Turkey To Approve Troops To Iraq In Defiance Of U.S.

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will defy international pressure on Wednesday and grant its troops permission to enter northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels based there, though it has played down expectations of any imminent attack.

Washington, Ankara's NATO ally, says it understands Turkey's desire to tackle rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but fears a major incursion would wreck stability in the most peaceful part of Iraq and potentially in the wider region.

Turkey's stance has helped drive global oil prices to $88 a barrel, a new record, and has hit its lira currency as investors weigh the economic risks of any major military operation.

Parliamentary approval would create the legal basis for military action, essentially giving the army a free hand to act as and when it sees fit.

By law, Turkey's parliament must approve the deployment of Turkish troops abroad. Parliament is expected to approve the request from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's cabinet by a large majority following an open debate.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1354608620071016

[cliss]

1. The world moves closer to

instability.

Notice? Turkey is unbelievably brazen here. Something tells me they realize the US is vulnerable. Vulnerability = increasing instability. You watch: they are going to march in to Northern Iraq. The Turks realize the US is ensnared in Baghdad + southern Iraq. There's not a thing Washington can do about it, except beg, plead, throw money at the Turks.

Too late. Bush the clown & his clowns created this mess, without realizing the outcome.

[gateley]

2. I think everyone is aware of our vulnerability. We have no military reserves,

we have no money, we have a divided country... Lately I've found it pitiable and embarrassing when the US "threatens harsh measures".

[ohio2007]

8. but wait.......

we have 1,000 + nukes

of course we won't use them until they get used on us

[bdamomma]

29. we have no credibility either.

[MadMaddie]

9. With our 130, 000 troops bogged down....there are no

troops to send to the border....so more Iraqi's will get murdered...this is like the pebble rolling down the mountain and gaining speed...

The US has an ineffective Condi Rice...who is trying to build a Palestenian state (which there probably should be one) but the timing....with Iraq imploding on itself and Turkey ready to cross the border...

What other conflicts (which were controlled when Saddam was in power) are about to ignite?

[Zynx]

17. Our airforce and limited armored units could be sufficient if need be to stop

the Turkish military in open ground. Actually invading Turkey is not an option, but US firepower in an open field battle is supreme.

[EFerrari]

15. Turkey is brazenly defending its borders. n/t

[elfin]

3. I agree with Ed Schultz that this was

NOT a good move by the Dems. Even though it WAS genocide, the timing of the resolution stinks and further inflames and unsettles the region.

The question is Why NOW? Haven't heard a good answer yet from Pelosi or anyone.

[...of J.Temperance]

5. Politically perhaps not a good move....but morally a good move

I don't OFTEN make an Ideological move like this....I'm usually totally pragmatic....but I do draw the line at some things and ignoring Genocide is one of those things.

[Mojorabbit]

10. I don't agree

This could have been done next year, not when they have troops amassed on the border and have been threatening to invade. It is not worth a blowup at this particular moment in time esp when it can cause another massacre in the north of Iraq.

[...of J.Temperance]

4. Meanwhile W is

Getting in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's face and trying to tell her NOT to bring the Armenian Genocide thing to a vote in the House, because he's scared doing so will "damage relations with Turkey"

WTF? Fcuk Turkey.

I posted this link in another thread, it's important that people read and see what the Armenian Genocide was....you CAN'T just brush between 500,000 to a million human beings being systematically butchered and starved to death under the carpet....it's not the decent thing to do, to brush Genocide under the carpet.

The Armenian Genocide, by historians is recognized as the first Genocide of the 20th Century....while not as MASSIVE as The Holocaust....it WAS the Genocide that preceded the WWII Genocide and it's JUST as important as the WWII Genocide in my opinion....Genocide is Genocide, NONE can be ignored.

Here's the link, the thing is easy to navigate around, photographs etc and the ABC Peter Jennings segment is very informative as well, so I'd recommend that's looked at too:

www.theforgotten.org/site/intro_eng.html

[alfredo]

7. Sign SCHIP and maybe she will back off.

[...of J.Temperance]

13. SCHIP

I support SCHIP, how anyone can begrudge funding childrens health insurance, is pretty appalling.

[Miss Chybil]

6. Meanwhile, the oil guys get richer.

Sometimes, I wonder if this is all just a way to drive the market.

