# What Would NATO Do? US vs Turkey Right Now **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 10, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695 "2003-04-10T01:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695/1 "2003-04-10T01:59:24Z")
> [@](#): > > [washpost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59162-2003Apr8.html) > By Philip P. Pan > Washington Post Foreign Service > Wednesday, April 9, 2003; Page A23 > ANKARA, Turkey, April 8 > Turkey considers Kurdish control of the Iraqi oil fields a security threat, and if the Kurds enter either city,_[Kirkuk or Mosul]_, Ozkok _[chief of the Turkish armed forces]_ will face the most important decision of his 44-year military career: whether to order an invasion of northern Iraq that could lead to clashes between his troops and those of the United States and its Kurdish allies. > Turkey has also warned that any move into Kirkuk or Mosul by Kurdish groups, **even unarmed civilians** , would trigger a military response. If Turkey and the US locked horns militarily… What would NATO do? What would the Middle East do? Would other mostly Muslim nations come to Turkey’s defense? ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695/2 "2003-04-10T03:22:46Z")
NATO didn’t leave a lot of room for this possibility. Basically, if a NATO nation is attacked all of NATO will respond. The ‘thing’ about Turkey is they’re a) in the area b) Pretty powerful as nations go c) Very nationalistic d) Muslim e) (Alas) They don’t like Kurds. Before long, a very large component of the US Army 4th ID will be sitting in North Iraq - close to Syria, Iran and Turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Fyle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fyle)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695/3 "2003-04-10T03:56:00Z")
Regarding the NATO question, there is a precedent for that situation. Check out the invasion of Cyprus, Britain found it pretty uncomfortable sitting between two of their NATO allies. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695/4 "2003-04-10T04:06:51Z")
Cyprus is regarded as a disputed territory - and of course it is. The Greeks hate the Turks and the Turks do not love the Greeks. The Mediterranean has many disputed territories. Peace in our time. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695/5 "2003-04-10T04:57:36Z")
We can planly see why it would have been nice to have troops coming into Iraq from the north, but in the end it is best that didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695/6 "2003-04-10T10:37:21Z")
Why do they hate the Kurds, anyway? Readers Digest version, if possible. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-nato-do-us-vs-turkey-right-now/167695/7 "2003-04-10T16:01:58Z")
[Kurdish Military Forces Capture Kirkuk](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2486-2003Apr10.html) Entry Into Oil-Rich City Heightens Tensions With Turkey By Thomas W. Lippman Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, April 10, 2003; 10:59 AM > [@](#): > > Kurdish military forces, backed by U.S. air power, stormed into the crucial northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk this morning and captured it virtually without firing a shot. I guess we might find out sooner than later.