Turkish, US officials hold talks

As part of his visit to the United States, Turkish Chief of General Staff Necdet Ozel has visited top secret military bases of the U.S. army, where significant operations such as the raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were commanded.

Gen. Ozel was set to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in his office yesterday and was scheduled to be the guest of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey at the Pentagon. Dempsey and Ozel were to have lunch yesterday, before Turkey’s top military official was to be briefed extensively on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the afternoon. Turkey and the Pentagon are seeking to share knowledge on IEDs. Ozel was also invited to dinner as a guest of Dempsey and his wife Deanie Dempsey at their house yesterday. Ozel visited Langley Air Base in the state of Virginia, where the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) is located. In this base, where Pentagon and the CIA jointly command operations, Ozel received a briefing. On May 8, Ozel had visited three separate military bases in Florida. One of them was Key West Navy Base where the Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) unit – known with the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan – is located.



/Hurriyet Daily News/