[tom_paine]

11. Very possible. We can't tell because we do not live in a Free Nation

OTOH, do citizens of the Free World find out whentheir leaders do manipulative, evil shit like that?

Hang on, I am trying to remember what things were like before 12/12/2000, The Day Everything Changed.

Yeah, I guess they mostly got away with it back then, too, but at least they tried to HIDE their crimes instead of performing them while laughing and lying in broad daylight.

[bdamomma]

31. that is what it is all about, they do not care how many people

get killed.

[Supersedeas]

33. it is the OIL guys that a screaming the loudest about quieting Turkish concerns

Bush's buddies want to maintain those Kurdish contracts.

[jzodda]

12. I don't blame the Turks

Why should they suffer from cross border attacks with nobody to put a stop to them? We haven't done anything and have no troops to send. Will it mess up the situation on the ground bigtime for us and further weaken the Iraqi government? Sure, but if you look at it from the Turkish point of view they seem to be left with few options. Either fight or let them come across the border and launch attacks. The answer seems clear to me.

[IndianaGreen]

14. Hundreds of Turkish civilians have been killed in crossborder attacks by Kurdish terrorists

Turkey's restrain has wore thin. The Maliki government has done nothing to quash Kurdish terrorists operating in Northern Iraq, and the US has its hands full with the insurgency.

[Robbien]

18. So true and so very under-reported

There are many various small articles reporting on the PKK attacks on Turkey. It has been a wonder that Turkey has limited its response to small skirmishes up to this point.

[azurnoir]

21. Many things are "under reported"

see post #20 for more on the true story here.

[azurnoir]

19. Turkish civilians or Kurds living in Turkey?

BTW it is not Maliki's call or problem this is Kurds vs Turks not Iraqi's vs Turks.

[High Plains]

39. Cite, please, for the "hundreds of Turkish civilians" killed.

As far as I know (and I haven't been following closely), the PKK typically attacks Turkish cops and military forces.

You are aware that the PKK has a long history of fighting for Kurdish liberation. Calling them "terrorists" is not helpful. A guerrilla army, perhaps.

Perhaps if the Turks didn't treat the Kurds like shit, they would not have these problems.

[denidem]

43. Kurdish and Turkish civilians have been killed by PKK by the thousands

PKK has had a policy of blowing up schools to kill govt. employees (teachers) and many children have been killed in the process. Villages closer to the border have been major staging areas for fighting by both sides. Turkish government response has been to clear out kurdish-majority villages to create a buffer zone, sending countless Kurdish- Turkish citizens into the cities, and in effect, changing the face of many cities like Istanbul and Ankara. I really wish more progressive folks would actually learn something about the rest of the world. Don't rely on the MSN...you know they are lazy and just report the same crap over and over.

[IndianaGreen]

44. 'Kurd attack' kills 12 in Turkey (BBC)

I rely on the British press to find out what is going on in the world. BBC America shows BBC News several times during the day, and the BBC website streams the news from both their radio service and TV.

Here is one news item from this past September:

'Kurd attack' kills 12 in Turkey

Sunday, 30 September 2007

At least 12 people were killed after Kurdish separatists ordered them off a bus in south-east Turkey and opened fire, Turkish officials have said.

Civilians and government-backed guards were said to be among the victims of the ambush, which happened on Saturday.

The attack, in Sirnak province near the Iraqi border, followed the killing of a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader.

The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the ambush, saying it would not go unpunished.

"Our determination to fight the terrorists will continue," he said. "They will definitely get a response."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7020360.stm

[Dover]

16. If Turkey enters this 'war', I think it it will be like removing the pin on a grenade.

They are the linchpin to a more extensive global war, imo. Europe should have quickly brought them into the EU. Now it may be too late. They have many suitors who recognize their significance in this chess game.

[azurnoir]

20. There is more to this then what you read in the MSM

From the link

During the 1991 Gulf War, Turkey reluctantly supported the anti-Iraq coalition, including Operation Provide Comfort, to shield Iraqi Kurds from Saddam Hussein's revenge, while the PKK intensified its guerrilla war, operating from bases in Iraq and Syria. In 1993, with the Gulf War over, Turkey sent 50,000 troops into Iraq, in a massive assault against Kurdish rebels, no longer protected. In 1994, dissenting political parties were banned, elected Kurdish representatives were accused of treason and imprisoned, while others fled into exile. Turkish forces have launched air and ground attacks, ravaging as many as 3000 Kurdish villages, forcibly relocating over 3 million villagers and defoliating forests in its scorched earth campaigns to destroy the PKK. The death toll is approaching 40,000.

