia has also not yet been returned.

The submarines are due in early September and are being interpreted as a clear warning to Turkey to stay away from Noble Energy's drilling sites in Block 12. Noble is set to start exploring for undersea gas at the beginning of October along with Israeli energy company DELEK, which has reached an agreement with Noble Energy to share in its licensing deal with Cyprus, reported Globes.co.il.
Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis just wrapped up a visit to Israel to discuss undersea hydrocarbon exploration with President of Israel Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman. Israel and Cyprus' interests are closely aligned after the two countries signed an agreement delimiting their maritime borders in late 2010. The agreement also led to cooperation on undersea reserves exploitation and closer diplomatic relations, with Peres expected to visit Cyprus in the near future.
Turkey has also not yet commented on the development and is one of the countries which has not signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, which has been in force since 1994. There are 162 countries that have ratified the Convention, including Cyprus and Greece.
On August 9th, Turkey renewed its veiled threats towards Cyprus on the issue of undersea gas and oil exploration, with a statement from its foreign ministry saying that "the Greek Cypriot Administration does not represent in law or in fact the Turkish Cypriots and Cyprus as a whole."
Bilateral agreements between Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel are "unilateral actions" which could derail settlement talks, give rise to new conflicts and increase tensions in the region, according to the statement.

"These unlawful acts create tension in the region, compromise and prejudge the Turkish Cypriots’ existing and inherent equal rights over the natural resources of the island," says Turkey's foreign ministry.

In response, recently-appointed foreign minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoulis said that the statements were 'posturing' from Turkey and that she would complain to the UN Security Council and the EU. And President Demetris Christofias called on the international community to end its silence on Turkey's threatening attitude to Cyprus.
Behind the scenes, the international community backs Cyprus on its oil exploration, according to US cables released by Wikileaks.ch. The government's plan to allow US companies like Noble Energy and others to drill in its Exclusive Economic Zone is well within its legal rights and Turkey does not have a "legal leg to stand on", says a 2007 confidential cable from the US Embassy in Nicosia.

[BRVoice]

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-2568...escalates.html

Turkey, Turkish Cyprus to sign continental shelf deal in gas row

15 September 2011, Thursday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH WIRES, 6

Turkey said it will sign an agreement on the delineation of the continental shelf with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) if Greek Cyprus moves ahead with its plans to drill for natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, a development set to escalate tensions in the region.

The decision emerged out of talks between Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials in Turkey, according to a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, released on Thursday. The Turkish Cypriot delegation visited Turkey at the invitation of the Turkish government, according to the statement. A Turkish delegation headed by the deputy undersecretary of the Energy Ministry will visit the KKTC on Friday at the invitation of the KKTC authorities, the statement added. The delegation will include officials from the General Directorate of Petroleum Affairs, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and the Foreign Ministry. Sources said the KKTC government might identify some areas claimed by Greek Cyprus as part of its continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey says any hydrocarbon reserves do not only belong to Greek Cypriots, but also to Turkish Cypriots. The Greek Cypriot government is internationally recognized as representing the whole island, while the KKTC is recognized only by Turkey, which does not recognize Greek Cyprus. The term continental shelf refers to the stretch of the seabed adjacent to the territorial waters of a coastal state. Most commercial exploitation from the sea, such as hydrocarbon extraction, takes place on the continental shelf. The Foreign Ministry's announcement came a day after Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias announced that US firm Noble Energy will soon begin exploratory drilling to confirm deposits beneath the sea bed off Cyprus' southern coast despite Turkey's attempts to prevent such a move. Noble reported a massive gas discovery off Israel, and close to the Cypriot field, last year. Christofias didn't specify a date for the start of drilling, which officials have said will begin early next month. Turkey's warning also coincides with expected deployment of Turkish warships in the east Mediterranean over Israel's refusal to apologize for the killing of eight Turks and one Turkish American on an aid ship that attempted to break the blockade of Gaza last year.

