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Topic: The mango hits the turbine: Turkey invades Northern Iraq. (Read 705 times) |
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Blunderov
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"We think in generalities, we live in details"
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The mango hits the turbine: Turkey invades Northern Iraq.
« on: 2007-04-12 16:06:13 » |
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[Blunderov] The wheels are coming off big time if this report is true.
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=14711
Turkey Shoots Down US Fighter As Iraqi Invasion Begins
The expected invasion of the Kurdish held lands of Northern Iraq by Turkey, and as we had previously reported on in our March 20th report titled "Turkey Plans Iraq Invasion, Orders All Military Leave Cancelled", has begun, and as we can read as confirmed by the Assyrian International News Service in their report titled "Turkish Commandos Cross Into Iraq to Destroy Kurdish Terrorist Camps", and which says:
"The Turkish army crossed 20 kilometers into Iraq in an effort to destroy camps located to the east of Zaho. Elsewhere in northern Iraq security forces went 30 to 40 kilometers in, up to the rural areas of the Haftanin, Sinaht and Pirbela provinces.
Sources from the military confirmed that platoons from the Kayseri province had earlier been deployed near the Iraqi border closer to the terrorist camps in northern Iraq.
Sources said on Tuesday that the army would get to work clearing landmines that could impede them in an over-the-border operation against PKK camps in northern Iraq.To this end a 60-person bulwark team has been formed to clear landmines from Çalışkan village outside of Şırnak, regions near the Habur border crossing and the area around Hakkari’s Çukurca and Şemdinli districts.
Security check points have been set up throughout Turkish regions near the Iraqi border by the army in order to cut off access to arms, ammunition or food to terrorists hiding out in the mountains.
Military units have been set up in mountainous regions near the Iraqi border, and while activity in the region has increased over the past week, reinforcements are still being deployed to the area. The military units in place along the border are carrying out constant scanning and patrolling of the area, and reports indicate a large convoy of armored vehicles and tanks on their way to Cizre and Silopi. It is speculated that in addition to the special force units already placed along the border, another 200,000 soldiers have been moved to the region."
Turkey’s anger against the Iraqi Kurds was further inflamed this week by the threats leveled against it by the Kurd Leader, and as we can read as reported by Israel’s DEBKAfile News Service in their article titled "Turkish forces drive into northern Iraq to destroy Kurdish PKK rebel bases in Iraqi Kurdistan", and which says:
"They crossed at several points – 20 km deep to target PKK camps east of Zaho and 30-40 kms up to the rural areas of Haftanin, Sinaht and Pirbela provinces. The Turkish army is also clearing landmines that could impede its cross-border offensive against rebel Kurdish camps. DEBKAfile adds: Ankara accuses Iraqi Kurdistan of harboring the PKK terrorists, allowing them to stage cross-border raids into Turkey and run back for cover.
Earlier this week, Ankara and Iraqi Kurdish leaders swapped threats over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. Officials in the Turkish capital said Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s persistent claim to Kirkuk will lead to the loss of the last trace of stability in Iraq. Barzani retorted: “Turkey is not allowed to intervene in the Kirkuk issue; if it does, we will interfere over Diyarbakir and other cities in Turkey.”
Ankara replied: “Turkey will not hesitate to take necessary precautions so that Barzani can’t even spell the “D” of Diyarkabir (the biggest city in Turkey’s southeastern Kurdish region). Barzani should know his place.”
Turkey has, likewise, been angered by the inaction of the Americans against the Kurdish rebels in Iraq, and as we can read as reported by the World War 4 News Magazine in their report titled "Turks charge US betrayal on PKK; Barzani threatens Turkey", and which says:
"Thousands of Turkish troops backed by helicopters battled Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) insurgents near the Iraqi border April 8, in clashes that left 10 soldiers and seven guerillas dead. The fighting was centered in the provinces of Tunceli, Bingöl, Bitlis and Şırnak.
In the wake of the clashes, the Turkish press is making much of comments by retired US Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Richard Myers that battling the PKK is not a top US concern. "The fight against PKK, which is not an easy job to handle, does not have high priority in the agenda of the US," Myers told Voice of America April 7."
Initial reports of this new conflict from Russian Intelligence Analysts state that American Fighter Jets attempting to counter Turkish Fighter Jets engaged in a ‘brief’ aerial battle which resulted in the loss of one US Air Force F-16, though its pilot was reported rescued. Further reports state that American Military Leaders ‘ordered’ their Air Forces to ‘disengage’ from ‘further contact’ with the invading Turkish forces.
The United States Military, and due to this new conflict, has ordered that all of their Military Forces will be held on duty in their current war zones with no hope of relief to come soon.
US War Leaders have, also, ordered a complete blackout of all news relating to the Turkish invasion of Iraq in fear of further enraging their already war-weary citizens.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=70236
The strategic effects of a possible Turkish invasion in Iraq Monday, April 9, 2007 Unless it wants to push Turkey closer to Iran, the US must allow Turkey to pursue the PKK inside Iraq
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/12/news/kurds.php
Turkey ready to enter northern Iraq By Sabrina Tavernise Published: April 12, 2007
ISTANBUL: The head of Turkey's military stated publicly in the sharpest language to date that he was ready to conduct military operations in northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels hiding there. The final decision, however, rests with Parliament, he said.
A Turkish invasion of Iraq would be a nightmare for the United States, which is struggling to keep the war in Iraq from spreading outside that country's borders.
