Turkey launches new operation against Kurdish PKK in northern Iraq

 (June 18)On Wednesday Iraq issued a statement complaining that Turkey had violated its sovereignty as Turkey, which has been airlifting troops and special forces into northern Iraq recently, launched a new offensive against the Kurdish PKK in the Haftanin region.

Turkey claims entrance into Iraq justified as a defensive operation

The Turkish state has been in conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for years with some lengthy ceasefire periods. Turkey regards the PKK as a terrorist organization as does the US and several other countries.

Turkish and Iraqi positions on Turkish actions

Turkish troops and attack helicopters as well as drone strikes were involved in the latest strikes although Turkey did not specify how many troops were involved. The Turks see their actions as defensive in that the PKK uses Iraq as a base for actions against Turkey and the Iraqi government does nothing about it. In turn the Iraqis regard Turkey's actions against the PKK in Iraq as a violation of its sovereignty but also rarely does anything about Turkish actions. Baghdad summoned Ankara’s ambassador to Iraq , Fatih Yildiz, on Tuesday to protest against Turkey's attacks on the PKK in northern Iraq.

PKK established in northern Iraq

The PKK established itself in northernmost Iraq during a brief ceasefire with Turkey. The PKK has carried out joint operations with other Iraqi forces in combating the Islamic State ISIS. This has led to the PKK being established in several areas of Iraqi Kurdistan, particularly around the city of Sinjar. Turkey has launched a new campaign against them. Turkey regards the PKK as the primary Kurdish group and accuses most others such as the Syrian YPG of being subsidiaries.

New operation follows earlier one

The Turkish foreign ministry called the new offensive Operation Claw-Tiger and claims it follows “increasing harassment and attempts to attack” military outposts or bases in Turkey. The Ministry shared videos of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar overseeing the mission from a command center in the capital Ankara.

The new operation comes just days after Turkey had launched an air operation in the region which Akar claimed hit suspected PKK targets in a number of locations in the north including Siinjar. The raids targeted 81 revel hideouts.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Turkey escalating conflict with Kurds threatening civil war

Less than a week after the Turkish parliament authorised its military to carry out ground operations in Syria and Iraq, the Turkish military is carrying out operations against the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in the mountains of northern Iraq.

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At the time the motion was passed last week, the government emphasized the move was part of the war against the Islamic State. The pro-Kurdish opposition (HDP) in the parliament objected to the move — it thought it would be used to attack the PKK rather than the Islamic State. The motion also authorizes continued air strikes which are also being used against the PKK as well as the Islamic State.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by some including the U.S. and Turkey but not China, Russia, or even Egypt. There is a long history of conflict with Turkey described in some detail here. In 2013 the PKK declared a ceasefire with Turkey and began withdrawing fighters within Turkey into northern Iraq. The PKK have been active in fighting against the Islamic State. They were instrumental in helping "tens of thousands" of Yazidis escape when they were encircled by the Islamic State on Mt. Sinjar. The ceasefire was often violated with Turkey bombing Kurd positions in 2014 but any hope of the ceasefire holding was ended when along with its first air attacks against the Islamic State, Turkey launched a series of bombing raids against PKK positions in Iraq.

The bombings have set off a series of attacks blamed on the PKK within Turkey. 16 soldiers were killed in one day and another 14 police officers the next day. Many critics of Erdogan suggest that he is using the renewed clashes as a means to improve his chances of achieving a majority in an upcoming election. The incursion of Turkish ground forces into northern Iraq is the first such move since the ceasefire in 2013. While government officials claim it is a "short term measure" to hunt down the PKK fighters in the region, it is a clear escalation of the conflict. The ground operation was accompanied by renewed air attacks on PKK positions in the area as well.

Turkish president Recep Erdogan claims the PKK had suffered "serious damage" both inside and outside Turkey and was in a "state of panic." Even more seriously damaged is the security of Turkey and any hope of an end to internal conflict. The conflict has lasted three decades and with the new Erdogan policy appears headed into another decade. The Turkish government is pledging to escalate the campaign against the PKK as elections approach on November 1st. As an Al Jazeera article puts it: "As the armed conflict deepens in Turkey, political leaders are burning political bridges needed to end the violence." The pro-Kurdish HDP party headquarters have been attacked. This party helped deprive Erdogan's AKP party of its majority last June.

The Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is a strong supporter of renewed military action vowing to "wipe out" rebel strongholds. Erdogan said that Turkey will get over the plague of terror. The government intends to deploy 5,000 police and military personnel to 20 of Turkey's most restive pro-PKK towns and cities, a recipe for more clashes. Since the renewed hostilities in June, pro-PKK youth groups have tried to control city centers, by setting up armed checkpoints and even digging trenches to combat Turkish police. This movement has been accompanied by 15 different districts declaring "autonomy." Turkish police have attempted to regain control by entering blockaded areas with armed convoys. In effect Erdogan has managed to provoke a civil war within certain parts of Turkey while rallying right-wing nationalist groups to support his crackdown.

Talks with the jailed PKK leader Ocalan have been frozen and this time he has not issued a call for another cease fire. The co-chair of the pro-Kurd People's Democratic Party(HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, has called for the PKK to immediately end hostilities. The PKK leadership refused. A pro-government Turkish daily had a photo of Demirtas with "killer" in capitals beneath it. Erdogan already has asked parliament to strip some members of the HDP of their parliamentary immunity and try them on terrorism charges. Erdogan not only is burning bridges and thus blocking a political solution to the Kurdish issue but he is also building bridges towards a quasi-fascist militaristic Turkey that will create even more instability in the middle east.

