“In their effort to win over the Turks [to allow the U.S. to stage a northern front for an Iraq invasion from Turkish soil], the Bush administration had offered the Turks billions. An October [2002] meeting chaired by [National Security Advisor] Condoleezza Rice had settled on a package of $3 billion in aid, $3 billion in financing, and a promise to make a concentrated effort to persuade Persian Gulf states to provide $1 billion in free oil and to help Turkish companies secure reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a far cry from the $25 billion in outright grants the Turks had once demanded from Colin Powell in an 11 p.m. meeting at the home of the secretary of state, but it was still a considerable offer. After the negotiations between Turkey and Washington collapsed, the Turks continued to press for money and to send troops, but the Bush administration held firm. The Turks were forced to keep their army on their side of the border.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor, Cobra II, Page 392