Submit your comments on this article | ||
Europe | ||
Turk lawmaker says US in Iraq worse than Hitler | ||
2004-11-27 | ||
ANKARA (Reuters) Of course The head of Turkey's parliamentary human rights group has accused Washington of genocide in Iraq and behaving worse than Adolf Hitler, in remarks underscoring the depth of opposition in Turkey to U.S. policy in the region. Lose some people recently? The United Sates embassy said the comments were potentially damaging to Turkish-U.S. relations. "The occupation has turned into barbarism," Friday's Yeni Safak newspaper quoted Mehmet Elkatmis, head of parliament's human rights commission, as saying. "The U.S. administration is committing genocide...in Iraq. "Never in human history have such genocide and cruelty been witnessed. Such a genocide was never seen in the time of the pharoahs (of ancient Egypt), nor of Hitler nor of (Italy's fascist leader Benito) Mussolini," he said. Don't forget Stalin! Make sure facts don't get in the way of you making an ass out of yourself. "This occupation has entirely imperialist aims," he was quoted as telling the human rights commission on Thursday. You can tell by the 10 cents a gallon we pay for gas at the pump here. Elkatmis does not speak for Turkey's government but he is a prominent member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a centre-right grouping with Islamist roots I knew that was in here somewhere which has become increasingly critical of U.S. actions in Iraq. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul played down Elkatmis's comments but defended Turks' right to speak freely. "In open societies everybody can say what they want," Gul told reporters. "Regarding U.S.-Turkey relations we can comfortably discuss any subject," he added.
It's called war. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan relayed Turkish concerns over the Falluja offensive in two recent telephone calls to U.S. President George W. Bush and to Vice-President Dick Cheney. Elkatmis accused U.S. forces of deliberately targeting mosques and schools in Falluja. That's where the bad guys were. Washington says the Falluja campaign was necessary to bring the Sunni Muslim city back under the control of the central Baghdad government ahead of planned Iraqi elections in January. The U.S. diplomat said Elkatmis had overlooked the fact that Iraqi insurgents like those in Falluja had abducted and beheaded a number of Turkish truck drivers in recent months. Underlying Turkish criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq is the fear that Kurds in the north of the country may use the general turmoil as an excuse to seek independence from Baghdad, a move which could reignite separatism among Turkey's own Kurds. Keep saying stuff like this and Kurdistan might start getting thrown on the table. | ||
Posted by:JerseyMike |
#11 From his point of view it's quite right --- Hitler was quite nice to Muslems. |
Posted by: gromgorru 2004-11-27 3:54:04 PM |
#10 ..American friends that are more than willing to kick a little Turkish ass. Removing U.S. equipment and personnel from Incirlik at a noticeable pace might give the Turks a little pause. |
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-11-27 2:02:34 PM |
#9 America is doing the right things, this guy is out of line. America's goal is justice and peace. |
Posted by: Floting Granter5118 2004-11-27 1:58:07 PM |
#8 If he's this worked up now, just think what he'll say when the 20,000 Turkish troops try to cross the Iraqi border next year and find that the Kurds have 30,000 heavily armed American friends that are more than willing to kick a little Turkish ass. |
Posted by: RWV 2004-11-27 12:26:49 PM |
#7 hmmm - I was thinking we could send a "Corleone" message and have a horse's ass put in his bed, but that would just be redundant, wouldn't it? |
Posted by: Frank G 2004-11-27 9:56:36 AM |
#6 "To call a man a thief gives him the right to be one." - Ancient Arabic Saying - I say, let this rectal cavity's dreams come true. If he wants to compare us to Hitler, let's whack his sorry ass like any Nazi worth his salt would have done for such mouthing off. These stupid fucks need to be shown that there's a pricetag attached to such distortion and propagandizing. Most astonishing of all is that the head of a "parlimentary human rights" group would spew this sort of horseshit. Some 30,000 fewer Iraqis per year are dying now that America has deposed Saddam. But those sort of figures mean nothing so long as we continue to gut Iraq's insurgency. Tough shit, Mehmet Elkatmis! Your side is losing because their moral compass is demagnetized, not because we are emulating Hitler. Why don't you try and |
Posted by: Zenster 2004-11-27 9:40:27 AM |
#5 JFM is right about Hitler, especially since the Final Solution was modeled after the Armenian Genocide. |
Posted by: ed 2004-11-27 9:07:33 AM |
#4 Hey Joe Turk, How about those Armenians (1914 - 1922)? How did they disappear? The flu? Mass sucide? Get a life asshat! |
Posted by: 98zulu 2004-11-27 8:58:09 AM |
#3 The Turks - friends only of the French, and they don't like them much either. |
Posted by: 2b 2004-11-27 8:32:21 AM |
#2 In fact this a compliment: don't forget that for a _real_ Muslim Hitler was a hero. |
Posted by: JFM 2004-11-27 8:12:50 AM |
#1 Keep saying stuff like this and Kurdistan might start getting thrown on the table. Why wait? I'd have done this when our plans for a northern front in the initial attack were dashed. If the Turks prefer to be in bed with the Phrench, then we should treat 'em like the Phrench. |
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-11-27 7:31:32 AM |