Posted on 10/15/2007 11:53:23 AM PDT by Dane
Turkish cabinet backs Iraq foray
By Vincent Boland in Ankara
Published: October 15 2007 18:35 | Last updated: October 15 2007 18:35
The prospect of a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq moved a step closer on Monday after Turkey’s cabinet agreed to seek parliamentary approval for a military response to a resurgence of attacks by PKK separatists operating from mountain hideaways in Iraq.
The move leaves Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, facing the most difficult foreign policy test of his career as he juggles a possible military response to recent terrorist attacks with the need to avoid a complete breakdown in the country’s relations with the US.
Parliament is expected to vote on the issue this week against the backdrop of public and political resentment over a US congressional committee decision last week to acknowledge the massacre of Armenians in the last days of the Ottoman empire as genocide.
Mr Erdogan’s dilemma is further complicated by a mood of distrust between his government and Turkey’s military. The general staff, under the command of General Yashar Buyukanit, clashed with the government this year over Turkey’s political and social trajectory, prompting a snap election that saw Mr Erdogan and his Justice and Development party returned with a huge mandate.
The generals are demanding more freedom of manoeuvre in their battle with Kurdish separatists, in particular the ability to send forces into Iraq. The US opposes such a move, fearing the instability it could cause in Kurdish northern Iraq.
The combination of the PKK – which has recently carried out several deadly attacks in Turkey – and the Armenian vote has exacerbated the anti-US mood among Turkish MPs and the public.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
‘and the Armenian vote has exacerbated the anti-US mood among Turkish MPs and the public.’
Everybody needs to remember this the next time Clinton or the midgets mention how ‘we’ve lost moral authority around the world’ or ‘we’re hated around the world’.
Looks like the Dems have started another war. Way to go guys.
Turkey is a NATO member, which side are we on?
Hang them.
Or we’re gonna pay one helluva bribe to Turkey.
During the build up to Iraq War 2, the turks refused to allow US troops and supplies to move in through Turkey Until the very last minute we had stuff piled up at Incerlick.
They wanted to go after the Kurds then and for years. Nancy’s campaigning for san Fran Armenian’s votes is just the excuse they needed,
All due to nancy pelosi & friends.
No, we will just inform them that will no longer back them for consideration in the EU. If the Dems don’t like it just point to their inability to apologize for genocide of the Armenians.
This war was made in San Francisco.
They wanted to go after the Kurds then and for years. Nancy’s campaigning for san Fran Armenian’s votes is just the excuse they needed
I agree, to a point. I've read articles about this which blame Powell for not engaging the Turks early enough about the issue, and not assuring them enough about the issue of an independent Kurdistan. Funny, those Turks, they actually want to retain all of the territory that they hold now.
That said, I was and remain quite ticked that the Turks would do something like that after we defended them from the Russians for roughly 50 years. I wonder how many Americans died because the 4th I.D. couldn't transit through Turkey into Northern Iraq and create a 2nd front for the Iraqis to deal with.
Good question. One of the problems over there is that, whatever we do, somebody’s going to see our position as taking their enemy’s side. The ME is, and always has been, in constant conflict. We don’t understand the ME and do ourselves no favor blundering into their disputes. The only US policy that makes sense is to step back and let them sort it out.
It’s a complicated situation. The Kurds have gotten a raw deal and being separated into 3 countries that don’t get along and makes it natural that they would ignore those official borders and trade between themselves. Iran, Turkey, and Iraq are not going to let them just form a country so each has a problem. They have been dealing with this for a century at least. Any spark like the House Madam’s resolution can set off a bonfire.
1920 At the conclusion of World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapses. The Treaty of Sèvres proposes a division of the Ottoman Empire and its territory that includes an autonomous homeland for the Kurds. The treaty, however, is ultimately rejected.
1923 Turkey is recognized as an independent nation, and the Treaty of Lausanne is signed, replacing the Treaty of Sèvres. Under its terms, Turkey is no longer obligated to grant Kurdish autonomy. The treaty divides the Kurdish region among Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.
