Dear Nebojsa - Cheer up, at least you are not Armenian (like me)! "Uncle Sam" is spot on. Despite Turkey's withering anti-Semitism, the Turks have benefited tremendiously from their decision to cozy up to Israel in the late 1970s. The Turkish Military/Security elite have benefited beyond even their hair-brained imaginations. Just look at the huge external debt, which the United States treats with kit gloves (if this were Argentina?). It's O.K. to reduce S.E. Turkey (i.e., Kurdistan) to a moonscape. Where on Earth do we think most of the World's Heroin originates? Does not Heroin's production require significant industrial input?
As long as the AIPAC/ Neo-con paradigm lords over Washington, and, they consider the Turks (at least) "Useful Idiots" (to borrow a quip from Lenin regarding American Communists) there will not be much change. Will someone stand up to the Zionist bullies/fruitcakes? Or, will the Turks own delusions, hubris, and (until now) repressed anti-Semitism be their undoing??

It never ends, does it? Holbrooke on the Board of AIG(!) At the very least, he should be declaring Bankruptcy for failure to adequately perform his fiduciary repsonsibilities. No wonder why Obama makes like Pogo and asserts that we're ALL to balme for the recent financial meltdown and subsequent (cleverly disguised) Depression. Besides Madoff, who affixed his own toe tag, none of these kleptocrats will ever be prosecuted for the mind-blowing fraud of the last 25 years!
Sadly, MvGuy is right. It's going to be Persia all the time, all Fall & Winter! This allows Obama, his Butler Gordon, and the World's Tallest Midget - Sarkozy- to move economic travial & corruption off center stage!

Jason, isn't there anyone in a position of power in Britain who recognizes that their reflexive loyalty to rapacious American Policies is leading to disaster? Britian is playing Sancho Panza to a crazed Don Quixote! The American protection and unquestioned support for Israel, Moslem "Thugocracries" (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, etc.), wars, torture, occupations are never addressed by the timid -even cowardly - Brown or Cameron.

Jeff - First of all, kudos on an excellent article. Jeff, one thing I find very interesting - and potentially troubling - is that thus far, the Taliban have not obtained modern shoulder-fired missles, such as Russia's SA-18 "Igla(?)". Of course, the Russians have no love lost for Muslim extremists. But, our stance is so confrontational (i.e., Georgia, Poland) that I'm surprised that the SA-18s (or even a more modern version) don't find their way to Afganistan, as some form of "payback"?