Hundreds of military dependents ordered to evacuate Turkey

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: Stars & Stripes

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Pentagon is ordering the evacuation of nearly 700 military family members from Incirlik Air Base and two smaller military installations in Turkey because of concerns over the deteriorating security environment there.

Families are expected to begin leaving Turkey on Wednesday, stopping first at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, before continuing on to the States or other duty locations, U.S. European Command told Stars and Stripes.

“We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism,” EUCOM chief Gen. Philip Breedlove said Tuesday in a statement.

The mandatory departure order, announced by the State Department, affects nearly all Defense Department dependents assigned to Incirlik, as well as those at smaller bases in Izmir and Mugla.

Read more: http://www.stripes.com/hundreds-of-military-dependents-ordered-to-evacuate-turkey-1.401622

[potone]

1. This is a very bad sign.

Poor Turkey! Things are going downhill fast there.

[Samantha]

18. Yes, it is

My brother worked for the State Department and was in Kuwait for two years. Towards the end of the second year, his wife called from France and said she and the children were coming home to the States and wanted to know if they could stay at my step-mother's house. Of course, the answer was yes, but we all wanted to know when my brother was coming.

No calls from my brother, no nothing.

Shortly thereafter, the First Gulf War started and no one knew anything about my brother. A few weeks later he called to say he was on his way home.

So yes, this is indeed a very bad sign.

Sam

[tblue37]

19. My son (State Dept.) just got back in Feb., 2015, from a 2-year posting in Turkey.

I am soooo glad he is not there now1

[Samantha]

20. I am happy for both you and your son

Will he be around here for awhile?

Sam

[tblue37]

21. No, he and his wife and child are in Madrid for his current posting. nt

[Plucketeer]

2. Yeah butt...

This is SO MUCH BETTER than leaving Saddam in power!

<- for those short on perception.

[heaven05]

4. +10000

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

3. If Turkey goes down, the entire region is fucked.

Plus which, as a NATO signatory, it could get very messy, indeed.

[BlueMTexpat]

5. Incirlik is in SE Turkey, close to the conflict zone

and DoS has been warning US nationals to avoid travel to that area since March 17 at least. The other bases are in southern Turkey. Apparently, DoS is also removing diplomatic dependents from the area as well. http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-military-diplomatic-families-ordered-leave-southern-turkey/story?id=38003411

My husband and I are planning to visit Turkey this spring. We won't be going to the SE at all and also not too far south. But we are planning to visit Istanbul and Ankara, where there have already been bombings. We have been watching the situation as it develops. But I will not allow thugs anywhere in the world to dictate my life decisions.

As a matter of fact, the DoS has issued travel warnings for the whole of Europe following the Brussels bombings, so things there are not that much better.

[Kali]

13. they issue warnings for everything

there have been warnings for Mexico for years and about the only place I would avoid might be Juarez, but probably not even there.

southern Turkey is probably safer than Ankara or Istanbul.

[bemildred]

6. Uh oh. nt

[JDPriestly]

7. This is an important, important story.

I do not know what is going on there, but my sixth sense (joking a bit) tells me that we in the US have not been told anything near the truth about Turkey and what it is doing undercover in the Middle East.

I could be very, very wrong about that. But look at these confusing aspects of the situation. (They aren't facts, just strange factors some of which may be misconceptions or outright lies that we have been told or that have been suggested by other facts.)

Turkey does not like the Kurds but has Kurds in its country. (Maybe the Turkish borders need to be rethought to allow the Kurds to unite and have a country. What do I know?)

Turkey may have some sort of questionable ties to extremists in Syria and the rest of the countries that are in upheaval in the area around it.

Our ambassador in Benghazi met with the Turkish ambassador within a short time before the attack on the consulate there. What did they discuss? Who is that Turkish ambassador? Was there a link between his visit and the attack? I have no idea, but did we ever hear from the Turkish ambassador -- any explanation for what happened during that meeting and why in the world they met in Benghazi rather than Tripoli?

