U.S. Commander Defines Incirlik As Pivotal Base

WASHINGTON, D.C - The U.S. air forces commander defined on Wednesday the Incirlik base in Turkey's southern province of Adana as a pivotal base.

Gen. Duncan McNabb, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command, said that Incirlik was a really pivotal base for the United States, both for the resupply of Iraq and for the resupply of Afghanistan.

"In fact, it's in the neighborhood of 46 percent of our air sustainment goes through Incirlik," McNabb said during a session on budget at the Committee on Armed Services of the U.S. House of Representatives.

McNabb said Incirlik was right along the route to Afghanistan, and Turkey had been tremendous in allowing us to use that base for the movement of cargo and refueling aircraft through there.

Also speaking in the session, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said Turkish Armed Forces were operating with considerable skill, and very impressively in Afghanistan.

Petraeus said Turkey and the United States had quite a close intelligence relationship.

"As you know, the PKK, an extremist organization which has caused loss of innocent civilian life, killed Turkish security force members and so forth, has operated from that mountainous region in the border between Iraq and Turkey. And so there has been a degree of collaboration there as well," he said.

Petraeus said the United States promoted the relationship of Iraq with its neighbors, and underlined importance of Turkey's relationship with Iraq and Turkey's investments in that country.

Turkey had invested some 10 billion USD in north of Iraq so far, Petraeus also said.