A new CSIS report released in March 2010 makes exactly the same point.
Once again, a CSIS report designates Turkey as the optimum route for a possible Israeli attack on Iran
[propaganda alert]
Three weeks before the US President Barack Obama’s visit to Ankara in April 2009, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report which claimed that Turkey would be the optimum route for a possible Israeli attack on Iran.
A new CSIS report released in March 2010 makes exactly the same point.
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1) Once again, a CSIS report designates Turkey as the optimum route for a possible Israeli attack on Iran (23 March 2010)
2) Israeli army chief Gabi Ashkenazi visits Turkey to hold talks on Iran’s nuclear program (15 March 2010)
from the archives:
3) Pentagon offers Patriot anti-ballistic missiles to Turkey (September 2009)
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excerpts from: Options in Dealing with Iran’s Nuclear Program
by Anthony H. Cordesman and Abdullah Toukan, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 23 March 2010
“We conclude that a military strike by Israel against Iranian Nuclear Facilities is possible and the optimum route would be along the Syrian-Turkish border then over a small portion of Iraq then into Iran, and back the same route. […]
The flight route [along Turkey’s border with Syria] would also be ideal for the F-15’s and the F-16’s to do aerial refueling from airborne tankers, on ingress and egress [i.e. entry and exit] from Iran. […] Refueling can [also] be done [on a] temporary landing strip, along the Syrian, Turkish and Northern Iraq region […]
Israel could again utilize its EW [Electronic Warfare] capabilities [to disable the air defense systems of Iran and Syria] as during the [bombing] raid [through Turkey’s airspace] on Dayr az-Zawr, Syria, on September, 2007. […]
If the Israeli aircraft do actually fly over Turkey that would constitute a clear Turkish – Israel and even U.S. conspiracy to attack Iran, so the Political risks could be high with Turkey. Operationally, […] the risk from Turkey could be of medium level if Turkey deems it necessary to react militarily.”
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excerpts from: Ashkenazi holds security talks in Turkey
by Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, 15 March 2010
[Israeli Army Chief] Gabi Ashkenazi flew to Ankara on Monday to hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Gen. Ilker Basbug. […]
Ashkenazi discussed regional security issues with a focus on Iran’s nuclear program as well as the rearmament of Hizbullah in southern Lebanon. […]
“This visit is on the military-strategic level, not a diplomatic level. The Turks are not hiding it and neither are we,” [said Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avi Benayahu].
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from the archives:

excerpt from: Turkey – PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 Guided Missiles
US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), 9 September 2009
“Today the [US] Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Turkey of 13 PATRIOT Fire Units, 72 PATRIOT Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missiles, four PAC-3 Lot Validation Missiles, 197 MIM-104E PATRIOT Guidance Enhanced Missiles-T (GEM-T), four MIM-104E GEM-T Lot Validation Missiles, five PATRIOT Digital Missiles, five Anti-Tactical Missiles and other related support and equipment. The estimated cost is $7.8 billion.”
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related links:
President Gul: Iran’s ultimate aspiration is to acquire nuclear weapons (29 March 2010)

NATO chief: Iran’s Shahab-3 missiles will put Turkey, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria within reach (27 March 2010)

US official: Turkey has international responsibilities that extend beyond its immediate neighbourhood (18 March 2010)

Israeli army chief visits Turkey to hold talks on Iran’s nuclear program (16 March 2010)

Israeli minister warns Turkey: Iran’s nuclear programme would pose a danger for the whole world (November 2009)

Pentagon offers Patriot missiles to Turkey (September 2009)

missile-program-poses-a-significant-threat/
US Ambassador to Turkey: Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is a great danger to Turkey (June 2009)

Obama: No one in the Middle East is served by Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions, least of all Turkey (April 2009)

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