Turkey escalates action near Iraq border By SELCAN HACAOGLU
Associated Press Writer Burhan Ozbilici Military trucks carry tanks toward Sirnak near Turkish-Iraq border, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007, two days after Kurdish rebels killed 15 Turkish soldiers at the Turkey-Iraq border. Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked suspected positions of Kurdish rebels near Iraq on Wednesday, a possible prelude to a cross-border operation that would likely raise tensions with Washington. The military offensive also reportedly included shelling of Turkish Kurd guerrilla hideouts in northern Iraq, which is predominantly Kurdish. U.S. officials are already preoccupied with efforts to stabilize other areas of Iraq and oppose Turkish intervention in the relatively peaceful north. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that preparations were under way for parliamentary authorization of a cross-border operation, and told private CNN-Turk TV that the motion might reach Parliament on Thursday. The preparations "have started and are continuing," he said. An opposition nationalist party said it would support the proposal. If parliament approves, the military could choose to launch an operation immediately or wait to see if the United States and its allies decide to crack down on the rebels, who have been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. "If you're against (the rebels), make your attitude clear and do whatever is necessary," Erdogan said in comments directed at Washington. "If you cannot do it, then let us do it." Turkey and the United States are NATO allies, but relations have also been tense over a U.S. congressional bill that would label the mass killings of Armenians by Turks around the time of World War I as genocide. Later Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 27-21 in favor of the measure, sending it to the House floor. President Bush strongly urged Congress to reject the bill, saying it would do "great harm" to U.S.-Turkish relations. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that 70 percent of U.S. air cargo headed for Iraq goes through Turkish air space. About a third of the fuel used by the U.S. military in Iraq also goes through Turkey. "Access to airfields and to the roads and so on in Turkey would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and Turkey reacts as strongly as we believe they will," Gates said. Turkey has raised the possibility of impeding logistical and other U.S. military traffic now using the airspace. "Unfortunately, some politicians in the United States have once again sacrificed important matters to petty domestic politics despite all calls to commonsense," President Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Anatolia. An Iraqi government spokesman said a Turkish military incursion would be regarded as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. "We are aware of the size of the threat Turkey is subjected to, but this does not give Turkey the right to enter Iraqi territories," said Ali al-Dabbagh. Turkey has conducted two dozen large-scale incursions into Iraq since the late 1980s. The last such operation, in 1997, involved tens of thousands of troops and government-paid village guards. Results were inconclusive. Top NATO commander Gen. John Craddock, the senior U.S. soldier in Europe, indicated that he could do little to stop a Turkish incursion. Craddock was asked by reporters in Washington whether he can influence Turkey's actions in terms of Iraq. "I won't say in terms of Iraq," he said. "I will say that I talk with my counterparts, military leaders in Turkey, frequently, and we discuss issues about their border. And I'll leave it at that." The latest Turkish military activity followed attacks by rebels that have killed 15 soldiers since Sunday. <http://www.kansascity.com/449/story/311501.html <http://www.kansascity.com/449/story/311501.html> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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