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/US_struggling_to_prevent_disastrous_Turkish_0322.html
US struggling to prevent 'disastrous' Turkish invasion of Northern Iraq RAW STORY Published: Thursday March 22, 2007
Turkey says that 3,800 Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey, and that it is "ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act," reports the Guardian Unlimited.
Senior Bush administration officials, meanwhile, have assured Turkey that the US will step up efforts in Northern Iraq to root out PKK fighters.
Faruk Logoglu, a former Turkish ambassador to Washington, warned that military intervention by Turkey in the region could be "disastrous" in terms of destabilizing the region.
Speaking about US support for Iranian Kurds opposed to Tehran he added, "Once you begin to differentiate between 'good' and 'bad' terrorist organisations, then you lose the war on terror."
"Plans by the US Congress to vote on a resolution blaming Turkey for genocide against the Armenians in 1915" have further strained relations with Turkey, writes the Guardian.
Excerpts from the article follow:
# The US is already fighting Sunni insurgents and Shia militias. Analysts say a surge in violence in northern Iraq, previously the most stable region, could capsize the entire US plan. But pressure on the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is also growing as a result of forthcoming elections. Military intervention was narrowly avoided last summer when he said that "patience was at an end" over US prevarication. Now conservatives and nationalists are again accusing him of not standing up to Washington.
"If they are killing our soldiers ... and if public pressure on the government increases, of course we will have to intervene," said Ali Riza Alaboyun, an MP for Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development party. "It is the legal right of any country to protect its people and its borders."
Milliyet journalist, Kadri Gursel, said: "The US attitude has really pissed off the government and the army. The US really doesn't understand how exhausted and fed up they are."
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Blunderov
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Re:The mango hits the turbine: Turkey invades Northern Iraq.
« Reply #1 on: 2007-04-12 17:43:16 » |
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[Blunderov] Yup. Seems true. Quite what the main implications might be I haven't had time to ponder. 'Not good' is my first guess. It may be that the entire region is tipping over. Already the Pakistani Army is firmly engaged with foreign rebels in its northern terrotories and Mushareff is looking distinctly shaky lately. King Abdullah is throwing his toys out of the cot. Jordan is wringing its hands on the sidelines and Hezbollah is itching to kick the shit out of Israel again. And then there is the howling disaster of Afghanistan. Now THERE was a historical prediction that could be made and was made.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6552426,00.html
Turkey Launches Attacks on Kurdish Area
Thursday April 12, 2007 6:01 PM
AP Photo IST104
By SELCAN HACAOGLU
Associated Press Writer
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's army chief said Thursday the military had launched several ``large scale'' offensives against rebels in the predominantly Kurdish southeast, and he asked the government for approval to launch an incursion into neighboring northern Iraq.
Washington repeatedly has cautioned Turkey against staging a cross-border offensive, fearing that it could destabilize the region and antagonize Iraqi Kurds, who are allied with the U.S.
But Iraq's government is barely able to control its own cities. U.S. commanders, who are battling the Iraqi insurgency in the middle of the country, are stretched too thin to take on Turkish Kurds hiding in remote mountains near the frontier.
On Monday, the Turkish government demanded again that U.S. and Iraqi officials crack down on guerrillas from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
``An operation into Iraq is necessary,'' said Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the head of Turkey's powerful military. ``The PKK has huge freedom of movement in Iraq ... It has spread its roots in Iraq.''
Buyukanit said the military already was moving against separatists in the southeast.
``There are several large-scale operations under way in several areas,'' Buyukanit told a press conference. ``Our aim is to prevent them from taking positions in the region with the coming of spring.''
The offensives were launched to coincide with spring, when the rebels intensify attacks on Turkey using mountain passes opened by melting snow, Buyukanit said.
Recent clashes already have killed 10 soldiers and 29 Kurdish guerrillas, Buyukanit said. The separatist conflict has left more than 37,000 people dead since 1984.
Turkey launched operations into northern Iraq several times in the late 1990s, when it was out of President Saddam Hussein's control.
It has recently been accused of shelling Kurdish positions inside Iraq.
Turkey is especially concerned about a bid to incorporate the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk into the semiautonomous Iraqi Kurdish region, fearing that Iraqi Kurds will use revenues from the city's oil wealth to fund a bid for independence.
The Iraqi government recently decided to implement a constitutional requirement to determine the status of Kirkuk - which is disputed among several different ethnic groups - by the end of the year. The plan is expected to turn Kirkuk and its vast oil reserves over to Kurdish control, a step also rejected by many of Iraq's Arabs and ethnic Turks, who are strongly backed by the Turkish government.
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Hermit
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Re:The mango hits the turbine: Turkey invades Northern Iraq.
« Reply #2 on: 2007-04-17 18:58:35 » |
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Turkey's limited support to the US (in permitting flights through her airspace) during the illegal invasion of Iraq was predicated on the promise, by the USA, that Iraq would not be partitioned (eased by a $US 30 billion development loan). This looks like another promise the US has forgotten. As it is Turkey's worst nightmare come true, Turkey won't.
The Russians are chortling as they watch the US screw their 50 year long relationship with the secular, military dominated Turkish government. Lest we forget (Russia hasn't), it was the US stationing missiles armed with nuclear devices in Northern Turkey and under 1,000 miles from Moscow which triggered the "Cuban Missile Crises" (talk about a diversionary name) and massively intensified the "Cold War."
Kindest Regards
Hermit
PS. Holding breath and fingers tonight and tomorrow, but without a groundswell of propaganda, hoping that we just won another month without bombing Iran.
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With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999
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