Posted on 07/13/2007 4:13:43 AM PDT by theothercheek
Nabi Sensoy, Turkey's ambassador to Washington, is complaining that Kurdish guerillas staging cross-border attacks into Turkey from Northern Iraq are armed with American weapons that were supplied to the Iraqi army. Sensoy also accused the U.S. of not applying enough pressure on Kurds in the Iraqi government to rein in the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an independent Kurdistan since the 1980s.
Turkish officials are promising retaliatory military strikes against the PKK in Iraq, which will further destabilize the country. Turkey's military chief, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, is prodding the government to set political guidelines for an incursion into northern Iraq, if the U.S. and the Iraqi governments cannot stop the cross-border attacks.
Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul confirmed that detailed plans for an incursion into Northern Iraq were in place, and an anonymous senior U.S. diplomatic official tells The Associated Press that military action against PKK rebels in northern Iraq in the days before the July 22 elections in is very high.
Officials with the Pentagon and the State Department said such an incursion would not be "helpful."
U.S. Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins, deputy director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also points out that we can do only so much, seeing as "our military's focus is on Iraq and the situation in Iraq." In other words, there is no strategic military gain to be made from diverting our soldiers to the relatively calm region of Northern Iraq from Baghdad and other areas that are hotbeds of insurgent activity and sectarian violence.
And, with all due respect to Turkey’s importance as an ally in the War on Terror – an unreliable ally, it should be noted, as its government has repeatedly threatened to cut off access to Incirlik Air Base if Congress adopts H.Res. 106/S.Res. 106 ("the Armenian Genocide Resolution") – there is little political gain to pissing off our Kurdish allies in the Iraqi government by going after the PKK.
[Editorial Note: Instead of griping about U.S. inaction against PKK rebels in Iraq, Turkey's ambassador might explain why two Turks, Mehmet Yilmaz and Mehmet Resit Isik, were funneling foreign insurgent into Iraq for al-Qaida operations – until they were killed by coalition forces in late June.]
Can you imagine! Telling another religion who is and is not its legitimate leader. Unbelievable.
The Turk wanted to play games when it came time for the 4th ID to transit from port to north Iraq, so the Turk is now free to eat dog droppings.
Pay back’s a muther.
Northern (former Iraq) is now Kurdistan. It is not all that the Kurds had hoped for, but it is theirs.
They should use it with a brain, call other Kurds to it, and stop fomenting discord with Turkey. They could be an increbibly powerful state if they’d simply recognize what’s been handed to them.
Sounds good in theory. What do you think will happen the second the US leaves Iraq? The Turks will attack Northern Iraq and take the land and kill the people. You may not have noticed, but they are not “live and let live” sorta folks.
The Kurds are the ones soaking up the lessons on warfare being given by the US Government. They’ll be an impressive fighting force.
Also, I think the US might have a long presence in Kurdistan. That would mitigate against any Turkish attack. That’s why Kurds outside of Kurdistan should begin a homecoming; recognizing as did Israel, when granted Palestine by the UN, that their ultimate security lies in strengthening their own state.
The Turkish sabre-rattling is encouraged by the treasonous talk of withdrawal in Washington DC. They think we will leave Iraq soon, so they can come in, destroy Kurdistan, take Kirkuk and have the oil. If the forces of sanity prevail here, we will have permanent bases in Kurdistan to maintain strategic presence and help our Kurdish partners.
I fully agree with you.
The Kurdish people, though, need to recognize the gift that’s been given them in an independent Kurdistan complete with great natural resources. They should knock off aggravating the Turks, Iranians, and Syrians.
Turkey is prepared to move 140,000 troops to its border with Northern Iraq. The entire fighting force of the US in Iraq - including the surge - is 150,000. What chance do the Kurds have against the Turkish army - armed with US and Israeli weapons, I might add.
That is what we call ethnic cleansing. Genocide like the Armenian genocide should not be repeated by these evil Islamists. I also hope Constantinople will be liberated, and the lost territories of the Armenians returned. Turkey has not paid the price as Germany did.
I wish the Albanian Muslims attempting to steal Serbian Kosovo would listen to your advice and go home to Albania!
Of course, Albania doesn’t want them back, they know the folks stealing Kosovo represent the Jihadists and the worst of their criminal element.
Sorry, I replied to a different post.
I think Turkey would be just fine and dandy IF the Kurds would knock off their plots and schemes from inside Turkey.
AMEN!
OK, then. How do you explain those Turks in Iraq that were working with Al-Qaida to restock the country with foreign insurgents as fast as we are killing them? Turkey is a 99.8 percent Muslim country, and has been repeatedly chastised by the EU, the Pope, etc. for harassing (if not killing outright) the Christians who live amongst them. This is not a secular, pluralistic democracy - and in recent years both nationalists and Islamists have been gaining political and social clout so Turkey is definitely moving in the “wrong” direction as far as the West is concerned. Turkey is not a reliable ally in our protracted struggle against Islamofascism. Face it, we have another duplicitous Saudi Arabia on our hands - but without the oil.
Turkey has never been a barrel of laughs. Democratic forces are currently losing to radical islam in Turkey. They have not been a dependable ally.
Therefore, we should abandon Kurdistan????
Doesn’t follow.
If we lose the Kurds because we side with Turkey against the PKK, then Iraq is lost.
FREE KURDISTAN!
The Turks bought and paid for this.
Nobody wants the Kurds to be free because there happens to be lots of oil under them, and their neighbors like to steal it.
Kurdistan would be carved out of illegally seized territory now held by Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
The range of territory in which Kurdish people exist is greater than the territory in Iraq granted as Kurdistan.
The Kurds, however, should take the offering and not expect anything more. No one will be carving up more of Turkey or Iran and handing it over to them.
They’ve got a state now. Rejoice and build it into something that others would find attractive.
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