I noted a few days ago that Turkey was preparing for further incursions into Iraqi Kurdistan as well as anti-PKK operations at home. BBC has just reported that Turkish troops have entered Iraq
Turkish forces have crossed into Iraq to launch an operation against Kurdish rebels said to be sheltering there, the Turkish military says.The Turkish army, which has thousands of soldiers on the border, said troops had entered the north on Thursday evening and were pursuing rebels. It promised the force would “return home in the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved”.An air and artillery campaign preceded the land operation, the military added.[...] Suspected camps of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants were targeted between 1000 (0800 GMT) and 1800 (1600 GMT) on Thursday, according to a statement on the general staff website.”Following this successful offensive, a cross-border ground operation backed by the Air Force was launched at 1900 [1700 GMT],” said the statement.Turkey has carried out at least one, smaller ground incursion, as well as frequent air and artillery strikes, against suspected PKK targets in Iraq since parliament authorised the army to act in October 2007.
This is what is typically called a hot-pursuit operation which is permitted under existing agreements, though one still wonders about the timing. On the other hand, this author is asking himself hte question now whether the PKK would have anything to gain by tying up such a large amount of the Turkish army on the border. Just as al-Qaeda and the Taleban hope to string us along in Iraq and Afghanistan and slowly bleed us, what would keep the PKK from trying the same? A small incursion once or twice a month would be enough to keep the Turkish Army on the border, raise costs and distract the country and prevent domestic progress and reform. Indeed, it would empower the military and secularists who at the moment have become a very vocal and concerned minority.
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COMMENTS / 10 COMMENTS
jakart added these pithy words on 22 Feb 08 at 7:52 pmFew days ago the turkish government was among the first who recognized Kosovo’s independence. This was a legal precedent and many countries (esp. Serbia) still see it as illegal. Well, Albania is an ally of Turkey and the US, while Serbia is not, if anyone doesn’t understand why it happened.
Now the Turks are again attacking the Kurdish people, as they have for decades, with full US support. Far more Kurds died from turkish aggresion as Albanians in Kosovo during Milosevich’s years or any other time. The Kurds don’t even have their own country, although they certainly do deserve it.
I can’t believe the US stripped Serbia of Kosovo, but they continue to support oppression of Kurds in the name of their own “higher interests”.
THE STENCH OF HYPOCRISY IS OVERWHELMING…
KURDISTAN NOW
!!
jihan added these pithy words on 22 Feb 08 at 8:49 pmI do not agree with the turkey incursion into Iraq,I don’t see PKK is a terroist group they have been through alot by the turkish goverment and lived with fear all there lives,They have been jailed for speaking the kurdish language it was against the law to even speak kurdish until 1992 and they have been fighting for there freedom for a very long time…this is very similiar to what saddam husseins BAATH party was doing to the kurds it’s the same exact thing just in a different country.I think Turkey should work something out with the PKK and give them there freedom and let them live there kurdish life style…..I do not think Turkey should invade Iraq its not for better to do so, people need to open there eye’s and find a resolution to this conflict PKK is not a terroist group,they do not blow people up they do not harm people they are fighting for there human rights,,I dont think Turkey see’s the kurds from Turkey as human beings or have any human being rights…..I am a kurd from northern Iraq have seen alot in my life and my parents as well we have been tortured for all of our lives and nothing was done for such a long time and nobody noticed what was really going on,for the longest time we were in darkness and nobody could really see what the kurds were struggling with finally saddam hussein was taken out and kurds are starting there lives and business’s are booming in Kurdistan and kurds are finally living a life without fear and now Turkey wants to invade Iraq and make life hell for the kurds again…they might as well just give the kurds from Turkey there rights and let them live a life with freedom and no fear….I have lived with no freedom and fear I know how it feels I wish more people understood how it can affect a person and at the time I was a child and i am still terrified to this day….
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Jesus Reyes added these pithy words on 22 Feb 08 at 10:15 pmSpeaking of the stench of hypocrisy, riddle me this. PKK and PJAK are the same thing. The US pays PJAK to attack Iran and pays Turkey to attack PKK. Oilocracy is weird, huh?
jihan added these pithy words on 22 Feb 08 at 10:41 pmI think this is sick and people need to open there eye’s and pkk is not a terroist group and they should not been seen as terroist’s because they are fighting for there freedom they have never attacked until turkey attack’s them…if they were terroist’s when they had captured 8 turkish soldiers they would have not released them they are trying to get world attention that they want there freedom and they are not letting turkey destroy there race and beliefs…....Turkey has to find a way to let kurds be and leave them alone
Stan added these pithy words on 22 Feb 08 at 10:56 pmTurkey is going Islamic. US need to make new allies in Middle East. The Kurds have proven to be strong Allies in the past. When the war started in 2003 the Kurds fought along side US troops. Many of our boys comming home speak of hospitability of the Kurds and their pro democracy, capitalism and American views. There has only been one Allie for US in Iraq and it has been the Kurds. It is in that region of Iraq where the Kurds have established a government which is democratic and pro US. We need to support the Kurds in their quest after democracy. They are the becan of hope for a peacefull democratic Middle East.