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...123034,00.html


Istanbul: Pro-Palestinian rally held ahead of Maccabi match

Published:

09.15.11, 21:35 / Israel News

Thousands of Turkish fans booed Maccabi Tel Aviv players as they went on the pitch to warm up ahead of their Europa League game against Besiktas on Thursday, prompting Turkish officials to start playing loud music to drown out the noise.
About 300 pro-Palestinian activists carrying Palestinian flags protested against the Israeli team before the politically charged match, television channels showed. At least one Turkish fan was seen waving the Palestinian flag in the stands as well. (AP)

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...122972,00.html


Turkey’s economic lie
Op-ed: Turkey no economic powerhouse, Erdogan’s credit bubble will soon explode
Guy Bechor
Published: 09.15.11, 23:49 / Israel Opinion

Some refer to him as “the Middle East’s new sultan in a neo-Ottoman empire� – yet the truth about Erdogan’s kingdom is utterly different. We are not facing an economic power, but rather, a state whose credit bubble will be exploding any moment now and bringing down its economy.

The budget deficit of the collapsing Greece compared to its GDP stands at some 10%, and the world is alarmed. At the same time, Turkey’s deficit is at 9.5%, yet some members of the financial media describe the Turkish economy as a success story (for comparison’s sake, Israel’s deficit stands at some 3% and is expected to decline to 2% this year.)

While Turkey’s economy grew by some 10% this year, this was merely the result of financial manipulation.

So how does the system work? The banks in Erdogan’s Turkey handed out loans and mortgages to any seeker in recent years, offering very low interest rates; this was in fact a gift. As the interest rate was so low, Turkish citizens used more and more credit, mostly for consumption.

And how did Turkey’s Central Bank finance this credit party? Via loans: Erdogan’s bank borrowed money in the world and handed it out to its citizens. However, Turkey’s deficit kept growing because of it, until it reached a scary 8% of GDP; by the end of the year the figure is expected to reach 10%.

Turkey’s external debt doubled itself in the past 18 months, which were election campaign months. Only a small part of the deficit (15%) was financed by foreign investment. The rest constitutes immense external debts.

Now it’s clear that Erdogan’s regime bought the voters in the recent elections. Most of the Turkish public elected him not because of Islamic sentiments, but rather, because he handed out low-interest loans to everyone. I will provide you with cheap money so you can become addicted to shopping, and you shall elect me.


The Israel diversion

This created Turkey’s credit bubble, which may explode any day now, because the date for returning the loans approaches. Will the Saudis help Erdogan as he hopes? This is highly doubtful. Nobody is willing to pay for attacks on Israel, and the West is annoyed by Erdogan’s thuggery. Why should they help him?

Moreover, Turkey’s unemployment rate is 13% and the local currency continues to plummet vis-Ã*-vis the dollar – it reached its lowest levels since the 2009 global crisis. With a weak currency and with a stock exchange that lost some 40% of its value in dollars in the last six months, Erdogan wants to be the Middle East’s ruler?

Once the bubble explodes, the score with Erdogan will be settled, by the journalists his government ordered to arrest, by army officers charged with imaginary accusations, by the restrained scientists, the politicians, and mostly the general public, which shall be facing an economic disaster.

And this is where Israel comes into the picture. Why talk about the approaching economic catastrophe? Why talk about this disgrace, when it’s better to create an artificial crisis vis-Ã*-vis Israel, a spin that the whole world will be talking about instead of talking about the sinking Turkey? After all, the Marmara raid happened more than a year ago, why did it emerge again now? Is it only because of the Palmer Report?

We shall wait a few more months, and then we shall see what really happens in the new sultan’s kingdom.

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...123124,00.html


Turkey on collision course with Greece, Cyprus
Published: 09.16.11, 10:04 / Israel News

Greece has protested a decision by Turkey to send a vessel to search for oil and gas south of a Greek island,

The escalation of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean comes at a times when Turkey told Cyprus not to go ahead with its plan for offshore oil and gas drilling activities. Cyprus has vowed to "exercise its sovereign rights." (AP)

[BRVoice]

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/09/16/t...friend-or-foe/


The Turkey-Iran Pact
Posted by Kenneth R. Timmerman Bio ↓ on Sep 16th, 2011

A hot war has been raging in northern Iraq since mid-July, and despite the casualties and the drama, it has gone virtually unreported by the international media.

The war was launched on July 16 by Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) troops in an effort to crush Iranian rebel Kurds who have sought refuge in the 12,000 foot high Qandil mountains that form the border between Iran and Iraq.

It began with cross-border shelling by Iranian artillery, air strikes, and several attempted ground incursions into Iraq by Iranian forces. But within ten days, NATO-ally Turkey openly joined the fray.

On whose side did Turkey fight? On behalf of the secular, pro-Western Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), whose bases in northern Iraq were under assault from the Islamist regime in Tehran? Think again.

