Turkey Authorizes military to enter Iraq to fight rebels

[akaoni 0]

From the NY Times:

 

ISTANBUL, Oct. 9 — Turkey took a step toward a military operation in Iraq on Tuesday, as its top political and military leaders issued a statement authorizing troops to cross the Iraq border to eliminate separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the northern region.

 

Turkey moved toward military action in the face of strong opposition by the United States, which is anxious to maintain peace in the region, one of the rare areas of stability in conflict-torn Iraq. But more than two dozen Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent days, and the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed far more determined than before to act decisively.

 

A government official without authorization to speak publicly on the issue who asked not to be identified by name, said preparations were under way to seek parliamentary approval for a cross-border military operation, a request that would be the first formal step toward an offensive.

 

The Associated Press reported that the request would be submitted to Parliament as early as Wednesday.

 

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 terror organization in a neighboring country,” said the statement, which was released by Mr. Erdogan’s office, after he met with political and military leaders in Ankara.

 

So much for stablizing the region...

 

edit: NYTimes link added.

[RLLD 4,283]

Well, to be fair, people around the region are not all that fond of the Kurds.....

 

If you are worried about other nations stepping in, that ain't gonna happen. The neighboring nations will yawn and look away if the Turk's want to slaughter the Kurds. Turkey better be careful not to incite their large Kurdish population though, this could certainly backfire on them in that regard.

 

Iraq will do little, the US will do less....

[akaoni 0]

Well, to be fair, people around the region are not all that fond of the Kurds.....

 

If you are worried about other nations stepping in, that ain't gonna happen. The neighboring nations will yawn and look away if the Turk's want to slaughter the Kurds. Turkey better be careful not to incite their large Kurdish population though, this could certainly backfire on them in that regard.

 

Iraq will do little, the US will do less....

 

I don't know, I think the US is in a tough situation here. The Kurds are our strongest allies in Iraq, and if we step aside and let the Turks take large numbers out, our position will suffer. The last thing the US needs is to engender resentment and anger from the one of the few friendly groups in the region...

[RLLD 4,283]

I don't know, I think the US is in a tough situation here. The Kurds are our strongest allies in Iraq, and if we step aside and let the Turks take large numbers out, our position will suffer. The last thing the US needs is to engender resentment and anger from the one of the few friendly groups in the region...

 

The Kurds befriended us out of necessity. One thing about the middle east is that "friendship" is like being in the mob; your friends today may not be so tomorrow.

 

Since they are easily the mos hated ethnic group in that vicinity, being "our" friend makes simple logical sense. But they have a long memory, and they have not forgotten that we left them to the slaughter in 91 after making them think we would help them in their uprising.

 

NO, the kurds are not our "friends" and their only true value is that they buffer the north from insugents to a good degree....

[wiffleball 4,800]

I don't know, I think the US is in a tough situation here. The Kurds are our strongest allies in Iraq, and if we step aside and let the Turks take large numbers out, our position will suffer. The last thing the US needs is to engender resentment and anger from the one of the few friendly groups in the region...

 

Yeah, but we WOULD help to bring everybody together.

 

 

...In hating us.

[akaoni 0]

The Kurds befriended us out of necessity. One thing about the middle east is that "friendship" is like being in the mob; your friends today may not be so tomorrow.

 

Since they are easily the mos hated ethnic group in that vicinity, being "our" friend makes simple logical sense. But they have a long memory, and they have not forgotten that we left them to the slaughter in 91 after making them think we would help them in their uprising.

 

NO, the kurds are not our "friends" and their only true value is that they buffer the north from insugents to a good degree....

 

I don't necessarily disagree, and I don't think that you statement about friendship applies to the mid-east alone. Nevertheless, your contention only strengthens my concern with this scenerio. The friendly US-Kurd relationship is built on mutual self interest, like most alliances. Regardless, I think that the strategic and ethical implications of the US stepping aside and allowing Turkey to slaughter Kurds don't seem all that positive to me. Not only will the Kurds lose incentive to continue actively aiding US activities in the region, but if it does turn into a slaughter I think it further damages US credibility and may have more negative implications toward future cooperation with others in the region if we cavileerly abandon them. Maybe that credibility is already pretty shot, but it's never too early to try rebuilding positive ties...