U.S. military seeks alternatives to Turkey

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Restricted access to Turkey would affect 70 percent of the cargo and fuel supplies being shipped by the United States to Iraq, a report said Saturday.

The heavy reliance on Turkey has U.S. authorities scouting alternative routes in the event the Turkish government restricts access to its airspace or the U.S. base at Incirlik, Turkey, CNN reported.

Turkey last week recalled its ambassador to the United States after the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs labeled the World War I killings of some 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkish soldiers "genocide."

Turkey, a key U.S. ally, accepts Armenians were killed but calls it a massacre during times of chaos, not a campaign of genocide, CNN reported.

While the U.S. military uses Turkey to ship 70 percent of its cargo and fuel into Iraq, it ships 95 percent of its new mine-resistant ambush-protected heavy vehicles through Turkey into Iraq.

If Turkey cuts off access, it would force the U.S. military into longer cargo flights, meaning extra costs for fuel and added wear on equipment, defense officials looking for hubs in Jordan or Kuwait told CNN.