Roughly 10000 Turkish commandos, backed with tanks/armored vehicles and air support, have crossed the border into Iraq and are conducting military operations against the PKK. Reports are that the Turkish incursion is over 10 km deep into Iraqi territory. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080222/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_turkey_iraq
On a tangent if Kosova can unilaterally declare its independence whats to stop Kurdistan? I haven't been following the situation in Northern Iraq recently but I'm wondering if this could be a preemptive move on Turkey's part to dissuade the Kurds from splitting off.
They have no international support and nothing like UN Resolution 1244 calling for self rule and autonomy for the Kurdish people and giving the UN a mandate to manage a solution to the conflict between the Kurds and the rest of Iraq.
You get an idea of the size of the Turkish Army when they can send in 10,000 commandos. This is very awkward for the US. The Kurds are our best allies in Iraq and the only ones who'd like us to stick around. Impeach Bush.
Those who can will. Unfortunately for the Kurds, they can't...for now. U.S./Turkey/Iran/the entire Arab world is against Kurdish independence. One day the scales may shift to their favor, but I don't foresee that for a while. As for Serbia, no one gives a damn about what they want/think and if they continue to agitate for a beating, they will probably get (another) one. It's not fair or 'just', but that's the world we live in. Power politics, my friend...
This is not an operation against the Peshmarga or the mainstream Kurdish population, it's against the PKK separatists hiding in the mountains/rough terrain of northern Iraq (the border area, mostly), from where they've been launching sporadic attacks inside Turkish territory. I imagine it's a bit awkward for the U.S. but there seems to have been a 'wink-wink' deal between the two sides to allow for this limited incursion. In fact, from everything I've read, I wouldn't be surprised if the central government in Baghdad reluctantly 'agreed' to this, probably under U.S. pressure.
Tiger, get your azz in the Rockets forum. We need your precious insight. There's always going to be wars and deceptive politics. Let's enjoy the positives of life, like the Rockets 11 game winning streak.
Turkey is saying that it launched the operation in the "thick of snow" so as to catch the PKK forces by surprise. Also, the U.S. seems to be doing some intelligence-sharing with Turkey, but we're hoping to keep a low profile about it (understandably so). So I wouldn't be surprised if this was coordinated all along with U.S. approval, since we can't be seen as overtly fighting the Kurds, something that would threaten our working relationship in Iraq. Dozens killed as Turkey prolongs Iraq incursion http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080223/wl_afp/turkeykurdsunrestiraq_080223130320 ANKARA (AFP) - Turkish troops pressed a major ground offensive against Kurdish rebels in neighbouring Iraq for a third day Saturday as Ankara said dozens of rebels and at least five soldiers had been killed. While the Turkish military claimed the operation had sown panic amongst the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the rebel group raised the stakes by threatening to retaliate with attacks in city centres. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan sought to soothe Iraqi protests and Western misgivings over what was the most significant ground incursion into Iraq by Turkey for a number of years. "A successful operation is under way," he told reporters. "The only target... is the PKK terrorist organisation. Turkey is the strongest supporter of Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity." At least 24 PKK militants and five soldiers died in clashes since Thursday evening when a Turkish force crossed into northern Iraq after eight hours of air and artillery strikes, the military said overnight. It estimated that at least 20 other rebels were killed by artillery and helicopter fire, but said the exact toll would not be known until troops reach the targeted area. The Turkish military claimed the operation was a major success, spreading panic among the PKK, which is believed to have been caught by surprise by an operation launched while snow was thick on the ground. Turkish incursions into northern Iraq, which were frequent in the 1980s and 1990s, were usually launched during the spring thaw when PKK militants began to sneak into Turkey from their winter bases in the rugged mountains. "It has been understood from preliminary information that the terrorists have suffered heavy losses," the military said. "According to intelligence, the (PKK) leaders are trying to flee the region, running southwards in panic." Turkish forces Saturday bombed targets around Al-Amadiyah, an Iraqi Kurdish mountain town about 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the border. "The shelling started at around 6 am (0300 GMT) and continued for two hours," a border guard told AFP. Villagers in the area said heavy fighting and artillery fire continued late into Friday night. They reported hearing sustained exchanges of automatic fire in the Hakurk and Sidekan regions on the Iraqi side of the border across from the Turkish town of Cukurca. Fighter planes and helicopters flew reconnaissance missions throughout the night. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, urged Turkey to halt the offensive. "If not, we will move the theatre of combat to the heart of Turkish cities," PKK spokesman Ahmed Danis told AFP. Ankara says an estimated 4,000 PKK rebels are holed up in northern Iraq and use the region as a springboard for attacks on Turkish territory as part of their campaign for self-rule in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey. More than two decades of conflict have claimed at least 37,000 lives. Following Iraqi protests Friday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave assurances that "the target, purpose, size and parameters of this operation are limited." The soldiers will return home "in the shortest time possible as soon as they achieve their objectives," he said. Iraqi oil exports through Turkey, amounting to 300,000 barrels a day, have not been affected by the offensive, Iraqi officials said Saturday. It was the second land incursion the military reported since October, when the government secured a one-year parliamentary authorisation for cross-border military action against the PKK. Turkish troops briefly entered Iraq on December 18 to stop a PKK unit from infiltrating Turkey; five air raids on PKK targets in the region were also conducted since mid-December with US intelligence assistance. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari estimated Friday that "hundreds, rather than thousands" of troops were involved in the current operation, adding that five bridges near the border were destroyed. The United States said it was notified of the incursion beforehand and urged Ankara to limit its scope to "precise targeting of the PKK" and withdraw its soldiers in as short a time as possible. One Turkish soldier was killed Saturday by a landmine explosion blamed on the PKK in Bingol, a province of Turkey that is a long way from the Iraqi border, the Anatolia news agency reported.
I don't blame Turkey at all. The PKK are terrorists by any definition and if they were caught off guard and suffered big casualties, great!
Wasn't there a UN resolution calling for protection and some sort of autonomy for Northern Iraq following the first Gulf War? Is that still in effect or has it been rescinded?
Except the Russians, PRC and even some in the European Union aren't very happy about Kosovo and are sympathetic to the Serbs position.
I think the Russians are the only ones truly sympathetic to the Serbs, who are boxed into a corner. Pretty much all of the others unhappy about Kosovo are worried purely about the precedent of secession (which may have been exactly what you meant).
That is exactly what I meant. I think the PRC could give a year of rat's @ss in regard to whether Serbia keeps Kosovo but given feelings over Tibet and Xingzhang they are concerned about the precedent that Kosovo could create. I think that also sums up Spain's concern regarding the Basque territory. Whether those countries would actively step in to defend Serbia in a military confrontation I'm not sure but I bet they will do as much as possible diplomatically to keep the US and other countries from getting authorization to act against Serbia.
