Israeli gunboats fire, stop Turkish evacuation ship: minister

[Cooley Hurd]

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=134945

Published: 7/25/2006

ANKARA - Israeli gunboats fired warning shots at a Turkish ferry helping evacuate Australians from Lebanon and held it for several hours, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said here Tuesday.
No evacuees were on board the high-speed ferry Akcakoca when the incident occurred late Monday, the Anatolia news agency quoted Yildirim as saying.

"The Akcakoca was stopped by Israeli gunboats last night while en route from Beirut to Famagusta," in Turkish-controlled eastern Cyprus, the minister said.

"It was held until morning. The problem was resolved through diplomatic channels by the Australian embassy and the Turkish foreign and transport ministries," he said.
</snip>

[Roland99]

1. Israel is just out of control. I don't see this ending anywhere near well.

[PCIntern]

2. Actually, Isaraels is IN control

that's what everyone's so upset about...

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. LOL

The dementia is palpable.

[theHandpuppet]

5. Oh you're baaaaaaad

;)

[Binka]

13. The Dementia Is So Palpable It Just Exploded Out Of My Computer

And took a dump on my desk.

[Roland99]

9. In much the same way as the PNAC/WINEP are in control of US foreign policy

And that's in a very bad way.

[0007]

14. cough cough, ARGH!

[ShortnFiery]

16. And making stride of winning the hearts and minds of everyone they greet?

[stepnw1f]

23. Most Alcoholics Say The Same

about the World around them.

[Copperred]

3. sounds like they are more frantic than anything

its really sad....

[QuettaKid]

7. hey, they have the same mindset as bush.

in his case, G-d speaks to him and tells him what to do. In the case of Israel G-d is not just speaking to them, he has personally chosen them. You can do no wrong with that kind of mindset.

[Roland99]

10. Well, imo, I think what's going on now in the Mideast transcends any

Biblical influences.

[Rose Siding]

6. I'm sure Bush will smooth this over by explaining his double standard

Fifteen Turkish soldiers have been killed in the last week during cross border incursions but Bush has warned them to "be patient" and not to act unilaterally. His concept of sovereignty is, um, confusing. (When asked, he once defined it for American Indians like this: "Sovereignty is sovereignty.")

[RCinBrooklyn]

8. Israel needs to be stopped - permanently. I've lost all respect for them.

[seriousstan]

11. Permanently? Exactly how?

[wakeme2008]

12. Cut off all $$$ and bombs from the US

Tax their own ppl if they want more killing machines.

[ShortnFiery]

17. It won't happen, but we should only send humanitarian aid to the ME eom

[Posteritatis]

19. Okay, you've got me curious

Define "stopped permanently."

[atreides1]

15. Next time

The Turks might send a few gunboats of their own, they have the right to defend themselves, just like the Israelis.

[GeorgeGist]

18. Not to be picky but maybe the Turks should have some...

evacuees on board next time.

"Israeli gunboats fired warning shots at a Turkish ferry helping evacuate Australians from Lebanon and held it for several hours, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said here Tuesday.
No evacuees were on board the high-speed ferry Akcakoca when the incident occurred late Monday, the Anatolia news agency quoted Yildirim as saying. ...
"The Akcakoca was stopped by Israeli gunboats last night while en route from Beirut to Famagusta,"

[cascadiance]

20. Maybe it was on its way in to pick them up...

I would think in that case they would WANT it to be empty, to maximize the number of people they could get in.

I'm betting they are more likely to be on a return mission to pick up refugees than Haliburton trucks were to pick up gasoline and move it to other parts of Iraq, which have been known to travel both ways empty in Iraq just to get the hefty government transportation fees on we the taxpayer's dime, even though they weren't carrying cargo.

[Solo_in_MD]

21. Israel is allowing vessels through if they coordinate the transit through

the published corridor. Apparently Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and did not coordinate the trip. Damn stupid thing to do in a war zone and the incident was foreseeable. If I wore tinfoil I would openly speculate that it was done intentionally.

[Alameda]

22. Turkish Israel diplomatic relations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_Republic_of_Turkey

Military, strategic, and diplomatic cooperation between Turkey and Israel is accorded high priority by the governments of both countries, which share concerns with respect to the regional instabilities in the Middle East. In the beginning of 2006, the Israeli foreign ministry characterized its relations with Turkey as "perfect". However, in February 2006, a visit paid by Khaled Meshal, a leader of the newly elected Hamas, changed this status. Israeli diplomats went so far as to compare this visit to a possible official visit of Abdullah Öcalan (the imprisoned PKK leader) to Israel, but Turkish authorities immediately denounced this comparison as "irresponsible and erroneous". After Khaled Meshal paid an official visit to Russia, Turkish-Israeli relations entered a "cooling down" process.

[Solo_in_MD]

25. I stand corrected...I took the article note of it being resolved thru

the Aussies and inferred a lack of diplomatic relations from it.

[lumpy]

24. Excuses excuses

nt

[krispos42]

28. It wasn't a dumb idea

Israel is not engaged in any sort of sea warfare right now. It's not like Hezbollah has a navy. That ferry was either in international waters or Lebanese waters.

My worry is that Turkey might decide to escort these vessels in with warships from now on.

[daleo]

26. Did it make a fire extinguisher explode?

There were reports of a ship full of Canadian evacuees being fired on by Israelis. The rumors were discounted as an exploding fire extinguisher. This development makes me wonder whether that was a cover story, and there really had been Israeli firing on that ship too. Blowing up the U.N. soldiers also doesn't help the Israelis credibility in general.

[rman]

27. Well, Turkey shouldn't disguise their ferries as Hezbollah warships

...

[krispos42]

29. How dare Turkey make their ferries look like rowboats! lmao

[BooScout]

30. Let's just get it over with.......

Someone just blow the whole world up and end it all. Why drag it out?