Turkey on the other hand stabbed us in the back. When the war started 180 000 maries were suppose to be deploied from Turkey to open a northern front. We tried to crush Saddam Husain in the middle. Turkey inecially OKed the deploiment and teh troops all went to Turkey. Once they got to the shore Turkey said that they changed their mind. The war with Iraq started with 180 000 marines stuck in a boat in the sea by Turkey. This eliminated our ability to open a Northern front and allowed all the insergions to move up as US attacked from south. One of the major reason Iraq is in Termoil is because of Turkeys back stabbing of USA!
We need to realize that these people are going Islamic and very soon they will have an Afganistan there. We shouldnt let Turkey unstabalize the ONLY part of Iraq that is stable and democratic.
As a democratic nation We must stand by other democratic nations such as the Kurds and not let the back stabbing Turks mess even that part of Iraq.
Ben added these pithy words on 22 Feb 08 at 11:17 pmThe PKK is recognised by the EU and the USA (not only Turkey) as a terrorist organisation. The PKK has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people since it began its armed struggle in 1984. Turkey has the right to defend itself. How about the PKK stops trying to gain land from Turkey – the land that is not theirs. You talk about the Turks leaving Kurds alone, how about the Kurds stop creating terrorist groups first. You talk about the PKK letting people go. What nerve you have. In October 2007 the PKK carried out an ambush on Turkish forces that killed 13 soldiers. In September 2007 PKK terrorists set up an ambush in the Beytüşşebap district of Şırnak. The assault claimed the lives of seven village guards, five construction workers working on a dam project to bring water to their villages and one young child, while wounding two others. The PKK commits acts of Kidnapping, Assasination, Sabotage, Chemical Warfare, Bombings, Extortion, Drug Trafficing and Human Trafficing and you say that it isn’t a terrorist organisation. The PKK uses chidren within its military force. What dictionary are you using? Who’s destroying whose beliefs? Turkey will not stand back and be attacked. There will be retaliation. Turkish soil will remain Turkish.
jihan added these pithy words on 22 Feb 08 at 11:17 pmI guess at the end we kurds have no friend but our mountains…no matter how hard we try and be peaceful were always getting attacked…never have a country where we can depend on for support how sad…...
and stan well done I agree with you 100%
Chirol added these pithy words on 23 Feb 08 at 12:16 amJihan: Since you obviously didn’t bother to look, you should know that I’m actually quite partial to the Kurds. Last March I spent a month traveling in Turkish and Iraqi Kurdistan on my own.
I have a great deal of sympathy for the Kurds and their struggle and support an independent Kurdistan. However, practically speaking, I also realize that there are a great number of complex issues surrounding their struggle and the effects of partial or total Kurdish independence.
As for the PKK, again I can sympathize with their goals as everyone has the right of self-determination however I cant sympathize with their attacks against civilians even if I can understand the logic of attacking tourist targets for example.
cc added these pithy words on 23 Feb 08 at 12:23 amHaven’t checked out CA comments in a while, but they seem to have seriously degenerated. “Turkey is going Islamic”, “we try and be peaceful”, “major reason Iraq is in Termoil”, “pkk is not a terrorist group”, “they do not blow people up”. Give me a break.
I understand the albania/hypocrisy and the oilocracy quips, but the rest of these comments don’t really lend themselves to a reasonable discussion, do they?
While an ethnic Turk and ethnic Kurd are probably peacecully sharing a beer in beyoglu bemoaning the legacy of dubya, this blind Kurdish flag-waving merits about as much as attention as the Gray Wolves.
Michael added these pithy words on 23 Feb 08 at 1:21 amAnother odd thing about all this hysteria: I’ve yet to hear about Iraq doing more than complaining to Turkey’s Charge d’affairs. If they and the Kurdish Government were really upset about all this, I would think they’d have Peshmerga rushing to confront the Turkish troops or threaten Turkish targets. Have I missed something?
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