Turkish troops, weapons head toward Iraq

[rodeodance]

Source: ap




Turkish troops, weapons head toward Iraq

By VOLKAN SARISAKAL, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago

SIRNAK, Turkey - Dozens of Turkish military vehicles loaded with soldiers and heavy weapons rumbled toward the Iraq border on Monday after an ambush by rebel Kurds that killed 12 soldiers and left eight missing. Turkey's foreign minister said his country will pursue diplomacy before it sends troops across the rugged frontier.


The guerrilla ambush on Sunday outraged an already frustrated public. Demonstrations erupted across the country and opposition leaders called for an immediate strike against rebel bases in Iraq, despite appeals for restraint from Iraq, the U.S. and European leaders.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a telephone conversation on Sunday night that Turkey expected "speedy steps from the U.S." in cracking down on Kurdish rebels and that Rice asked "for a few days" from him.

Erdogan did not specify what he meant by "speedy steps," but he has often urged the United States and Iraq to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Turkish leaders say it is the responsibility of those countries to do whatever is necessary to destroy the guerrilla group's bases in northern Iraq.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071022/ap_on_re_mi_ea/turkey;_ylt=AsYzKXOcoTKoOiZ8ZTwoPij9xg8F

[Ganja Ninja]

1. "Rice asked "for a few days" from him."

Maybe they could wait until the next President takes office if it's too much of an inconvenience.
:eyes:

[yellowcanine]

3. Oh yeah, that's a respected voice they will listen to. So much credibility and competence.

:sarcasm:

[yellowcanine]

2. "Turkey's foreign minister said his country will pursue diplomacy before it sends troops..."

Right. Turkey has been itching to get into this and Kurd militias just handed them a stick to beat the war drums with.

[Tempest]

4. Turkey doesn't want to have to go into Iraq

Not only would they suffer casualties and loss of equipment on the battlefield, they would also have to fight a second front diplomatically against the international community.

Anyone who believes this is what Turkey wants clearly has no idea of what is going on.

[yellowcanine]

5. That is like saying the U.S. Congress did not want to go into Iraq.

Maybe not, but they voted to give Bush the authority and the Turkish Parliment has approved military operations into Iraq also.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/world/europe/18turkey.html?8br

ISTANBUL, Oct. 17 — Turkey’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to authorize sending troops into northern Iraq to confront Kurdish rebels in hide-outs there, sending an angry message to the Baghdad government and its Washington sponsor. But Turkey, a member of NATO, made it clear that it would not immediately carry out the resolution.


This kind of "yes we authorize it but we really don't want to do it." hardly leaves room for an optimistic assessment of the situation. As for saying that "anyone who believes this is what Turkey wants....." - that is kind of like the husband caught with the mistress by his wife saying,
"Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?"

[Tempest]

6. There's a difference between wanting to go and having to go

You said Turkey is itching to go into Iraq, and that is wrong.

If Turkey was itching to go into Iraq, they would have done so two years ago when the PKK started their attacks using Iraq as a base.

Instead Turkey asked Bush to do something and waited patiently while Bush stuck his finger up his ass instead.

Now the PKK is stepping up their attacks and Turkey's patience is almost gone.

[ShortnFiery]

7. "It's Such a Pretty Middle East Today!" Brought to The World by BushBotBorg Sycophants.

:(

[yellowcanine]

8. IMO Turkey has only held off because they did not want to antagonize the U.S.

A NATO ally and the sole remaining super power, after all. Now that the U.S. and the Iraqi puppet government have clearly demonstrated an inability to keep the Kurds in check, Turkey is going to do what they percieve to be in their national interest, which has always been to prevent the formation of an independent Kurdistan on or within their borders. I guess it depends on what one means by "itching." Does Turkey want to get bogged down in northern Iraq? Of course not, and in that sense you are right. But have they been "itching" to squelch the nationalistic desires of the Kurds, regardless of whether they are in Turkey, Iraq, or Iran? I think so and I also think they see this as an opportunity to make progress on that front.

[ohio2007]

9. the view inside Turkey

Ultra-nationalists attack pro-Kurdish party and leftist group offices, beat leftists in Bursa (raw) - Post Media Reply
Violent protests erupted on Sunday in the western Turkish city of Bursa following the killing of 12 soldiers by PKK terrorists in the south-eastern province of Hakkari. Angry demonstrators looted the offices of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and a leftist organization. The police rescued a leftist sympathizer as he was to be lynched by the angry mob.
SNIP



Various shots of lynching attempts, police officials rescuing leftist sympathizers, details 02:57-03:55


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6ff_1193046162

Looks like the Turky should stay on their own side if they want to keep a lid on these seperate native home grown groups.

imo,
they cross the border, trouble will spread on their own side.

[ohio2007]

10. The Kurds in Turkey don't even speak the same dialect as the Iraqi Kurds

but
they seem to be lumped into the same 'political'group. The differences are many,
PKK wants a chunk of Turkey real estate so they can turn it into something that resembles what the Iraqi Kurds ( with Turkish help ) have built up over the past several decades.

Kurds Demonstrate Against Turkey. - Post Media Reply
About 10,000 people from a prosperous Kurdish
region came out to protest against Turkey's
military involvement in Iraq.



http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f7b_1192864090
As you can see in the video, Turkey has financially invested heavily in northern Iraq.

MAybe they are wanting to take what they have started to builduunder the guise of putting down an insurrection in their own southeast border region ?
Simply put, the Kurds in Iraq and the Kurds in SE Turkey aren't from the same bolt of cloth.

Turkey would have a pressure cooker lid pop off that has been simmering for 30 years if they convince the world they must now keep boots on the ground....something they didn't want any part of in 2003 ;)