The Turkish military sent 20 tanks into Iran at the invitation of the Iranian regime to support the flailing Iranian attack against the rebel Kurds. They also dispatched 300 Turkish Special Forces troops to Iran to conduct intelligence missions into the Qandil mountains using Heron surveillance drones purchased from Israel.

PJAK leader Rahman Haj Ahmadi told me that the Turkish drones were the most effective weapon the Iranian military used against them. “This limited our ability to move, but it didn’t matter much since most of our positions were underground,� he said.

The Turkish incursion marked just the latest instance of Turkey’s ongoing military and strategic alliance with Iran, an alliance that ought to give NATO allies pause, starting with the United States.

I first learned of the Turkey-Iran military alliance while on a reporting trip to PJAK bases in the wild mountains of northern Iraq four years ago. As we gazed up at an Iranian Revolutionary Guards base set atop the 12,000 foot peaks of the Qandil mountains, a PJAK guerilla told me that Iran and Turkey had established a joint military headquarters in Urmiyeh, Iran, to coordinate their military strikes against the Kurds.

“The goal of the Iranians is to drive us from the border area,� rebel leader Biryar Gabar told me. “They want to turn this area into a no-man’s land, so they can use it to smuggle weapons and Islamist guerillas into Iraq to fight the Americans.�

Despite all the help from Turkey, the IRGC has suffered a dramatic rout at the hands of the PJAK fighters, who repeatedly attacked IRGC bases inside Iranian Kurdistan in response to the Iranian attacks on their bases inside Iraq. Except for the initial onslaught, in which eight IRGC were killed, the IRGC troops were badly mauled.

According to accounts in the local media, PJAK fighters killed more than three hundred IRGC troops during the clashes. They even managed to kill the commanding general of IRGC troops in the region. We know this because he was given a public burial in Qom along with several other officers. The Iranian state-run media acknowledged they had been killed in the fighting.

After two weeks of running battles, PJAK was claiming victory. “Now everyone can see how powerful PJAK has become,� Ahmadi told me. “For Kurds, Qandil has become like Mecca, a sacred place. This is where we have shown our strength.�

Earlier this month, PJAK announced a unilateral ceasefire and called on the Iranian regime to negotiate their demands for Kurdish rights. PJAK is seeking to establish a democratic federation in Iran, not a separate state or separate province for the Kurds, as PJAK secretary general Rahman Haj Ahmadi told me when we met in Stockholm this summer.

The response from the IRGC was almost immediate. Instead of a ceasefire, they launched repeated shelling of PJAK bases and villages inside Iraq, killing three fighters, including the deputy commander of all PJAK forces. PJAK claimed its forces killed 107 IRGC fighters and destroyed two tanks, 5 vehicles and 1 bulldozer in counter-strikes against IRGC bases inside Iran. The shelling continues even as I write these words.

During the latest round of fighting, PJAK showed off NATO-issue weapons they claimed they had taken from dead Iranian troops, including Western-made night vision goggles, GPS systems, anti-tank missiles, and BKC guns. PJAK has claimed for some time that Iran’s ally Turkey has provided NATO weaponry to Iran that has been turned against the Kurds, in direct violation of the North Atlantic Treaty.

This story is important to Americans for several reasons.

First, PJAK is a secular, pro-Western Iranian opposition group that ought to be a natural ally of the United States in any effort to put pressure on the Iranian regime. Their fighters are well- organized and highly-disciplined, and despite Iranian regime efforts to paint them as terrorists, they have never attacked civilians. In fact, PJAK sees itself primarily as a political group, not a military organization.

Second, PJAK has been effectively defending Iraq’s challenging northeastern border with Iran from IRGC and al Qaeda infiltration since the U.S.-led coalition ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003. U.S. military officers I have interviewed in Iraq acknowledged to me the importance of PJAK’s presence in guarding the border.

Third, the virtual silence from Baghdad even as Iraqi territory was being attacked and Iraqi citizens were being killed, shows just how successful the Iranians have been at intimidating the government of prime minister Nouri al-Malaki.

But most important is that it reveals Turkey’s strategic and military alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the joint headquarters they have established in the northwestern Iranian city of Urmiyeh, Turkish generals offer strategic advise to their Iranian counterparts and Turkish counter-insurgency specialists train IRGC troops – actions that ought to an outrage to the entire NATO alliance.

