Not surprisingly, Russia, Armenia, and Iran are rattling sabers and pushing for a different route, enraged at the prospect of losing control over Caspian oil to the U.S. Significantly though, U.S. companies tied to the Bush administration are poised to reap huge profits from BTC http://www.zmag.org/content/TerrorWar/georgiancaspian.cfm
(among others, Vice President Cheney's Halliburton is a finalist for the Turkish segment of BTC, while National Security Advisor Rice's Chevron is at the center of the BTC consortium).
The quagmire is further exacerbated by matters internal to Turkey. Even though Erdogan's AK party swept to power in this November's elections, a past conviction for "inciting religious hatred" forbids him from assuming the role of prime minister. To make matters worse, the Islamist image of Erdogan's party is at odds with the more secular stance of Turkey's military (leading to noisy disagreements about matters such as the right for women to wear headscarves in public), a significant conflict given that Turkish generals are an independent lot and have staged three coups since 1960. And then there are opinion polls showing most Turks strongly opposed to helping the U.S. in any attack against Iraq, despite the Bush administration's financial incentives and friendship offensive.
(among others, Vice President Cheney's Halliburton is a finalist for the Turkish segment of BTC, while National Security Advisor Rice's Chevron is at the center of the BTC consortium).
The quagmire is further exacerbated by matters internal to Turkey. Even though Erdogan's AK party swept to power in this November's elections, a past conviction for "inciting religious hatred" forbids him from assuming the role of prime minister. To make matters worse, the Islamist image of Erdogan's party is at odds with the more secular stance of Turkey's military (leading to noisy disagreements about matters such as the right for women to wear headscarves in public), a significant conflict given that Turkish generals are an independent lot and have staged three coups since 1960. And then there are opinion polls showing most Turks strongly opposed to helping the U.S. in any attack against Iraq, despite the Bush administration's financial incentives and friendship offensive.