In 1995, Turkey sent as many as 30,000 soldiers to make war against Turkish Kurds who had taken refuge in northern Iraq. They have been fighting for independence in southeastern Turkey, where more than 10 million Kurds live. Persecution and racist discrimination against the Kurds is so complete that until recently it was a serious crime, punishable by heavy prison sentences, to even speak the Kurdish language in Turkey. Estimates vary, but tens of thousands of Kurds have been killed in Turkey's genocidal campaign against them. During this war the U.S. government has ceaselessly pumped more wea pons of mass destruction into the Turkish armed forces.
Turkey is an occupied country.
Its territory is littered with NATO military bases. U.S. and British war planes based in Turkey patrol the skies of Iraq. Turkey is the third-biggest recipient of U.S. military aid. Only Israel and Egypt get more Pentagon military assistance. It is no coincidence that all three countries are located in the oil-rich Middle East.