1925 A Kurdish uprising against the new Turkish Republic is suppressed.
1946 Iranian Kurds set up the short-lived Mahabad Republic with Soviet backing. It is swiftly crushed by Iran. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is founded by Iraqi Kurd Mustafa Barzani, and is dedicated to the creation of an independent Kurdistan.
1961 The Kurds of northern Iraq, led by Mustafa Barzani, leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party, revolt against the government of Abdul Karim Kassem. Iraq puts down the Kurdish revolt, and fighting between the Iraqi government and the Kurds continues for decades.
1970 A peace agreement is signed between the Iraqi government and the Kurds of northern Iraq, granting them some self-rule.
1974 The KDP attacks Iraqi troops after the government refuses to give them control of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, which was traditionally Kurdish territory. The government suppresses the crushes the revolt.
1975 Jalal Talabani, leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), leaves to found the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The two groups begin decades of conflict.
1978 In Turkey, Abdullah Ocalan helps to create the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, to seek Kurdish independence. He assumes leadership of the leftist organization.
1979 Iran’s Islamic revolution sparks a Kurdish revolt in Iran that is then quickly suppressed by Iran.
1984 On August 15, under Ocalan’s direction, the PKK turns to armed struggle. Thousands of Kurds in southeast Turkey join the cause, fuelled by nationalism and dissatisfaction with living conditions.
1988 Iraq retaliates against the Kurds for supporting Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, and through the “al-Anfal” (”spoils of war”) campaign, slaughters thousands of civilians and uproots 1.5 million from their homes. Thousands flee to Turkey.
1991 After the Persian Gulf War, Iraq’s Kurds rise up against Saddam Hussein, encouraged by the United States. Iraq quashes the rebellions, killing thousands. The U.N. coalition forces do not come to the aid of the Kurds, but eventually establish a no-fly zone in the north for their protection. Iraqi Kurds now control a 15,000-square-mile autonomous region in Northern Iraq populated by 3 million Kurds.
Turkey lifts ban set by former military government on the use of Kurdish language in unofficial settings. Kurdish remains illegal in schools, political settings, and broadcasts.
1992 A large-scale Turkish military operation attacks PKK bases in Iraq, where Kurdish safe havens had been allowed to develop by international forces after the Persian Gulf War.
1993 The Turkish government grants limited autonomy to the Kurds, though Kurdish political parties continue to be banned. Martial law is imposed to quell uprisings. Tens of thousands of security forces are sent to southeastern Turkey as the struggle intensifies.
1994 The two main political groups of the Iraqi Kurds, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), led by Masoud Barzani (his father and grandfather were legendary Kurdish freedom fighters), and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by Jalal Talabani, begin fighting each other for control of the Kurdish autonomous region.
1995 In a military operation similar to the one in 1992, about 35,000 Turkish troops invade PKK bases in Iraq.
1998 The PUK’s Talabani and the KDP’s Barzani sign a peace agreement, ending the four-year war between rival Iraqi Kurd factions.
1999 Abdullah Ocalan is captured, convicted of treason and separatism, and sentenced to death. It immediately spurs a rash of bombings and other terrorist attacks both in Turkey and abroad. Ocalan urges Kurdish rebels to pursue political rather than violent means.
2000 The Turkish government announces that Ocalan’s sentence would be suspended until the case is reviewed by a European court.
2002 The Iraqi Kurdish regional parliament meets for the first time in six years, indicating a real sign of unity between Iraqi Kurdish factions since the 1994–1998 war.
2003 The Kurds join U.S. and British forces in defeating Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Four Kurds are appointed by the U.S. to the Iraqi Governing Council, including Barzani and Talabani.
Above can be found at http://www.infoplease.com/spot/kurds3.html
...and this is their last ditch attempt to make the Iraq war a total disaster.
Exactly.
No denying it. They are stabbing the troops in the back, and hoping to blame Turkey for it.
The turks are jerks, no doubt about it....but this is a ridiculous issue in the first place (92 years after the fact).
Turkey doesn’t owe the Armenians an apology, the Ottoman Empire does.
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