Turkish troops move into Iraq

Turkish troops move into Iraq

www.adelaidenow.com.au

TURKISH soldiers, air force bombers and helicopter gunships reportedly launched an incursion into Iraq today, hours after Kurdish rebels killed 26 soldiers and wounded 16 others in multiple attacks along the border.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
[url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/turkish-troops-move-into-iran-report/story-fn3dxity-1226171095504]www.theaustralian.com.au[/ url]

edit on 19-10-2011 by ShortMemory because: (no reason given)

edit on 19-10-2011 by ShortMemory because: (no reason given)

Turkey is an allie of the United States.
Lets hope there are not many deaths.

Turkish authorities did not immediately confirm the incursion, which was first reported by the websites of Hurriyet newspaper and the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency. However, the chief of the military as well as interior and defence ministers rushed to the area while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled a visit to Kazakhstan. NTV television reported Turkish troops penetrated as deep as four kilometres into Iraq and artillery units were shelling Kurdish rebel bases across the border. Turkey last staged a major ground offensive against Iraq early in 2008.

reply to post by ShortMemory


Your thread title says "Iran" not "Iraq"..

You might want to change that..
I was surprised till I opened the thread..

Thread title is wrong.

Should be Iraq.

reply to post by backinblack

reply to post by TheComte

Thanks for pointing that out, pretty bad on the part of the media for making a mistake like that.

the article does say Iran
freudian slip perhaps?

I am a complete novice with the stance of Turkey and Iraq, what ramifications could this have? could this be seen in Iraq as an invasion and have the good ol US backing Iraq and stepping up the smack down talk?

Originally posted by munkey66
the article does say Iran
freudian slip perhaps?

I am a complete novice with the stance of Turkey and Iraq, what ramifications could this have? could this be seen in Iraq as an invasion and have the good ol US backing Iraq and stepping up the smack down talk?

i found it very coincidental to say the least. would certianly help their rankings on search engines if an iran war becomes news.
apparently some turks were killed in iraq recently..i doubt it will be much of an issue..turkey is a US ally so its nothing new.

Most of you know where I stand on terrorism: It's unacceptable under any circumstances. The PKK (if that is the group that committed the incursion) has been using these tactics for a long time, and as the article points out have killed tens of thousands.

It makes me wonder who drew up the maps that divided "Kurdistan" among Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. They are a relatively homogenous group, and as they have shown are also a brave people. For better or worse, the Iraqi Kurds have helped the US - and Iraq - since the first Gulf War. I think the US could spare a diplomat or ten to see what can be done about creating an autonomous region spanning Kurdistan for them to call their own. The Kurds were the only group among the three sects in Iraq that didn't go bat# crazy during OIF, and in fact helped us, overthrow So Damn Insane.

reply to post by OldCorp


Here's the stance the US is taking in regards to this situation..

www.google.com

..."As a friend and ally, the United States will continue to stand with the people and government of Turkey in their fight against the PKK, which the United States has officially designated as a terrorist organization," said Francis Ricciardone, the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey in a statement on Wednesday. "No political cause, and no religion, can justify terrorism."
The U.S. currently shares drone surveillance data with Turkey to aid its fight against Kurdish rebels and it is engaged in talks with Turkey for possible deployment of Predator drones on Turkish soil after the U.S. leaves Iraq, according to the Turkish government...

I do agree that there should be diplomatic efforts to try and get the Kurds to denounce the PKK, though I am not so sure that partitioning an area to be the new Kurdistan would be something that is on the table..

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
reply to post by OldCorp

 

Here's the stance the US is taking in regards to this situation..

www.google.com

..."As a friend and ally, the United States will continue to stand with the people and government of Turkey in their fight against the PKK, which the United States has officially designated as a terrorist organization," said Francis Ricciardone, the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey in a statement on Wednesday. "No political cause, and no religion, can justify terrorism."
The U.S. currently shares drone surveillance data with Turkey to aid its fight against Kurdish rebels and it is engaged in talks with Turkey for possible deployment of Predator drones on Turkish soil after the U.S. leaves Iraq, according to the Turkish government...

I do agree that there should be diplomatic efforts to try and get the Kurds to denounce the PKK, though I am not so sure that partitioning an area to be the new Kurdistan would be something that is on the table..

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Kurds, but NOT the PKK. I like to view them as completely separate entities. Call me a dreamer.

One reason I suppose is the help they gave us, and the fact that Iraqi Kurdistan never experienced the bombings, kidnappings, and murders that the Shia and Sunni areas of Iraq did. This is what makes me tend to believe that they are a relatively peaceful people, deserving a helping hand.

The United States gave Turkey the Green Light many years ago to decimate the Kurd's in Northern Iraq.


This is not new news.

Originally posted by munkey66
the article does say Iran
freudian slip perhaps?

