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Turkey Talking Tough Re; Kurds, Iraqis And Americans ...
The following Al-Jazeera-English report took us by complete surprise.
Much more than that, it came as a personal shock.
Regular readers will no doubt realise immediately why we should be so shocked.
While it's far too soon for us to be able to talk about this startling development (particularly re ; possible partitioning), in any kind of detail, we thought it extremely important that this news be more widely known as earlier in the 'proceedings' as possible.
Turkey mulls 'invading' Iraq
By Jonathan Gorvett in Istanbul
Turkey's parliament went into secret session this week to debate sending troops to invade and occupy northern Iraq for security purposes.
More than 30,000 people have been killed in the confrontation between the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and the Turkish army – about 400 last year alone, according to Turkey's Human Rights Association.
Onur Oymen, the deputy chairman of the Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said: "Northern Iraq is the only place in the world where a terrorist group can operate without being pursued."
"If the Iraqis and the US are not prepared to take action over this, then we must."
*
posted by Richard at Sunday, January 28, 2007
12 Comments:
Oh, shit.
why not ask uncle sham set up another "no fly zone", ?,
you know, those private firing range so that the yanks and their buddies can have some fun shooting at them sheeps or the sheppards...
This doesn't smell right to me. Something fishy here. I don't think the Turks would chance going in here without agreeing things with the US first ~ or even making 'noises' about it. It's the prelude to something that's already been well worked out between them.
Just another sign that the US is overstretched if you ask me. And that's even with all the extra troops sent over for the 'surge'.
I agree with Phil. I'm not sure how much credibility should I give to all these diplomatic sabre rattlings coming from Ankara.
Firstly, I haven't heard about Kurdish 'terrorism' in Turkey lately. It seems to be in a lull.
I see this more as a firm public declaration of Turkey's dissatisfaction of the ever deteriorating Iraqi situation on its doorstep, and a call for attention to an ongoing concern.
For example, Turkey and others in the region were ensured prior to the invasion, that the occupiers will maintain Iraq territorial integrity.
This is maybe just a reminder of that promise for Ankara's fellow buddies in Washington, who now ever so longingly looking for the exit door. There are more objectives need to be met, than just 'saving face' after a good plunder.
Incidently, it is a warning, which Washington, -being in an isolated, near International pariah status,- can not afford to ignore.
I'm with you, Phil. Something doesn't seem right.
I have similar suspicions about the behavior being displayed within the Israeli government leadership shown in the Brit's previous entry.
Are we (the observers) being manipulated/distracted? Could be.
On the other hand, it's obvious the Kurdish area, partly in Turkey and partly in Iraq, has been artificially split for 3/4 of a century or a bit more and one could expect there to be ongoing unrest. Iraq, itself, is virtually destroyed as a country and there is so much upheaval there now -- anything could happen.
Undoubtedly, Turkey has had its share of refugees arriving from Iraq (mainly Kurds in the North) and that is putting additional pressure on Turkey.
Or, maybe Turkey, itself, sees the unrest as an opportunity to acquire some additional territory with access to oil, and blame it on Kurd problems?
Or, (I think I'll stop at this point)
Looks like it's right to be suspicious about Turkey threatening to act unilateraly against the Kurds if the Yanks and Irqais can't or won't.
Guess who came to Turkey yesterday? And Guess who's just been singing Turkey's praises at DAVOS?
The werewolf!
Wolfowitz: Turkey is a success story of the World Bank
Saturday, January 27, 2007
DAVOS – Anatolia News Agency
World Bank Governor Paul Wolfowitz said Turkey was a success story of the World Bank.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency in Davos, Wolfowitz said Turkey has achieved significant transformations in recent years and has set an example to many countries with the reforms it has implemented.
Wolfowitz also mentioned the structural reforms Turkey has carried out and said, “I am showing Turkey's achievements as examples to other countries.”
Turkey has applied World Bank programs with utmost success and achieved significant economic growth, according to Wolfowitz. Economic growth was very important for Turkey, he added.
Wolfowitz said that he would be in Turkey today to assess the latest economic developments with top officials. He said, “I am visiting a country that is a success story.”
Full story @ Turkish press report link here.
Lately everyone want's to be Turkey's best friend - especially Europe and the US -- no matter what else you hear to the contrary.
There's wheeling & dealing going on right now ~~ BIG TIME.
Holy Shit!
We really need to teach these people how to play chess.
If Turkey means what it says, then perhaps this is an indication of double-dealing by those who once considered the Kurds to be quite successfully "liberated" in Iraq (i.e., the US, Britain and Israel).
Clearly, strategic places are worth so much more than human beings in this kind of power politics. It was one thing to use a dead baby at Halabja to make your point, but, point taken, you move on.
The Iran Contra affair should be an indicator of what sort of maneuvers are at the disposal of those in power.
One indicator of how serious this is on Turkey's part is to keep track of who is willing to follow through on contracts, travel plans, and academic conferences in Turkey in the coming season. If people start backing out, it may be that they have heard from Turks that they are serious about attacking the Kurds.
This kind of seems bizarre because Christopher Hitchens, the Israelis and of course the US and Britain were supposedly in the Kurds' corner, strengthening their hand. Now you are getting something else, I suppose. Wolfowitz's praise of Turkey --- is it also a blank check for Turkey's actions or is it simply a general kind of praise for the type of society they have built over the years?
Latest update on this story.
* Turkey-US move to combat rebels
By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul
+++++++++++++++
A US envoy who will co-ordinate the fight against the PKK Kurdish rebels is holding talks in Turkey.
There is growing talk in Turkey of the need for cross-border raids into northern Iraq, where the Kurdish separatist group is based.
Turkey has a good deal to discuss with General Joseph Ralston.
From the Turkish prime minister down, politicians have been advocating sending troops across the border unless the US acts urgently against the PKK. *
Latest here at BBC link.
How very interesting about the PKK. I suppose there is some over-reaching by the "liberated", eh?
This puts one in mind of the Najaf affair, which seems to have been Shi'ite on Shi'ite.
But perhaps the PKK is less a bunch of Sioux Ghost Dancers (like the Heavenly Band or whatever that wanted to attack the shrine at Najaf), and more determined and reality-based. After all, their goals seem to stem from ethnic nationalism rather than strictly religious disputes. They want to keep their own oil revenues, probably. Therefore, they are a power to reckon with.
Now of course we know what happened at Najaf was not a bunch of fanatics marching in the shrine.
It seems to be thus (but perhaps there is more to it yet) - Iraqis opened fire on a car at a checkpoint, killing a tribal chieftain, his wife and their driver. The tribe, following on foot (and armed because of course they are in a war zone) jumped in to avenge the shocking death and perhaps in self-defense. Then some others belonging to the cult (who were nearby) got involved, and their leader was killed. American firepower was called in and a massacre seems to have happened as a result. The picture I saw actually showed UNARMED civilians dead where they fell, which wasn't on a road. So who knows?
What seems to be the case is that the first fruits of the command and control structure of the "surge", if it has begun, are that Iraqis will be calling in the shots by Americans. But who knows?
I humbly submit that I cannot trust my country's news media anymore. The events at Karbala, where officers were executed (one of them a critic of the war who had contacted Senators, a Captain Freeman), now being used a casus belli against Iran, afford another example of misreporting. After all, the Iranian connection is the third version of the story.
I have no idea what Turkey is up to vis a vis the Kurds, but if they denied bases to US for an attack on Iran, it's deuces wild.
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