"Hey did you bring some smokes?"
Posted on 07/25/2006 10:28:59 PM PDT by managusta
It appears Turkey is preparing to conduct a larger anti-PKK operation in northern Iraq.
The Turkish government told the US that (paraphrasing) "Turkey will decide (not the US)" if Turkish troops enter Iraq in force." Turkish intelligence consistently reports that from 4000 to 5000 PKK guerrillas are operating from bases inside northern Iraq.
In April 2006 Aaron Glantz wrote that the Turkish government had sent an additional 40,000 troops to southeastern Anatolia, bringing the total troops stationed near the Iraqi border to an estimated 250,000 (close to double the number of U.S. forces in Iraq).
Daniel Pipes reports " Turkish officials signaled Tuesday [July 18] they are prepared to send the army into northern Iraq if U.S. and Iraqi forces do not take steps to combat Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there — a move that could put Turkey on a collision course with the United States.
Turkey is facing increasing domestic pressure to act after 15 soldiers, police and guards were killed fighting the guerrillas in southeastern Turkey in the past week. "The government is really in a bind," said Seyfi Tashan, director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Bilkent University in Ankara. "On the one hand, they don't want things to break down with the United States. On the other hand, the public is crying for action."
Diplomats and experts cautioned the increasingly aggressive Turkish statements were likely aimed at calming public anger and pressing the U.S. and Iraq to act against the Turkish Kurdish guerrillas. But they also said Turkish politicians and military officers could act if nothing is done. …
Turkey's NTV television and Hürriyet newspaper reported the government has told the military to draw up plans for a push into northern Iraq and to advise on the possibilities such an incursion could lead to a clash with Iraqi Kurds or U.S. troops. Any operation was unlikely before the end of August, when the current military chief of staff is replaced by an officer widely regarded as a hard-liner, NTV said. …
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared to confirm reports that the military was ordered to draft plans when he said Tuesday: "We know how to take care of (terrorism) on our own... Our competent units are making preparations and will continue to do so." Erdoman's spokesman, Akif Beki, refused to comment, but referred to a statement Monday by government spokesman Cemil Çicek. Çicek called on Iraqi and U.S. forces to take stronger action against the rebels and warned that if they did not, "Turkey is going to use its international rights until the very end."
Zaman. com states that "Beyond that, even an invasion is possible. Before Rice's visit, the commander of Turkey's armed forces, Gen. Hilmi Özkök, was asked if his military would ask for permission from Washington before crossing the border into Iraq.
"We cannot make a decision of that kind based on the USA," he said. "Every country is sovereign. Every country makes its own decisions. If the conditions change, you act by the changing conditions."
Send the UN and that will fix it. :-)
Drop a tlam-n on those no-entry b*stards.
and then go back and get some rugs.
Wow....looks like maybe Israel got those Turks motivated to do some CLEANUP also!
Give the Kurds a homeland
BUMP!
The reason for their not letting the Americans stage an invasion from their country is this very topic: the Kurds in Turkey could be encouraged to revolt, and now the iraqi Kurds can help them.
"Hey did you bring some smokes?"
Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?
That comment you just received was not from el cid.
Seems like every country in the area is waiting for something to happen, and when it does, everything else happens. The smoke clears in 5-10 years and geography books are rewritten.
This makes little sense since the US is responsible for the security of Iraq right now. Why would Turkey want to send their troops in for slaughter?
cool; no more pretense bump... bump
...the Turkish government had sent an additional 40,000 troops to southeastern Anatolia, bringing the total troops stationed near the Iraqi border to an estimated 250,000 (close to double the number of U.S. forces in Iraq)... Turkey is facing increasing domestic pressure to act after 15 soldiers, police and guards were killed fighting the guerrillas in southeastern Turkey in the past week.They just don't like the whey things are going with the Kurds.
And the anti-unilateralists will have a peace march in front of the Turkey Embassy to the U.S. any moment now ...
Any moment ...
I'm soo sick of all this tribal oggah-boogah crap in the middle east. If they gave a homeland to every damn tribe in the middle east with a gripe, their would be over 20000 countries.
Let me get this correct.
The Turks came from Turkistan, Uzbeckistan and other Turkish provinces around the Caspian. They invaded Greek, Semitic, Keltic, Armenian and Misc. inhabited Anatolia.
They slaughtered the people, forced their adopted religion and language on the remaining people and now are dismayed that the Kurds would want their land back?
Amazing. And what about the slaughter of the Armenians. The long forgotten genoide of 100 years ago?
http://armenianhouse.org/bliss/turkey/turkey-armenian-atrocities.html
NEVER TRUST A TURK!
---In April 2006 Aaron Glantz wrote that the Turkish government had sent an additional 40,000 troops to southeastern Anatolia, bringing the total troops stationed near the Iraqi border to an estimated 250,000 (close to double the number of U.S. forces in Iraq).---
Well, I suppose it's OK if it's proportionate force and not like those naughty Israelis. Oh wait, the Kurds are on the protected persons' list, much like the so-called Palestinians. That means you must bow to Geneva and kiss their butts while they lob rockets at you. Of course, because Turkey is an Islamic nation, the affair is more complicated. They can't really be expected to behave according to arbitrary Western codes. Best to ignore it then and get back to picking on Israel. The Israelis seem to be an acceptable target for everyone.
Would you support a homeland for the Amerindians at the expense of the United States? if not, then you're being a little hypocritical, at least.
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