Under the direction of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP, Turkey has increasingly dropped all pretence of remaining a friend and ally of the West. Instead, Erdogan seems intent on throwing in his lot with the Islamists in a bid to restore the Muslim caliphate Ataturk abolished in 1924.

In his latest attempt to claim leadership of the Muslim world, Erdogan thumped his chest in front of Arab leaders in Cairo on Tuesday, demanding that Israel “must pay the price for the crimes it committed.� He was referring to the response of Israeli commandos, armed with paint ball guns, who intercepted the MV Mavi Marmara off the coast of Gaza last year.

After an Israeli commander was eviscerated by the “civilians� on board the “humanitarian� ship, Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing nine activists on board. What Erdogan and most of the media won’t tell you, is that the entire “peace flotilla� operation was orchestrated by Turkey’s MIT intelligence agency on Erdogan’s personal orders, sources familiar with the Israeli investigation have told me.

Turkish intelligence officers trained the people on board the Mavi Marmara in close combat techniques, and helped them to gather knives, steel bars and other weapons to inflict the great damage on the Israeli commandos. The viciousness of their attacks was documented in video footage seized by the IDF after they took control of the ship.

Erdogan is now saying he will dispatch the Turkish navy to escort future flotillas to Gaza. (Iran promised to do the same last year but backed down after Israel made clear that it would intercept blockade-runners no matter who escorted them).

Will NATO members wake up to the “new� Turkey in their midst, intent on advancing the Islamist cause, even to extent of providing military support to the Iranian regime?

Stay tuned.

[BRVoice]

All this posturing is getting a little ridiculous at this point. We are beyond the point of intentional provocation. It is getting close to go time. I assume all sides are ready or there wouldn't be all the posturing. Also, Note the historic place of the incident - Yalta.

I'm very concerned about this crisis... It may result in a serious conflict.


http://www.tert.am/en/news/2011/09/16/turkey-israel/


Turkey's EU envoy offends Israeli president
17:10 • 16.09.11

Turkey's State Minister Egemen Bagish is said to have offended the Israeli president.

At the European Union's Eighth Strategy Summit in Yalta, he suddenly quit the discussion hall, the Turkish media reported.

After the incident, Bagish, who is also Turkey's EU envoy, posted the following message in his Twitter profile: "It does not suit us to pretend as though nothing had happened between us and Israel, a country which engages in slaughtering practices. This is the most civilized counteraction to anyone who doesn't know how to apologize."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier called Israel "manslayer" because of the operations in Gaza. At the 2009 Davos International Summit chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Perez and left the discussion hall in a public manner.

[BRVoice]

And things are continuing to deteriorate in the Middle East... In my opinion, there's no return.


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...123362,00.html


Davutoglu: Turkey doesn't need US mediation in Israel crisis
Published: 09.17.11, 17:52 / Israel News

Turkey does not need United States' mediation to solve a long-lasting crisis with Israel over a deadly 2010 flotilla raid, Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday.

"We do not need mediation ... for Israel in any way," Davutoglu said during a televised press conference in the central province of Konya when asked to comment on the possibility of the US helping to resolve their differences. (AFP)

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...123385,00.html


Turkey says Cyprus oil drilling plans are 'provocation'
Published: 09.17.11, 19:24 / Israel News

Turkey said on Saturday plans by Cyprus to begin gas exploration in the Mediterranean amounted to "provocation" and it would consider carrying out offshore surveys with northern Cyprus if drilling went ahead.

"If this fait accompli continues we have steps of our own that we will take ... northern Cyprus can carry out the same explorations with Turkey and TPAO," Davutoglu told a news conference, referring to Turkey's state-owned oil and gas exploration company. (Reuters)

[BRVoice]

http://www.debka.com/article/21311/


Israeli-Greek-Turkish air sea forces on guard for first Cypriot gas drilling
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 17, 2011, 9:29 AM (GMT+02:00)


US Noble Energy rig off Cyprus shore



Military tension is building up among Greece, Turkey and Israel as Cyprus prepares to start exploratory drilling for gas offshore Monday, Sept. 19 in the face of threats from Ankara. All three have placed their air and sea forces in a state of preparedness along with the Cypriot army.

From Wednesday, Sept 14, Turkish warplanes and fighters kept watch on the Homer Ferrington rig belonging to Houston-based Noble Energy as it moved from Israel's offshore field Noa opposite Ashdod to Cyprus's Aphrodite (Block 12) field ready to start work.

