Turkey Warns US It Plans To Invade Northern Iraq Shortly After Elections

Geostrategy-Direct.com (Subscription Site) ^ | 11 Nov 04 | Geostrategy-Direct.com

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FOCUS ON TURKEY

Turkey warns U.S. it plans to invade northern Iraq shortly after elections

ANKARA — Turkey's military has begun preparing for what officials warned could result in a major invasion of neighboring Iraq.

Officials said the Turkish General Staff has drafted plans for an invasion by at least 20,000 troops into northern Iraq in early 2005. They said the General Staff has urged approval from the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and discussed the proposed invasion with the United States.

"The current phase is to show the United States that we're serious," a Turkish government source said. "After the Iraqi elections in January, the Turkish military will be ready to move."

The military has called for a massive operation in northern Iraq to prevent Kurdish militias from controlling the area. The General Staff has been particularly alarmed by the reported Kurdish effort to drive out ethnic Turks from Kirkuk, the oil capital of northern Iraq and long claimed by Ankara.

Under the Turkish plan, the military would deploy at least 20,000 Turkish troops in an enclave south of the Iraqi-Turkish border. The force would focus on eliminating the Kurdish Workers Party and ensure the return of Turkmens to Kirkuk.

About 3,000 PKK fighters are said to be based in northern Iraq and have been sending insurgents and weaponry for attacks inside neighboring Turkey.

The United States has refused numerous Turkish appeals to eliminate the PKK strongholds.

On Oct. 14 Erdogan and his cabinet reviewed the General Staff's plan. That meeting, attended by Chief of Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, discussed the rapid deployment of up to 40,000 troops in northern Iraq.

A scaled-down version of the military plan was discussed in the national security council on Oct. 27. The officials said that over the last week some units have already been deployed along the Iraqi-Turkish border.

Officials said the General Staff has sought to prepare two army divisions to cross the Iraqi border within 18 hours of any approval of the operation.

The first goal of the ground operation, supported by fighter-jets and attack helicopters, would be to destroy PKK strongholds in the Kandil mountains in northern Iraq.

The General Staff has warned the cabinet that Ankara could no longer ignore the Kurdish threat. Officials said the military has determined that Kurds from Iran and Syria have bolstered support for the PKK.

Iranian and Syrian Kurds, they said, have participated in PKK attacks against police and military targets in southeastern Turkey over the last week.

Officials said the General Staff has sought to obtain U.S. approval for the operation in northern Iraq. But Washington has not provided implicit approval.

The Erdogan government has sought to delay any Turkish military operation until after the European Union summit on Dec. 17. The government intends to spare the EU any pretext to delay a date for accession.

Officials said the Peshmerga are digging tunnels and establishing outposts outside Dahouk, near the Turkish border.

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You've got that backwards, it's France that doesn't want them to join. It's France that is throwing roadblocks in their path.

[misusu21]

Sorry Freeper.

[ApesForEvolution]

Whether you understand/believe this or not, there is a race in the mind of the Arab street to see who's god is more powerful: the God of the Jew/Christian and the god of the Muhammadan. The test is who can wipe out Israel or Mecca first. If you doubt this, join a local mosque or two and hang out for awhile...

[Chani]

oh no ping!

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That's exactly what I was thinking.....Muslim Turkey....Muslim Iran....their common thread is......

[misusu21]

It almost impossible now to know what the EU is. so I cant come up with reasons of leating Turkey in or not.

[jpsb]

I have been saying and continue to believe that the world is returning to something like the pre WW1 configuration. All kinds of weird alliances, with serveral major powers all jocking for position. One big mistake and BAM, it's WW3.

[JSteff]

Yeah but we don't need to get too hyped yet. At this point it is diplomat work not military work.

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There you go. You said exactly what I thought critical thinking people would say. You have just described the beginnings of a HOLY war.

