According to Reuters, a spokesman with the US military’s European Command has confirmed that the US will withdraw 12 F-15 Eagles and Strike Eagle fighters from Turkey. The spokesman said that the aircraft had completed temporary deployment, despite having only been moved to Incirlik air base one month ago.
According to a news release, the aircraft will be returning to RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, beginning December 16.
Earlier this year, both the US and Germany also withdrew surface-to-air missile batteries stationed along the Turkey-Syria border.
The sudden withdrawal is surprising given that the Pentagon had previously encouraged European allies to use Incirlik as a staging platform for the anti-terror campaign.
"We are in an active conversation with many of our European partners about the potential for them to relocate and to join us on the ground in Incirlik," Gen. John Allen told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in October.
The announcement comes as Turkey faces international condemnation over the downing of Russian bomber in Syrian airspace last month. The incident left two Russian soldiers dead.
"I was immediately concerned that NATO might buy into the insanity being demonstrated by Turkey," former CIA and US State Department official Larry Johnson told Sputnik. "Fortunately, the reports coming out of the NATO meeting indicate that several of the NATO ministers were asking Turkey: 'What in God’s name were you thinking?'"
Turkey is also under fire for its decision to deploy hundreds of troops and tanks into northern Iraq, a move the Iraqi government views as a breach of its own sovereignty.
"The government is committed to maintain good neighborly relations, but at the same time reiterates its right to take measures to protect national sovereignty," the Iraqi government said in a statement.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi gave Ankara 48 hours to remove its troops, but Turkey has failed to comply. The United Nations Security Council is currently reviewing a formal complaint lodged by Baghdad.
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Show more comments (48)Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete clearly the US wants Russia to attack Turkey. Reply 
| 1 | Edit | Delete Erdogay and his corrupt entourage, including son(s) and in-law, should be detained before they flee, and tried by an International Court(pls, not The Hague, who are a bunch of neocon' Judges), but in Turkey by the Turkish people and supervised by an international group excluding the Saudi's and their Mafia coalition. Reply 
| -3 | Edit | Delete According to today's Wall Street Journal not only have "U.S. officials denied that the redeployment of the F-15s was in any way tied to the Nov. 24 shooting down of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by a Turkish F-16", but also "Military officials said the deployments of the F-15s were always supposed to be short-term. Defense officials said other ground attack planes would shortly be sent to Turkey".
Reply 
| -2 | Edit | Delete According to today's Wall Street Journal not only have "U.S. officials denied that the redeployment of the F-15s was in any way tied to the Nov. 24 shooting down of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by a Turkish F-16", but also "Military officials said the deployments of the F-15s were always supposed to be short-term. Defense officials said other ground attack planes would shortly be sent to Turkey". Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Christmas time, humanity returning to the US polcymakers? Almost too good to be true!!! Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Turkey and Saudi Barbaria are creation of bastards. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete "What in God’s name were you thinking?" Erdogan was thinking about all of the stolen oil, artifacts and other valuables they were going to lose if Syria secured the border. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Athanasios, Or are they taking their toys away from a bunch of idiots, before they hurt themselves? Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete peaceactivist2, I think you nailed it perfectly. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete jas, ❤ Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Dmitry, I think they'd much more prefer Russia attack A NATO MEMBER, and Turkey will do. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Do-as-the- Romans-do, IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Russia should take him out in his palace while he is having a shit. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete There are various factors for the F-15s leaving, but the main one is how the war is being conducted... it's amateurs and experts. First we must remember what the original plan was before the Russian campaign was. To destabilize and remove Assad from power. NATO had free reign of Syrian airspace. The Russian entry into Syria was unexpected and has virtually guaranteed Assad is staying. Since then NATO has been a reactionary force. They continued to press with multi pronged tactics in the European and Middle East theaters, all of which failed. They then brought the Eagles in to support operations and try and scare the Russians... didn't work. Once Russia displayed her tactical/strategic capabilities NATO was dumbfounded and by then had lost control of the battle space. Then they pushed Erdogan to probe and attack... again thinking the Russians would get scared.... didn't happen. Russia brought in the S-400s, highly upgraded S-300s, missile cruisers and subs, and increased her EW. Then S-400s were deployed in Armenia, basically turning all of Syria and nearly all of Turkish air-space into a huge no-fly zone under Russian control. Russian radars and space assets now see every takeoff and aircraft in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia and Israel. So, clearly the F-15s can't even take off without Russia knowing it, and with the added danger of RuAF Su-27s and 30s on the prowl its too dangerous an environment providing ever increasing diminishing returns, they wouldn't stand a chance. Nothing for the Eagles to do but pack up and go home folks. USA/NATO have lost the advantage and they clearly see they can't tangle with Russia and not lose considerable hardware and lives. Russia commands the battle space. Period. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Ironpacha, sorry to confront you - if you rely on WSJ & US officials to give you the picture, I am sorry for you. Same with EU officials & EU media. Here are people who use their brains for this purpose. People reading this particular media, along with many others, are hopping that it is still possible humanity continues to exist despite the efforts of the sources you just mentioned. If you call this propaganda - that's it. But if you receive help from these sources to put the ends of your monthly budget together, then I understand you perfectly. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete This article is interesting as the question is raised of what the USA is doing at the Turkish airbase Incirlik and suddenly withdrawing flights from the base. Was it may be an operation to provoke Russia (they are quite uncountable USA/NATO operations) and to destabilise the Turkish/Russia relations. Somehow the cheering of the Americans at the base isn't surprising regarding the SU-24 and wherever the American bases are the destructional forces are In function. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete One gets quite impressed by the knowledge the Washington Reply 
| 1 | Edit | Delete Abandon an ally. Turkey can get away with more if the U.S. steps back behind the curtain. U.S. can deny directing Turkey, when in reality they are directing them. Use Turkey as a sacrifical provocateur. Turkey then pushes the limits with Russia, Iran, Syria, and Iraq. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete The USAFE sent several F-15 E models from RAF Lakenheath , (I saw the LN markings on a video), in the UK to Turkey, then withdrew them, I think they are going to be replaced with other NATO jets or there was no need for them to be there. These were ground attack aircraft. Reply 
| 0 | Edit | Delete Ottomans are dangerous individuals. Long and traditional history of genocides mass murders mass rapes and mass enslavement not happy with that they promote in their mosques pedophilia . Is really a danger to every civilization.
Show new comments (0)Dmitry
Normpich
Ironpacha
Moreover, even after the rotation of the 12 F-15's, that still leaves a total of 33 U.S. aircraft, including C-135 tankers, A-10 attack aircraft and MQ-1 Predator drones according to the news report.
Finally "Officials said the redeployment would partly make room for other countries to build up their strike capacity. Last week, Germany joined the coalition of the U.S., Qatari and Turkish forces flying operations out of this base against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In all, U.S. officials said there are about 60 aircraft in Turkey and they expect that to grow over the next month or two."
Sorry to burst your Rossiya-centric propaganda bubble Sputnik.
www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-withdraws-12-fighter-jets-from-turkey-1450280292
Ironpacha
Moreover, even after the rotation of the 12 F-15's, that still leaves a total of 33 U.S. aircraft, including C-135 tankers, A-10 attack aircraft and MQ-1 Predator drones according to the news report.
Finally "Officials said the redeployment would partly make room for other countries to build up their strike capacity. Last week, Germany joined the coalition of the U.S., Qatari and Turkish forces flying operations out of this base against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In all, U.S. officials said there are about 60 aircraft in Turkey and they expect that to grow over the next month or two."
Mother Gorilla
vvj3080
Ann
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dronnieb
Matrix 68
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ptcjm
www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/turkey-united-states-syria-iraq-isis-incirlik-air-base-je
www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/turkey-united-states-syria-iraq-isis-incirlik-air-base-je
ptcjm
Post has on the Russian flight SU24 in Syria and there has to be some consideration into the time when this article is published and the time of the incident. Moreover regarding the headline as it is already clear that it was Turkey that shot the plane. And if that was the case, why were the American involved in this confirmation. Actually it would have been more logical to have the Syrian authorities involved in this confirmation. Yeah.........the Americans got caught with their fingers in the box.
www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/11/24/this-is-the-russian-plane-that-turkey-just-shot
Ivan Buckeye
Pablo Jay
NATO is also sending Danish and German warships to the Eastern Med to fight ISIS and these ships will be based in Turkish ports.
The Patriot missile batteries deployed in Turkey were there on a deployment which began before Russia began its deployments to Syria.
These batteries were only going to be there for 15 months anyway. One was Spanish the other Dutch. and the Dutch system wont be returning as it is being upgraded , and no decision has yet been made to replace the withdrawn units. They were originally deployed to protect NATO aircraft on operations in the region is the official line.
Eva Brown
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