It was the first time since the Mavis Marmara episode of May 2010 that Turkish warships came less than 80 kilometers from Israel's territorial waters. DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israeli missile ships and drones kept watch from afar on the Noble rig's movement and tracked Turkish surveillance.

As the rig moved into position opposite Cyprus, so too did two Turkish frigates. A Cypriot spokesman said Turkish warships and fighters had not entered the island's territorial waters.

Ankara questions the rights of Israel and Cyprus to drill for hydrocarbon reserves in the respective Exclusive Economic Zones marked out in an accord they concluded last year.

The UN-approved Law of the Sea authorizes nations to mark out their Exclusive Economic Zones for the exploration of natural resources to a distance of 200 miles outside their territorial waters. Israel has never signed this treaty.

Thursday, Sept. 15, in Tunis, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan continued to inveigh against Israel declaring: "They will see what our decisions will be on this subject. Our navy attack ships can be there at any moment."

Without specifically mentioning Cyprus, he said: "Israel cannot do as it pleases in the Mediterranean" and "Turkey is committed to preserving the freedom of navigation in international waters."

Erdogan avoided linking Israel to the Turkish dispute with Greece and Greek Cyprus but is obviously galled by the connection and its three manifestations.

1. Cyprus's Block 12 where drilling starts Monday borders on the huge Leviathan field Israel is developing in the eastern Mediterranean, whose proven gas reserves are calculated to be 8.5 trillion cubic feet. This would supply the entire US economy's needs for a year.

2. Noble Energy of Houston has a license to drill in Cyrus's Aphrodite while the Israeli company Delek which is developing the Israeli offshore gas fields also has an option in the Cypriot field.

3. Greece and Israel concluded a mutual defense pact on Sept. 4, 2011. Ten days later, Prime Ministers George Papandreou and Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to activate the pact in the light of Turkish threats against Israel and to exploration activity in the Mediterranean basin.

Israel and Greece have therefore begun to coordinate their fleet movements in the eastern Mediterranean and around Cyprus.

Erdogan's threats were followed up this week by a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement saying: “It has been agreed that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will conclude a continental shelf delimitation agreement should the Greek Cypriot administration proceed with offshore drilling activities in the south of the island.�

Ankara's problem is that the Turkish Republic of Cyprus is not recognized by any country but Turkey.

Washington has not only given Noble Energy a green light to start drilling off Cyprus but backed it up with a State Department statement Thursday: "The US supports the efforts to enhance energy diversity in Europe, noting the fact a US company was involved was also positive."

Since last Tuesday, Sept. 13, Turkish troop reinforcements are reported by DEBKAfile's military sources as having landed in North Cyprus along with drilling equipment.

These preparations indicate that Turkey is planning to start drilling in the Cypriot EEZ without reference to Nicosia. This would mean that Prime Minister Erdogan, while spouting high-sounding pledges to "preserve "freedom of navigation in international waters," is preparing a wildcat breach of international law and treaties. Friday, the Greek government in Athens warned Ankara against pursuing this step.

However, it would be in keeping with his past defiance of international norms. Even though Turkey accepted the UN Palmer commission's mediation in its dispute with Israel over the flotilla escapade, Erdogan declared its findings "null and void" –- after the panel ruled that Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip was legal and justified.

Next Monday, therefore, many eyes will be alertly watching to see what happens when the Noble rig starts drilling in Cyprus' Block 12 of the Mediterranean.

The Turkish prime minister has painted himself into a corner: If he orders his naval and/or air units to strike the American rig, he will have to take the consequences, possibly a confrontation with the US, Israel, Greece and Cyprus.

If he does nothing, or nothing more than a token drilling off the Turkish side of the island, he will lose face as a leader able to back up his threats.

He could take a third course like other Muslim rulers and vent his ire on Israel.

The guessing in Washington, NATO and Israel is that the most likely arena for a potential clash of arms in the Mediterranean is offshore Cyprus and it is most likely to evolve into sea and air confrontatons involving Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...123939,00.html


Cyprus to start offshore drilling says president
Published: 09.18.11, 19:33 / Israel News

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said on Sunday Cyprus would start drilling for hydrocarbons within the next few days, defying warnings from Turkey which has challenged its authority to do so.

"We will continue to exercise our evident sovereign rights, which includes exploiting natural resources, always within the parameters of international law ... the exploratory drilling is expected to start within the next few days," Christofias told a meeting of British Cypriots in London. (Reuters)