Sibelgate: US officials visiting Turkey NOW

Though the only visits that have taken place as of yet are those between General Cartwright and Turkish General Ergin Saygun, the fact that Cartwright has made two such visits to Ankara in the past four months and that Saygun has come to Washington once indicates that something must be going on. While one might attribute it to the U.S. intelligence sharing with Turkey so that the Turkish military can bomb PKK camps in Northern Iraq, one should wonder whether the posse's planned visits means something more--either for Iraq or Iran.

Cheney's planned visit in March would be his first since 2002, when he was exploring the possibility of using Turkey for a northern access route to Iraq. Though it may seem that Bush's presidency is already over, let us remember that Bush and Cheney still have more than 11 months left in their administration. While the presidency is still up for grabs, what is clear is that the Bush-Cheney administration will have drastically reduced influence beginning in 2009, meaning that their clock is ticking and if there's something to get done, it's going to be done now. Perhaps the New York Times and other U.S. papers should pay less attention to the possible president-to-be and more time on the president-that-is. Read more here and here. And just for kicks, read about Cheney's last visit to Turkey in 2002 here.