UH OH, THE TURKS ARE UPSET

The Kurdish northern provinces in Iraq have been comparatively calm but that may change for the worse in the near future.

10/10/2007 12:37 ANKARA, Oct 10 (AFP)
Iraq incursion threat is what Turkish generals were waiting for

Turkey's threat to raid Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq is a victory for the country's powerful military, which has been straining at the leash to pursue anti-rebel operations over the border, analysts say.

Army chief General Yasar Buyukanit made it clear earlier this year that the army wants to launch cross-border operations against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq.

But he also recognised the need for a green light from the government.

"It would be very useful... I can't say that we would finish off the PKK but a raid would deal a great blow," Buyukanit said.

Ankara's move comes after PKK militants were blamed for attacks this weekend that killed 15 soldiers, most of them in Turkey's southeast Sirnak province near Iraq's northern border.

"Turkey has been waiting in vain for months for action from the United States," Faruk Logoglu, the former Turkish ambassador to Washington, told journalists.

The not-French respond:

U.S. warns against Turkish action in Iraq
Tue Oct 9, 2007 1:18pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States cautioned Turkey on Tuesday against making an incursion into northern Iraq after Kurdish rebels launched attacks from there and urged both countries to work together to resolve the conflict.

"If they have a problem, they need to work together to resolve it and I am not sure that unilateral incursions are the way to go, the way to resolve the issue," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

"We have counseled both in public and private for many, many months the idea that it is important to work cooperatively to resolve this issue," he said.


A couple of days ago, McCormack made this ridiculous statement:

"We call on Iraqi authorities to take effective measures against the PKK," McCormack said. "We stand ready to support in every appropriate way efforts by Turkey and Iraq to protect their citizens and stop this terrorist violence."


This would only make sense if there was a functioning Iraqi government.