I am a complete novice with the stance of Turkey and Iraq, what ramifications could this have? could this be seen in Iraq as an invasion and have the good ol US backing Iraq and stepping up the smack down talk?

In all likely-hood the US would have been asked permission of sorts for the Turkish military to conduct such an operation. The US still has many assets in Iraq and undoubtedly some in the Kurdistan region.
What I'm wondering is if the Kurds can police themselves in time to not let this blow out of control.

They "liberate" Iraq and then "fully support" someone who launches an attack in its territory.
So much for borders, huh? I wonder how cool they would react if Mexico launched an attack on a drug cartel in Texas. The world is a warzone.

Into Iraq and on to Iran.......

Originally posted by munkey66
the article does say Iran
freudian slip perhaps?

I am a complete novice with the stance of Turkey and Iraq, what ramifications could this have? could this be seen in Iraq as an invasion and have the good ol US backing Iraq and stepping up the smack down talk?

This wont be seen as anything other then what it is. Turkey attacking PKK bases in Iraq.

It's not the first time this has happened.
Turkey even has a forward operating post in northern Iraq.
This has been going on since the days of Saddam Hussein.

This is a waste of time to be honest. They killed rebel fighters did they? How many were actually civilians and made to look like rebel fighters? Has any independent humanitarian agency confirmed the dead are rebel fighters?
It's a waste of time because they are killing a few people, and most of the time actually bombing empty bases in the mountains. The PKK seem to be warned in advance by someone(USA and/or Israel), and evacuate their bases before they are bombed. In fact, the USA even supplies Turkey with the intelligence for the bombing runs.

It's also a waste of time because most of the attacks that happen in Turkey, originate from within Turkey. If Turkey wants to end the PKK attacks, they will give the Kurds autonomy instead of committing genocide and denying the Kurds their basic human rights. Although Erdogan has made some concessions to the Kurds.

The Kurds make up about 25% of the Turkish population. That's about 10-15 million people.
Most of them don't want to be part of Turkey and want their own country.
If the USA and West in general were so eager to support Kosovo breaking away from Serbia, they should support the Kurds breaking away from Turkey. But sadly for the Kurds they will be used again as they have been in the past, as a stick to beat Turkey with. Everyone notice Turkey is veering away from the West lately? The threat of an independent Kurdistan will bring them back on course.

What the Turks are really after though is the oil in Mozul and Kirkut etc. Massive untapped reserves.
Just like in the eastern Mediterranean, they think they have a right to the resources of other countries.

So I for one hope that if Turkey pushes too far, that it does escalate to all out conflict because Turkey will be fighting on several fronts and it is incapable of supporting multiple fronts across it's borders, and it will lose badly, so badly, that it will probably decrease in size.

Could not find this Thread here via the Search Engine, bad Machine!

I wanted to bring an article showing the Side of the normal Population
in all of the 4 different Countries, this Article is already 10 days old but still readable!

Kurds Fear New Civil War May Be Brewing

Widespread outrage in Kurdish society over the death of the four Kurdish women in September surely also played a part in the BDP's decision to end the boycott. The PKK simply shrugged and accepted the deaths as one side effect of its attacks on the police and military. For the first time in years, angry Kurds organized demonstrations, holding up signs directed at the PKK that read: "Not in my name."

Still, the Kurdish members of the Turkish parliament have difficult days ahead of them. President Abdullah Gül showed his support by receiving Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the BDP, at the presidential palace the same day the BDP announced the end of the boycott, and by speaking in support of a political solution in parliament on Kurdish issues. But the parliament's first vote will be a harsh initiation for BDP representatives.

This week the Turkish parliament is expected to give the government legal authority to invade northern Iraq at any time. The move would allow the government to go after Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq. All parties except the BDP are expected to vote in favor of the measure.

further reading:

It wasn't even eight years ago we found out that Israel was arming and training the Kurds in Iraq during the early phases of the US occupation of Iraq, will be interesting to see how this pans out with the recent tensions between Israel and Turkey.

US moves out and now Turkey moves in.

Someone should say something about Turkey invading a Sovereign state.

Originally posted by InformationAccount
US moves out and now Turkey moves in.

Someone should say something about Turkey invading a Sovereign state.

edit on 20-10-2011 by InformationAccount because: (no reason given)

You mean like they said something when Turkey invaded another sovereign state, Cyprus?
Oh wait...nobody said anything.

Well in this case, it isn't so much an invasion, as it is an incursion for limited operations against PKK bases in northern Iraq.
Like I said in my post above, this isn't the first time Turkey has done this, nor will it be the last.


One little known fact, that you guys here on ATS will drool over the potential, is that there are ties between the PKK and the Turkish military/security/intelligence establishment.
And further more, there is at least one case were a Turkish agent was caught conducting a false flag attack against his own country, to be blamed on the PKK.