New thread TURKEY

The turks are a very nationalistic and patriotic nation,i was watching BBC NEWS last night and the turks want action big time,

This is the worst news item concerning the stabilization of Iraq, probably ever

Bush needs to calm tension over this and get a sense of order back into northern Iraq. Just when the surge is starting to cut violence and tension this happens :-(

I agree this in 9 minutes ago. On CNN I heard that the PKK Party was suppose to have a truce in place tonight, but that was more hear say than news as I read it.

US tries to stop Turk incursion in Iraq By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The United States has opened a "diplomatic full court press" to keep Turkey from invading northern Iraq, an incursion that could further destabilize Iraq and the region.

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President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other U.S. officials implored Turkish and Iraqi leaders to work together to counter the threat from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), U.S. officials said Monday as Turkish troops headed toward the border and tensions soared.

Bush spoke by phone to Turkish President Abdullah Gul and by secure video conference to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to urge the two governments to work together to deal with the group after a weekend ambush by rebel Kurds killed 12 Turkish soldiers and left eight missing, the White House said.

To Gul, Bush "expressed his deep concern about the recent attacks by PKK terrorists against Turkish soldiers and civilians," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. "The president reaffirmed our commitment to work with Turkey and Iraq to combat PKK terrorists operating out of northern Iraq (and) told President Gul that the United States will continue to urge the Iraqis to take action against the PKK."

Bush and Maliki, meanwhile, "agreed to work together, in cooperation with the Turkish Government, to prevent the PKK from using any part of Iraqi territory to plan or carry out terrorist attacks," Johndroe said. "The prime minister agreed with President Bush that Turkey should have no doubt about our mutual commitment to end all terrorist activity from Iraqi soil."

Word from Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's office that the PKK would announce a cease-fire was met in Washington with little enthusiasm. Officials cautioned that a temporary truce would not resolve Turkey's long-standing concerns about the group, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization.

In addition to Bush's conversations, Rice called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leader of Iraq's Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, on Sunday to press the U.S. case for restraint from Turkey and action from Iraq against the Kurdish militants, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

He said Washington would not object to the Iraqi government pressing the PKK for a truce but stressed that "any sort of actions that they may take cooperatively with the Turkish government or on their own to prevent terrorist attacks should in no way prejudice the long-term solution, that is to get rid of the PKK."

At the same time, Rice told Erdogan that "we do not believe unilateral cross-border operations are the best way to address this issue," according to McCormack.

Rice told Barzani that Iraqi authorities needed to take action against the PKK either on their own or with the Turks, McCormack said.

As Rice was speaking to Erdogan and Barzani, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, was making similar points in Baghdad with Talabani — himself a Kurd — who ordered the PKK to lay down their arms or leave Iraq, and Maliki, a Shiite.

"From our perspective this is a diplomatic full-court press," McCormack said. "We want to see an outcome where you have the Turks and the Iraqis working together and we will do what we can to resolve the issue without a Turkish cross-border incursion."

However, he acknowledged that U.S. influence with NATO ally Turkey was limited, particularly after a House committee passed a resolution describing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire as a "genocide," infuriating Ankara, which has threatened repercussions.

"It makes it harder," McCormack said, referring to the resolution.

In his conversation with Gul, Bush repeated the administration's opposition to the resolution being brought to the House floor for a full vote, according to the White House.

Speaking in Ukraine, Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday said a major Turkish incursion into northern Iraq would hurt the U.S. effort against the insurgency in Iraq and would further complicate the administration's efforts to persuade the full Congress not to pass the Armenia genocide resolution.

Erdogan said he had told Rice in their conversation that Turkey expected "speedy steps from the U.S." in cracking down on Kurdish rebels and that Rice had asked "for a few days" from him.

McCormack declined to comment on what Rice had meant by asking for "a few days."

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said his country will pursue diplomacy before it sends troops across the rugged frontier.

U.S. options for dealing with PKK are limited because, according to the Pentagon, there are minimal numbers of American troops in northern Iraq near the Turkish border. The bulk of the forces in the north are in cities well south and west of the mountainous terrain that divides the two countries, including Mosul, Tikrit and Kirkuk.

Military officials said there are no U.S. combat forces along the border. Instead, the small number of U.S. military there are civil affairs units, border patrol training teams and, in all likelihood, some special operations forces about which officials do not disclose details.

Sunday's ambush outraged an already frustrated Turkish public and demonstrations erupted across the country while opposition leaders called for an immediate strike against rebel bases in Iraq, despite appeals for restraint from Iraq, the U.S. and European leaders.

It occurred four days after the Turkish Parliament authorized the government to deploy troops across the border in Iraq, amid growing anger in Turkey at perceived U.S. and Iraqi failure to live up to pledges to crack down on the PKK.

