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| Iraq | |
| Turkey: Iraq seeks urgent halt to cross border raids | |
| 2007-10-16 | |
| Istanbul (AKI) - Iraqi vice-president Tareq al-Hashemi has travelled to Istanbul for urgent talks to stop a Turkish ground assault against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. Al-Hashemi arrived a day after the Turkish cabinet asked parliament for permission to launch major military action after cross border bombing raids and artillery fire at the weekend. Tens of thousands of Turkish troops are reported to be massing at the border of northern Iraq. Turkey claims it was targeting militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which it blames for the deaths of at least 15 Turkish soldiers attacked in the past two weeks. The Iraqi vice-president was due to meet president Abdullah Gul and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday while Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al Maliki also announced that he would hold urgent meetings with Turkish officials. On Wednesday, the Turkish parliament is expected to approve the motion which would give the army permission to enter Iraq on multiple occasions up to a year. Government spokesman Cemil Cicek said that the motion was not targeting the Iraqi people - only PKK militants. He said Turkey still hoped that military action against PKK bases would not be needed. “However, the reality of terror is the most painful reality of our country and region,” said Cicek. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh stressed the need for dialogue between the two countries. “The Iraqi government calls on the Turkish government to pursue a diplomatic solution and not a military solution,” he said. The US also urged Turkey to not to resort to military action. “We would like to co-operate with Turkey in solving the problems which occur as the result of attacks from northern Iraq into Turkey,” said US state department spokesman, Tom Casey. Casey warned Turkey that unilateral action would not resolve problems with the PKK. However, US influence in Turkey has been undermined after the House of Representatives' foreign affairs committee approved a resolution which brands the killing of Armenians in 1915 a genocide. Turkey responded to the move by immediately recalling its ambassador to the US, Nabi Sensoy. The resolution will proceed to the full House of Representatives next month. Erdogan said that Turkey would reconsider its relationship with the US relations if the resolution was approved.
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| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #2 Blackbird: The surge is working. So how do you find a way to force defeat from the tight jaws of victory. You have Turkey get mad as hell at their age old adversary (and Iran's, Syria's and Iraq's) the Kurds as well as the USA. A twofer in the eyes of the calculating Dhimmicrats. In politics, like war and comedy, timing is everything. Unfortunately, this is no laughing matter. There will be blood on their hands (the Dhimmis) and they should pay the ultimate political price if we had any balls and guts as a whole country but we don't. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-10-16 12:58 |
| #1 The Kurds need to control their terrorists. The Turks are not our friends. Red-on-red. The more important question is why the Dhems. are doing this now. Who had the idea? Do the Dhems. really care about the Armenians? My read is that they are driving defeat at any cost. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2007-10-16 09:03 |