The 173rd
As you’ve probably heard, 1,000 troops from the 173rd Airborne have been dropped off “somewhere in northern Iraq.” People wonder if this means a northern front, but I doubt it. 1,000 lightly armed troops wouldn’t be able to do much more than secure an air field and work with special forces and the Kurds to soften Iraqi units in the area. However, there’s another, more likely theory. A few days ago I noted:
Despite US entreaties, Turkey is planning to send 10,000 troops into northern Iraq. They’ve already sent in 1,500 commandos. This could turn into a major headache as Kurds and Turks kill each other in a futile fight.It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the 173rd was placed in northern Iraq to discourage Turkey from doing anything rash.I’m sure someone in the military is already considering the following option: slow down the Turks by bombing out bridges and roads. The area spanning northern Iraq and southern Turkey isn’t very easily navigable. A few bombing runs should make it virtually impossibly to cross. Then we can put boots on the ground (101st Airborne?) before the Turks can get there.