Just a coincidence?
Why is the US suddenly interested in this Turkish airbase? Is Diego Garcia still viable?
Top US general asks Turkey to use key air base
Tue Jan 11,11:48 AM ET
ANKARA (AFP) - The United States would like to use a key Turkish air base to provide logistical support for its troops deployed in Iraq, the head of the US Central Command said.
The Incirlik base, in southern Turkey, "is a Turkish base, not an American base. We look forward to use the facilities there as an ally," General John Abizaid told reporters Tuesday after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
"It is good for us, it is good for Turkey if we can use those facilities," Abizaid added, without elaborating.
The Incirlik base was used by US and British warplanes to patrol the no-fly zone over northern Iraq from between the end of the first Gulf War in 1991 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Ankara then limited the use of the base to logistical and humanitarian purposes. US forces have also used the base for refuelling and troop rotations into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Abizaid said his talks with Gul had also focussed on Turkish-US cooperation in Afghanistan.
"We are very satisfied in particular with our cooperation in Afghanistan," the general said.
Turkey is preparing to take over in February the command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan for a duration of six months.
Ankara, which had led ISAF for six months as of July 2002, is expected to contribute more than 1,400 soldiers to the force, which is made up of 8,300 soldiers from more than 30 countries serving in Kabul and nine provinces north of the capital.