Monday, August 17, 2020

Turkey To Extend Drillship Activities, Draws Stern Rebuke From EU

I remember early on in the Syrian civil war the U.N. issued a strongly worded letter to the American and Turkish-backed rebels and to the Syrian government. I meant to post the letter but it got lost in the link-vault and by the time it turned up there were 20,000 dead and I hope history doesn't repeat with Turkey and Greece.
From The CyprusMail, August 17:

Turkey draws another EU rebuke for latest plans at sea
Turkey drew another rebuke from the European Union on Sunday when it said its Yavuz energy drill ship would extend operations in waters off Cyprus until mid-September.

Yavuz will be accompanied by three other Turkish ships according to a maritime notice that added “all vessels are strongly advised not to enter” the area.

A standoff has intensified in recent weeks between Turkey and Greece over oil and gas exploration rights at sea, and even involved a minor collision between their frigates last week.

Turkey’s renewed drilling plan covers a zone delineated by Cyprus and Egypt and raises tensions, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who called for an immediate halt to Turkey’s activities and the beginning of dialogue....
....MORE

After our belated start on Syria we did get around to posting on "American Doctors Are Reconstructing the Youngest Faces of a Brutal War"  which has links to some of old-line investigative reporter Seymour Hersh's stuff on U.S. gunrunning from Libya to Syria and some of the rather unsavoury characters the West ended up backing:

Seymour Hersh On Killing Bin Laden, Syria, Saudis and Sarin
What on earth does the West think it is doing in Syria?
Seymour Hersh writing at the London Review of Books:... 
This is just a nasty, dirty story.... 

If you recall, it was Hersh who broke the stories on the My Lai Massacre and Abu Ghraib prison.
U.S. Intelligence peeps don't like him one bit.
Ditto for some politicians.