___

Associated Press Writers Lolita C. Baldor and Ben Feller contributed to this story.
US tries to stop Turk incursion in Iraq - Yahoo! News

Yeah...they want action alright. TE Lawrence got a little of that 'action' when they captured him. Poor guy enjoyed it, too. :banana::Pickle::leghumper:

And the story continues.....

Turkey rejects cease-fire by rebel Kurds By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
51 minutes ago



BAGHDAD - Turkey's foreign minister rejected any cease-fire by Kurdish rebels Tuesday as he met with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad to press them to crack down on the guerrillas. Turkish forces massed on the border and tensions rose over a threatened military incursion.

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Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, himself a Kurd, said Iraq's central government and authorities in its Kurdish autonomous region in the north would work together to deny the rebels freedom of movement, funds and representative offices. He said a high-level political and military delegation would travel soon to Turkey.

Iraqi officials have been saying that guerrillas with the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is known by its Kurdish acronym PKK, were based in inaccessible mountainous areas of northern Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said there are several ways to fight terrorism and Ankara would use them when appropriate. The buildup of troops along Turkey's border with Iraq, meanwhile, continued with military helicopters airlifting commando units into the area overnight.

The mix of diplomatic and military activity followed Sunday's rebel ambush near the Iraqi border that left 12 Turkish soldiers dead, 16 wounded and eight missing.

"We also don't wish our historical and friendly ties with Iraq to be ruined because of a terrorist organization," Babacan said at a joint news conference after meeting with Zebari. "On the other hand, we are expecting support from international community and our neighbors in struggle against terrorism."

Babacan said rebel attacks this month alone left 42 people dead.

The Turkish government on Tuesday asked television and radio stations to curb broadcasts about Sunday's ambush, saying they "have a negative impact on public order and people's morale, spreading a flawed image of security forces," according to an official at the media watchdog. The official asked not to be named because she was not allowed to speak to the media.

Babacan, meanwhile, rejected any offer of a cease-fire by the PKK.

Cease-fires are "possible between states and regular forces," a stern-faced Babacan said. "The problem here is that we're dealing with a terrorist organization."

The PKK has called on Turkey not to attack Iraq, claiming that a unilateral rebel cease-fire declared in June was still in place although it did not halt fighting.

"The position of the PKK is that we have agreed to a cease-fire but when we are attacked by the Turkish troops we will hit back," rebel spokesman Abdul-Rahman al-Chadarchi told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

He also confirmed that the rebels were holding eight Turkish soldiers captive and promised to treat them with respect, although he said it was "premature" to discuss conditions for their release.

"When they were attacking us, they were our enemies but now they are helpless captives whom we will take care of," al-Chadarchi said. "When the Turkish government asks for them, we can talk about conditions."

Turkish officials said the search was continuing for soldiers from Sunday's attack and would not comment on the rebels' claims.

If confirmed, the seizure would be the largest since 1995, when guerrillas grabbed eight soldiers and took them to northern Iraq before releasing them two years later.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd, told reporters after meeting with Babacan that his country had asked the PKK to stop its attacks or leave the country. He made no mention of the PKK cease-fire he announced Monday.

Zebari said a threat to the stability of Iraq's Kurdish north would have "dangerous consequences," but stressed that Turkey had "legitimate concerns."

Zebari also insisted there was a "resolve and insistence on the part of the Iraqi government" to cooperate with Turkey to resolve the border issue "and deal with the terrorists that Turkey is subjected to."

Erdogan, speaking in London, refused to set a timetable for Turkish action, warning: "We can exercise this mandate at any time."

Erdogan also was quoted Tuesday in the country's leading daily Hurriyet as saying that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had talked of a possible joint U.S.-Turkish operation against the rebels during a telephone call Sunday.

Neither Babacan or Zebari mentioned the report and the U.S. military said it was not aware of such plans.

___

Associated Press writer Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

Turkey rejects cease-fire by rebel Kurds - Yahoo! News

Turkey had better watch its step. It taught Hitler a great deal about secret genocide when it whacked millions of Armenians after WWI. He told his generals to go east and kill without mercy, citing the fact no one remembered Turkey's slaughter of the Armenians. Turkey's atrocities gave him the confidence he needed to actually pull off the Final Solution. Screw Turkey.

Turkey attacked this morning...but I wouldn't worry about it..they don't have oil...Bush will still keep his focus on Iran..they have oil...-

what do you think pino ? just nuke the f**kers :headbang:

Turkish planes bomb rebel positions - Yahoo! News

I know what you mean. Bush has 'Oil Nazis' all over the place down here in Texas. Texas has oil. When I tried to buy a hybrid, Bush ordered his Nazis to beat me up. Texas has oil.:thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:

I'm thinking more in terms of napalm.