Turkey Prepares to Invade Iraq

by redjade Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:50

Turkey and Iran have dispatched tanks, artillery and thousands of troops to their frontiers with Iraq during the past few weeks in what appears to be a coordinated effort to disrupt the activities of Kurdish rebel bases.

Scores of Kurds have fled their homes in the northern frontier region after four days of shelling by the Iranian army. Local officials said Turkey had also fired a number of shells into Iraqi territory.

Some displaced families have pitched tents in the valleys behind Qandil Mountain, which straddles Iraq's rugged borders with Turkey and Iran. They told the Guardian yesterday that at least six villages had been abandoned and one person had died following a sustained artillery barrage by Iranian forces that appeared designed to flush out guerrillas linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who have hideouts in Iraq.

[....]

The US is also to appoint a special envoy to find a solution to the PKK problem, but that may not be enough. Ilnur Chevik, editor of the New Anatolian newspaper in Ankara, said: "There is huge public pressure on the Turkish government to take action." But he doubted whether Turkish forces would mount a full-scale invasion."The build-up of troops is designed to say to the Americans and the Iraqis, the ball is in your court." Tehran was also taking advantage of the situation, he said, "to show Turkey that it was taking action against its shared enemy, while the US, Turkey's ally, has done nothing".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1852843,00.html

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redjade note: Where's the emdia about this?! More importantly, why is not George W Bush - defender of a Freeand Democratic Iraq NOT sending US Troops in to defend it?

The AXIS OF EVIL (Iran) is assauting Iraq and Bush stands by and does NOTHING.

Why?

Kurdish PKK fighters - Will Bush defend his Iraqi allies, or does he just defend Iraqi Shias?

by redjade Sun Jul 30, 2006 02:39

TURKEY could take part in an international stability force in Lebanon if a ceasefire is established and both Israel and Lebanon approve such a mission, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said overnight.

"We, as Turkey, will not take part unless a complete ceasefire is put in place," Mr Erdogan said, the Anatolia news agency reported.

"Once a ceasefire has been established, then related parties, both Israel and Lebanon, must be consulted. If they say 'yes', then we would take part," he added.

more at
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,1995....html

redjade note: interesting, so what does Turkey get out of this deal?

Does a 'red light' for israel mean a 'green light' for the Turks to kill off some Kurds?

by redjade Fri Jul 28, 2006 17:32

TURKEY: US Ambassador To Turkey Says Washington Working To Resolve PKK Issue
2006-07-26 13:22:37

US Ambassador to Ankara Ross Wilson says Turkey and the United States are co-operating closely in the fight against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists. "I assure you that the United States is working for more effective measures in dealing with the PKK," the Anatolia news agency quoted Wilson as saying during a Turkish-US business forum in Ankara.

http://www.seeurope.net/en/Story.php?StoryID=62150&LangID=1

by redjade Wed Jul 26, 2006 09:21

Israel launched airstrikes on Lebanon in response to attacks by Hizbullah earlier this month, and George W. Bush called it "self-defense." But what to tell the Turks, who over the last week lost 15 soldiers to terror attacks launched by sepa-ratist Kurds from neighboring Iraq? Many Turkish leaders are pressing for cross-border tactical air assaults on the guerrillas. But Bush, fearing yet another escalation of the Middle East's violence, urged Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to hold off. "The message was, unilateral action isn't going to be helpful," says a senior U.S. official, describing the 15-minute phone conversation. "The president asked for patience."

[....]

The Turkish press has been baying for action, with even the solidly pro-American Turkish Daily News railing in an editorial that "Turkey is no banana republic that can leave its security to the mercy of others." Another editorial posed the question more directly. "Why is it that Israel has the right to 'self-defense'," the paper asked, "and not Turkey."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13990129/site/newsweek/

redjade note: ive seen a lot of speculation on CNN Intl and BBC World in the past few days that Turkey troops will be used as peacekeepers between Hezbollah and the IDF.

The reasons stated against this idea were simplistic and vaguely racist - that the Turks wouldn't be good for the operation because 'they're Sunni' and the Hezbollah are Shia. One of the TV-experts called the Turks 'Sunni Arabs!' None of the so-called experts on TV (that i saw) mentioned this story.

by anon Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:42

http://www.thenewanatolian.com/opinion-11152.html

In the past during Saddam Hussein's rule Turkey did this several times with the blessing of the Iraqi Kurds. As a matter of fact even today Turkey has a military contingency of about 1,300 soldiers in Iraqi Kurdistan which the local government says "are our guests." Turkey maintains these forces in the Iraqi Kurdish region "to monitor the PKK…"

by redjade Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:23

I don't think the Turks will - although according to the logic of Bush and Israel they certainly have the right to.

But I doubt the Turks will do much more than rattle their cage. They want to be in the EU, to do so they need to stop doing anything that smells like ethnic war.

In short, the EU has its leash on the Turks regarding the Kurds.
(maybe this is not a bad thing, tho)

I'll write more about this later - but I think what we may also be seeing is the fruits of frustration of Turkey with the US - arming and training Kurdish terrorists (MEK) for war with Iran which may also be BlowBacking into Turkey.

by pat c Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:09

I would not be shocked if Turkey invaded. In the past they have bombed the Kurdish areas of Iraq. During the Iraq / Iran War the Turks did so with the connivance of Saddam.

by redjade Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:56

from the Guardian / UK:
The Bush administration, backed by Britain, has blocked efforts for an immediate halt to the fighting initiated at the UN security council, the G8 summit in St Petersburg and the European foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

"It's clear the Americans have given the Israelis the green light. They [the Israeli attacks] will be allowed to go on longer, perhaps for another week," a senior European official said yesterday. Diplomatic sources said there was a clear time limit, partly dictated by fears that a prolonged conflict could spin out of control.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0719-09.htm