[muslims=borg]

Turkey may be a Nato member but they are certainly not an ally. If Turkey interferes we should not hesitate to use force. I think that would send a strong message to the likes of France who still don't seem to "get it". In my opinion Turkey screwd us at the onset of the war so we owe them nothing.

[Fledermaus]

The Kurds will kick their butts.

[misusu21]

Yeah we should trek carefully... in M.E. if we leave there is surely going to be a massive war for the iraqui oil.but you overestimate the other powers.. europe is in terminal decline , they simply dont have the spirit of warfare anymore.

[AndyJackson]

Muslim Turkey....Muslim Iran....their common thread is......

That one has established a very successful stable democratically elected civil government and has a stable and prosperous society and one has not.

[jpsb]

No problem, since you are new here I'm just leting you know the rules. you can use your imagination to convey the exact same sentiment, we do it all the F**ING time.

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America's friendship or all the oil in Kirkut. Turkey the powerhouse of Europe that old Europe doesn't have.

[finnigan2]

I don't believe it. Such an invasion with 20,000 troops against a hostile Kurdish population which hates their guts and over 100,000 US troops nearby would be suicide. It would also kill any chances of Turkey being admitted to the EU, which it desperately wants.
File this under D for Dem Dreams.

[misusu21]

Tukey was one of our best allies during the cold war, much more than the Canucks ,french, etc.... but now i see no mission in which we can call turkey an ally.

[TalonDJ]

Hey Turkey! Find your own country. We have dibs on invading this one.

[Henchman]

Ahhh the French, I hope you didn't think that I believed their vote would be significant in admitting Turkey to the EU. No way. BTW, as it is Veteran's Day, here is a thought about the French:

Author omitted as I do not have his permission to post his name; I didn't write this but agree!

Eleven thousand soldiers
lay beneath the dirt and stone,
all buried on a distant land
so far away from home.

For just a strip of dismal beach
they paid a hero's price,
to save a foreign nation
they all made the sacrifice.

And now the shores of Normandy
are lined with blocks of white
Americans who didn't turn
from someone else's plight.

Eleven thousand reasons
for the French to take our side,
but in the moment of our need,
they chose to run and hide.

Chirac said every war means loss,
perhaps for France that's true,
for they've lost every battle
since the days of Waterloo.

Without a soldier worth a damn
to be found within the region,
the French became the only land
to need a Foreign Legion.

You French all say we're arrogant.
Well hell, we've earned the right
We saved your sorry nation
when you lacked the guts to fight.

But now you've made a big mistake,
and one that you'll regret;
you took sides with our enemies,
and that we won't forget.

It wasn't just our citizens
you spit on when you turned,
but every one of yours
who fell the day the towers burned.

You spit upon our soldiers,
on our pilots and Marines,
and now you'll get a little sense
of just what payback means.

So keep your Paris fashions
and your wine and your champagne,
and find some other market
that will buy your aeroplanes.

And try to find somebody else
to wear your French cologne,
for you're about to find out
what it means to stand alone.

You see, you need us far more
than we ever needed you.
America has better friends
who know how to be true.

I'd rather stand with warriors
who have the will and might,
than huddle in the dark
with those whose only flag is white.

I'll take the Brits, the Aussies,
the Israelis and the rest,
for when it comes to valor
we have seen that they're the best.
We'll count on one another
as we face a moment dire,
while you sit on the sideline
with a sign, "friendship for hire."

We'll win this war without you
and we'll total up the cost,
and take it from your foreign aid,
and then you'll feel the loss.

And when your nation starts to fall,
well Frenchie, you can spare us,
just call the Germans for a hand,
they know the way to Paris.

[AndyJackson]

Turkey may be a Nato member but they are certainly not an ally.

I love the new ignorance of the right. It is such a refreshing change from the old ignorance of the left, whose shiboleths have been dispelled time and time again.

I dunno which parallel universe you inhabit, but it ain't the one in which their is a country named Turkey that is the heir of Ataturk, that is for sure.