Yes, but oil is NOT involved... It was when they decided to play nice (Azerbaijan was going to pump it through Armenia to Turkey, but the Kurds kept blowing it up, or was it the Armenians...) Now the Azerbaijani oil can come down through Kurdistan and out through Jordan...

Yeah, Turkey WAS democratic, it is rapidly heading the other way at the present time. Erdogan seems determined to overturn the Constitution and is holding the Army at ransom over it by using Iran as an ally.

One good thing, the Hashemite's won't be overjoyed at Turkey joining the Arabs, so Jordan will be forced closer to both Israel & Kurdistan, which opens up a nice, safe land route for arms and equipment from Israel to Kurdistan.

Noone answered the human rights part of my question? What a suprise... Kurds are the "other" Arabs, the ones that all the Arabs are killing off in droves, which the anti-Israel faction would rather stayed quiet. Neither that nor the Armenian Genocide are going away now though (this is bl00dy brilliant:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0Nk-qpjQBE&feature=related)

For US- Turkey is simply one of the few allies in a highly strategic part of the world (near Russia and the Middle East). But I guarantee you, all US foreign policy in the Middle East (it's highest priority by miles) revolves around the oil states first (remember the first Iraq war was to protect Kuwait), and then to the precise geographic position that Israel and Turkey hold.

I won't argue that technically Turkey is more democratic in the strict since of more elected governance- it's downfall is that there are so many parts that don't want to be there (especially now an Islamist government is in power). The Kurds being the major point that they and thhe mainstream Turkish forces have engaged in fierce bloody civil warring (the Kurds of course being an involuntarily annexed land).

Armenian genocide I know too little about to comment on.

My dear Custard,

You wrote; “Um, how does anyone manage to compare Israel to Turkey? Turkey subjugates 15 million Kurds daily, undertakes joint military action against its neighbour, an autonomous province (which is technically & legally under the protection of the UN) with its ally Iran. Such action being directed deliberately at destroying the civilian population.”

Wow.

I had thought it was satire originally, until I read your name.

davidf was of a mind to be very kind to you so I will leave it at that.