Turkey was once the administrative and ruling center of a huge empire. So many of the conflicts we are now engaged in or have been engaged in over recent years are taking place or have taken place in what was once the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire reached all the way up through parts of Hungary. The Turks even tried to enter the gates of Vienna. Mozart's Turkish March commemorates the attack at Vienna. Turkey ruled in what people refer to as Palestine, Jordan and Israel prior to WWI when that area was placed under British protection after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WWI.

Check out this map and Wikipedia on Turkey and the Ottoman Empire:

The Ottoman Empire (/ˈɒtəmən/; Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِيّهٔ عُثمَانِیّه? Devlet-i Aliyye-i Osmâniyye, Modern Turkish: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti), also known as the Turkish Empire, Ottoman Turkey[9][10] or Turkey, was an empire founded in 1299 by Oghuz Turks under Osman I in northwestern Anatolia.[11] After conquests in the Balkans by Murad I between 1362 and 1389, the Ottoman sultanate was transformed into a transcontinental empire and claimant to the caliphate. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror.[12][13][14]

During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was a multinational, multilingual empire controlling much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa.[15] At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.[dn 4]

With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. Following a long period of military setbacks against European powers, the Ottoman Empire gradually declined into the late nineteenth century. The empire allied with Germany in the early 20th century, with the imperial ambition of recovering its lost territories, joining in World War I to achieve this ambition on the side of Germany and the Central Powers. While the Empire was able to largely hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent, especially with the Arab Revolt in its Arabian holdings. Starting before the war, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks.[16] The Empire's defeat and the occupation of part of its territory by the Allied Powers in the aftermath of World War I resulted in the emergence of a new state, Turkey, in the Ottoman Anatolian heartland following the Turkish War of Independence, as well as the founding of modern Balkan and Middle Eastern states[17] and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire

Maps of the Ottoman Empire

https://www.google.com/search?q=ottoman+empire&biw=1024&bih=541&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiZstqyvebLAhUIMSYKHdj5DqwQ_AUIBigB&dpr=1.25#imgdii=_MKG5TZrT_oCtM%3A%3B_MKG5TZrT_oCtM%3A%3BH3uJTXJ6-fAcvM%3A&imgrc=_MKG5TZrT_oCtM%3A

[Ilsa]

22. Thank you for

your thoughtful, thorough post. It's easy to forget the details of just 90-100 year old history of a region that is in the middle of, or in close proximity to so many problems over the last 100 years. I fear that very recent events will become major timelines in an upcoming catastrophe instead of being footnotes.

[bemildred]

8. Turkish Jews call for tightened state security against ISIS threat

Turkey’s organized Jewish community called on Ankara to boost security at its institutions across the country on Tuesday, following the publications of reports claiming that an attack by the Islamic State terrorist group is “imminent.”

According to an intelligence source who spoke to Britain’s Sky News, ISIS intends to target Jewish kindergartens, schools and youth centers, with the most likely target being a synagogue in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district, which is attached to a community center and school.

“We don’t know when it’s scheduled for. It could be in the next 24 hours or next few days,” the source said. “In light of these circumstances, extraordinary security measures are being taken above and beyond the high alert level already in place by the Turkish police, as well as vigilance within the Jewish community.”

http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Turkish-Jews-call-on-for-tightened-state-security-against-ISIS-threat-449574

[bemildred]

9. Biden to host Turkey's Erdogan as ties with U.S. show strains

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will have a bilateral meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during a visit to Washington this week, but a senior U.S. official declined to say whether formal talks with President Barack Obama were planned.

Erdogan will be among more than 50 world leaders attending a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

There has been intense speculation in the Turkish media as to whether he would meet Obama, with some suggesting a failure to do so would be a deliberate U.S. snub amid differences over Syria and U.S. concerns over the direction of Turkey's domestic policies.