Now if memory serves me we heard little to nothing about this; it was Saddam and only Saddam who was persecuting the Kurds.

more at link

http://www.flashpoints.info/countries-conflicts/Turkey-Kurdistan-web/Turkey-Kurdistan_briefing.html

[dipsydoodle]

22. Turkey seeks green light on Iraq

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Wednesday, 17 October 2007, 10:44 GMT 11:44 UK

Turkey has begun preparations for a cross-border operation
MPs in Turkey are due to debate a motion authorising cross-border military operations into northern Iraq to target Kurdish rebel bases there.

Parliament in Ankara is expected to approve the motion by a large majority amid widespread public support for military action against the PKK.




Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7048234.stm

[rodeodance]

23. AT least Turkey seeks approval from its parliment----whereas Bush thinks he can go into

IraN with a dusty old document!

[seemslikeadream]

24. oh Nancy you can't do anything right

Pelosi says BRING IT ON

Why can't you do that with IMPEACHMENT??

[rodeodance]

25. Here we are Occupying IraQ-----and Another country is set to INVADE IT. whow.

[bdamomma]

32. rather sick huh?

[MilesColtrane]

26. How's that legacy looking right about now, you brain damaged chimp? n/t

[fasttense]

27. It seems that from the beginning, the Kurds were cheated.

"The Treaty of Sevres (1920) provided for an autonomous Kurdistan but was never implemented. Turkey has long considered Kurds to be merely “Mountain Turks.” A ban on speaking Kurdish in Turkey has been lifted and Kurdish broadcasts there are now legal, but other expressions of Kurdish culture are restricted."

http://www.cfr.org/publication/9241/

They ignore treaties then ban their culture, now they label them communist and socialist. I wonder if the Kurdistan Workers’ Party is really the threat Turkey seems to think they are?

[BuddhaGirl]

35. thanks for that info

the oppression of the Kurds is often overlooked. Turkey has a history of oppression of it's ethnic minorities.

[athena]

41. The treaty of Sevres was annulled.

It was originally signed by the Ottoman Empire, which was losing WWI. It was to divide Turkey up among Greece, Britain, Armenia and France. Ataturk opposed this, overthrew the emperor, and led the Anatolian public in the War of Turkish Independence. As a result, the Treaty of Sevres was annulled and replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_S%C3%A8vres
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lausanne

The annulment of the treaty of Sevres had nothing to do with the Kurds.

[Ganja Ninja]

28. "We're making progress."

"It's hard work."

[bdamomma]

30. I think the Turks are going to do what they planned to do

to invade Northern Iraq prior to genocide resolution and they will not listen to us because of our lack of credibility.

Why should they listen to us, when this sickening regime we have invaded a innocent country.

[alfredo]

34. We knew this would happen back in 2002. It wasn't if, but when.

[maddezmom]

36. it's done: Turkish parliament approves Iraq incursion request

Turkish parliament approves Iraq incursion request 13 minutes ago



ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament approved by a large majority on Wednesday a government request to allow troops to cross into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels based there.


Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has played down expectations of an imminent offensive, but the parliamentary approval provides the legal basis for NATO's second biggest army to cross the mountainous border as and when it sees fit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071017/ts_nm/turkey_iraq_approval_dc;_ylt=Au40LKgCLAxKvFlh4KulCPqs0NUE

[dipsydoodle]

37. New BBC link - Turkish MPs clear attacks in Iraq

Turkey's parliament has given permission for the government to launch military operations into Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels.
The vote was taken in defiance of pressure from the US and Iraq, which have called on Turkey for restraint.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the motion does not mean a military operation is imminent.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7049348.stm

[redqueen]

38. Where will the refugees go?

All those innocents are in my prayers... I suppose they've seen it coming, too.

[robertpaulsen]

40. And that Pandora's Box we unsealed in March 2003 ....

is about to be opened JUST a bit wider.

:scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

[Aristus]

42. Bush is thinking, excuse me: thinkin': "If they invade Eye-rack, that kud cause all kindsa

prollems! Cain't they see not ta invade Eye-rack?"

Of COURSE he misses the irony here...