KIRKUK, Iraq — The recently refurbished tarmac at Maine’s busiest airport contains the usual mixture of gravel, water and chemical binder, but what gives this asphalt its jet-black color is crude oil supplied by the Islamic State group. The Portland International Jetport’s new pavement isn’t the only blacktop of its kind on American soil. Four hundred miles south, highways outside Philadelphia are lined with the same mixture, as are hundreds of potholes on the streets of New York City, a four-month-long International Business Times investigation found.
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A.
Why the surprise? Turkey’s border has been a sieve for years. Turkey supported ISIS as a counterweight to the much loathed Kurds so it was easy for recruits, weapons, and explosives to make their way south, and it’s no surprise that oil has found its way north. I’m more surprised that the Turks are accepting Kurdish oil for export than ISIS oil. It is likely that the Turks are looking at this the other way around and concerned that the Kurds are now successfully exporting oil. In fact, that might account for the publicity and the crackdown.
Remember that Turkey was long an imperial power in the region and still has its friends and enemies. The Kurds, in Turkey and in Iraq have long been their enemies. Turkey most definitely does not want to see an independent Kurdish state south of its border. The Kurds are relatively effective fighters in the region and had a period of de facto independence under Clinton’s air cover. Expect to see Turkey attempting to stymie any attempt they might make at statehood.
Personally, I like Turkey and the Turks, though I’m not all that happy with some of their current policies and a lot of their history. I’m not all that keen on a lot of US history either. For a bit of insight, zoom in on the Mediterranean coast south of Turkey and see how far south the Turkish place names run before you hit Arabic.