Secretary Rumsfeld: "Kurdistan" map incident unfortunate

[DoYouEverWonder]

October 31, 2006

Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul met yesterday in the Pentagon with US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. During talks with Gonul, Secretary Rumsfeld expressed sorrow for an incident earlier in the year when a US lieutenant giving a speech at NATO's Defense Training Center in Rome had used a map showing 18 cities in Turkey clearly marked inside an area labeled as "Kurdistan."

Minister Gonul was greeted by a military ceremony on his entrance to the Pentagon yesterday. After being welcomed by Secretary Rumsfelt, Gonul signed the official Pentagon guest book, after which Turkish and American delegations headed up by the two defense leaders started their talks.

Included in the American delegation was former US Ambassador to Ankara, Eric Edelman, who is currently the US Deputy Secretary of Defense. The matter of the map containing the reference to Kurdistan was brought up at the start of the talks by Rumsfeld, who called the incident "a unfortunate one." Rumsfelt did however assert to Gonul that the incident had no connection whatsoever with the Pentagon.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/5348051.asp?gid=74


Hey Turkey, no big deal. The US is going to remap the whole region anyway. Might as well get use to it.

[sutz12]

1. We live in bizzarro world...

A US lietenant, briefing a NATO Defense Training Center uses a map, and it isn't "connected to the Pentagon."

Who comes up with this shit? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

[tabasco]

8. If it was only a lieutenant giving a speech, why would anyone care?

What was this, a platoon training meeting?

I'm guessing they got the guy's rank wrong.

Maybe it was a Lieutenant General.

[tanyev]

2. Hmph. He expressed more sorrow over a mapping error

than he does over dead and injured American troops.

[Kagemusha]

3. Bet it's mistranslated and should've read 'regret'

because I can't see Rumsfeld having sorrow for this.

[DRoseDARs]

4. Nevermind that Kurdistan actually DOES cover southeastern Turkey.

Which is like a 1/4 of the country, analogous to the old confederate states of the Civil War era breaking off from the contiguous lower 48 states.

[Igel]

10. Yes, I'd like to see the map.

Did some goofball decide "Kurdistan" was some autonomous or political entity, or was the map merely showing ethnographic info?

Not that the difference would be important to the Turks.

[ArmchairMeme]

5. Rumsfield and Pentagon

As seen on BBC News today

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6100906.stm

The Pentagon has set up a new unit to counter news as Rumsfield is kept awake by the Iraqi insurgents using the news and weblogs to influence the upcoming election.

Is this legal to use the Pentagon to attempt to change an election?

"The unit would reportedly monitor media such as weblogs and would also employ "surrogates", or top politicians or lobbyists who could be interviewed on TV and radio shows.

Mr Russ said the move to set up the unit had not been prompted either by the eroding public support in the US for the Iraq war or the US mid-term elections next week.

'War of ideas'

Mr Rumsfeld said earlier this year that he was concerned by the success of US enemies in "manipulating the media".

"That's the thing that keeps me up at night," Mr Rumsfeld said. "

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. But 1000's of US Troops KIA

and 10,000's seriously injured doesn't bother him at all.

[zbdent]

7. Remember when Repukes got their thongs in a bunch over

Clinton using "an old map" to bomb something? Boy, they really jumped on "intelligence" then ...

[enigma000]

12. You mean when the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was hit with 3 missiles?

I believe the "excuse" was an old map was used. Sure. I'd love to know who authorized that air strike.

[BootinUp]

9. unbelievable....strike that

no its not unbelieveable, it fits in perfectly with all the other fuckups coming from teh neocon controlled white house.

[Richard Steele]

11. Oops! "Pay no mind, Minister, that's NEXT year's map!"

[On the Road]

13. Oh My -- Now THAT Was a Gaffe!

Difficult to believe that any military officer in Iraq could let that one slip through.