Warning to Turkey on raids into Iraq
Sebnem Arsu and Sabrina Tavernise in Istanbul October 11, 2007 TURKEY took a step towards a military operation in Iraq as its political and military leaders issued a statement authorising troops to cross the Iraqi border to eliminate separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the north. The move came in the face of strong opposition by the US, which is anxious to maintain peace in Iraq's north, one of the rare areas of stability in conflict-torn Iraq. More than two dozen Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent days, and the Government of the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appears far more determined than before to act decisively. A government official said preparations were under way to seek parliamentary approval for a border military operation, a request that would be the first formal step towards an offensive. The request could be submitted to parliament this week. Government offices and institutions have been ordered to "take all economic and political measures, including cross-border operations when necessary, in order to end the existence of the [terrorist] organisation in a neighbouring country", said the statement, released by the Prime Minister's office after the meeting with leaders in Ankara. A Turkish military offensive into northern Iraq, while unlikely, would have far-reaching consequences for the US. Turkey is a NATO member and has the region's most powerful army. Turkey's support of the US in the Iraq war is crucial. Washington's Incirlik base in Turkey supplies the military in central Iraq. The US has warned against a unilateral incursion into Iraq. A State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, said on Tuesday: "In our view, it is not going to lead to a long-term, durable solution to have significant incursions from Turkey into Iraq." At the White House, a spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said any incursion by Ankara was hypothetical. "We have long been supportive of Turkey, to make sure that they have what they need in order to stop terrorist activity in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Government is in agreement with that as well," she said. But Iraq's Government has little authority in the region, which is controlled exclusively by Kurds, and an accord reached by Iraq's Interior Minister and Turkish officials last month did not include permission for military operations, a formulation that frustrated Turkey. Relations between the US and Turkey are delicate on another front. A bill on the Armenian genocide - the killing of more than a million Armenians by Turkey during World War I - was due before the House foreign relations committee yesterday. Turks have been working to prevent its consideration and have threatened that the US may lose Turkey's support in the region. Turkey ended military cooperation with France last year after France voted to make denial of the Armenian genocide a crime. Some analysts said that given the complex relationships between Turkey, Iraq and the US, Turkey would continue to consider military action inside Iraq a last resort. Edip Baser, a retired general who was special co-ordinator in a US-Turkish effort against the Kurdish Workers' Party last year, said it was likely that political and military leaders would wait for the appropriate time to act. The Turkish official, who asked not to be identified by name, said: "Our Government will soon start technical consultation with the military to see what they need in order to end this violence that makes our hearts bleed. First, there needs to be necessary preparations and assessments. We can say that they have already started." The New York Times This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/10/1191695990472.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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