At a press conference in Istanbul before leaving for the United States earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan said a meeting with Obama at the nuclear sutmmit was planned, although he said he did not know how long it would last.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-usa-idUSKCN0WV0SZ

[bemildred]

10. Israel tell citizens to leave Turkey for security reasons

Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkey citing the potential for further militant attacks after three Israelis were killed in a bombing in central Istanbul. Another tourist from Iran was also killed in the suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group.

"It has been decided to upgrade the existing travel warning vis-a-vis Turkey from a basic concrete threat to a high concrete threat, and to reiterate our recommendation to the public to avoid visiting the country and - for Israelis currently in Turkey – to leave as soon as possible," a government statement said on Monday.

The statement said the bombing highlighted the threat from Islamic State group militants "against tourist targets throughout Turkey and proves high capabilities of carrying out further attacks".

"Terrorist infrastructures in Turkey continue to advance additional attacks against tourist targets - including Israeli tourists – throughout the country," it said.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-tell-citizens-leave-turkey-security-reasons-239507791

[hollowdweller]

11. Since this whole crazy Islamic thing has erupted in the area maybe we should kick Turkey out of NATO

[bemildred]

12. PKK leader: 'Time has come' for guerrillas to intervene in Turkey

A leading figure in the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has said the group will be sending its military wing into southeast Turkey as clashes between the Turkish state and Kurdish militants continue to intensify.

Murat Karayilan, Central Headquarters Commander of the Kurdistan People’s Defense Forces (HPG) said the time had come to "intervene" in the conflict, which so far has mainly involved members of the PKK's youth wing, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H) and the Civil Protection Units (YPS).

"Spring has come, the HPG should now intervene," he said, addressing PKK supporters based in South and North Kurdistan via long-distance transmitters, according to the pro-PKK Firat News Agency (ANF).

"However, this intervention should not be in the form of entering urban areas. It should be in the form of supporting the self-defense resistance of Kurdish youth under the umbrella of YPS from the mountains."

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-leader-time-has-come-guerrillas-intervene-turkey-944097107

[bemildred]

14. Iran's Rouhani Suddenly Cancels Trip to Vienna Citing Security

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unexpectedly canceled a state visit to Austria this week, citing security reasons, according to a statement by the Austrian Presidency. Iran said the decision about the trip, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, was mutual.

Rouhani had been scheduled to meet Austrian President Heinz Fischer and other Austrian leaders, in only his second visit to Europe, after visiting Rome and Paris in January. Fischer said he regretted the cancellation.

"Every nation has to decide for itself about the safety and security of its head of state,” Fischer said in a statement. “The quality of the relations with Iran won’t be touched by this delay and the cooperation in the realm of politics, business, culture and science will be continued in a comprehensive manner."

---

The postponement appeared to catch Iranian media by surprise as most had prepared special sections detailing trade links between the two nations.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-29/iran-s-rouhani-suddenly-cancels-trip-to-vienna-citing-security

[roamer65]

15. The U.S. military is doing this because they expect war.

No other reason. If it was "terror", they would just confine dependents to the bases.

Get ready, it's coming, folks.

[bemildred]

16. Russian military delegation arrives in Turkey

A military delegation from Russia has arrived in the Turkish province of Izmir, the Turkish newspaper ‘Yeni Safak’ reported March 29.

Members of the delegation are now in a military unit located in the vicinity of the Foca district of the country’s Izmir province.

This is the first visit of the Russian military delegation to Turkey since the time of crisis between the two countries.

Relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian SU-24 bomber on Nov. 24, 2015. Turkey said the bomber entered its airspace, while Russia denied its warplane flying into the Turkish skies.

http://en.trend.az/world/turkey/2511778.html

[Lamonte]

17. Turkey

I had a friend who was stationed with her husband in Turkey in the sixties. She told me that if they got in a car accident off base, it was automatically your fault because it could not have happened if you weren't there. It sounds strange and unfair but after thinking about it, they were right. This means you had better be very careful off base.