Turklsh president Erdogan risks civil war in hopes of winning majority in elections

While Turkey is facing huge economic problems and increasing civil strife, President Recep Erdogan seems intent on creating more conflict in order to boost his chance of forming a majority in an election that is expected to be called soon.

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According to an article in the Independent, Erdogan is being encouraged by his prime minister:Egged on by a delusion of neo-Ottoman grandeur, created by his former foreign minister and now prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, Erdogan has been intent on creating what many see as his own caliphate, but was blocked in the June election by the Kurdish HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party).

While Turkey recently agreed to join the battle against the Islamic State and has allowed the US to use a Turkish base for bombing raids into Syria and Iraq, at the same time Erdogan has mounted an offensive against the Kurdish Worker's Party(PKK) in Iraq and also Turkey as described in a recent Digital Journal article.

The HDP achieved a breakthrough in June elections winning 80 of the 550 seats in the Turkish parliament and depriving Erdogan of the votes needed to amend the Turkish constitution so as to give the president more executive power. Erdogan has been trying unsuccessfully to form a coalition government. It appears now that he will instead try to ramp up nationalist sentiment to ensure that he has a majority in elections that may be called in November.

Erdogan has completely changed his direction on the Kurdish question. In 2005 Erodgan was the first Turkish leader to openly acknowledge that there was a Kurdish problem in Turkey. Secret talks were held between Turkish intelligence and the PKK regarded in Turkey as a terrorist organization. The imprisoned leader of the PKK called for a ceasefire two years ago. There was even a ten-point peace plan agreed to by the government and the PKK the end of February this year. Yet, by mid-March Erdogan was again claiming Turkey never had a Kurdish problem and in July after the election he turned his back on the agreement. Now with recent bombings and revenge attacks by the PKK the whole peace process is in tatters.

While Erdogan resides in luxury in his new palace the Turkish economy is going down the drain. The Turkish lira is daily hitting new lows against the US dollar as confidence in the government wanes as it becomes clear that Erdogan will not form a coalition government and intends to ramp up the battle against the Kurds in order to discredit the Kurdish party that thwarted his ambition to change the constitution. Erdogan is willing to foster civil strife in the hopes that Turkish nationalist sentiment will rise giving him the majority he wants in the next elections. None of this impresses potential investors in Turkey, who want stability now and a solution to the Kurdish problem.

Violence and conflict between the Turkish government and the PKK has been escalating. At the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul assailants tossed a grenade at a guard and then opened fire sparking a gun battle in the middle of Turkey's largest city. In another attack in a southeastern province 8 soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb. The attack was blamed on the PKK.

In another development the PKK announced that it has formed a democratic autonomous region in Dersim province. It established checkpoints on the main road in the province last Tuesday. The group released a video showing PKK fighters controlling the road and searching vehicles. In the video, a PKK fighter claims that under the right of self-defense the group had declared democratic autonomy for the region. Warfare has already begun in Silopi, a remote southeastern city as masked militants and Turkish security forces join battle in the city. Silopi is on a border where Turkey, Syria, and Iraq meet. The majority of the estimated 15 million Kurds in Turkey live mostly in cities throughout southeastern Turkey. Militants are taking the battle from attacks on remote military outposts to urban neighbourhoods in Kurd majority areas creating a situation that begins to look more and more like a civil war in some areas. The lust for power has changed Erdogan from being a reformer who appeared to be leading Turkey forward to become a stable, democratic, inclusive country into an autocrat willing to risk creating chaos and ethnic strife with the sole purpose of creating more political power for himself and his cronies. The appended video gives the Russian view on the situation.

R

Turkey bombs Kurdish PKK fighters near Iraq border

Kurds in Turkey are already outraged that Turkey has done nothing to stop the Islamic State advance into the Kurdish border town of Kobane. Kurds wanting to cross over to join the battle have also been prevented from doing so.

Turkish warplanes today bombed Kurdistan Worker's Party(PKK) fighters near the border with Iraq. Turkish authorities claim that the attacks were in retaliation for a PKK shelling of a military base nearby. The PKK claims the bombing was a violation of the ceasefire between the group and the Turkish military. There has been conflict between the Turkish military and the PKK for decades. The PKK leader, who has been in jail for some time, warned that the peace process between the group and the Turkish military was already coming apart due to the Turkish inaction against the Islamic State advances into Kurdish-held Syrian territory.
 The BBC reports that F-16 and F-4 warplanes were used in the raid. This is the first major raid on the PKK since March 2013. PKK fighters have been aiding the Kurdish YPG militia against the Islamic State. Turkey refuses to supply the fighters with weapons or even let them cross the border to join the fray.
 The U.S. has been launching air strikes against the Islamic State positions in Kobane. The Turks also arrested a total of 260 YPG fighters when they crossed into Turkey last week but allowed 60 to return over the border. The French president pleaded with Turkey to open its borders.
 Last week there were huge Kurdish protests in the south-eastern provinces of Turkey where Kurds are a majority. There were at least 31 people killed as Kurds vented their anger at Turkish inaction against the IS advance in Syria. The PKK is regarded by the US, the EU and Turkey as a terrorist organization.
 However, Abdullah Ocalan the jailed leader of the PKK has changed his position on armed struggle and has cooperated with the authorities in negotiating a cease fire and dialogue to end the long conflict. With Turkey's recent inaction against the Islamic State to protect Kurds violent conflict could easily break out again. The conflict has lasted about 30 years and resulted in more than 40,000 deaths. Kurdish unrest spread to at least six cities recently with at least nine more deaths according to the BBC.
In three weeks of fighting around Kobane 400 are reported killed. 160,000 Syrians have fled the area. Sustained US air strikes on Tuesday appear to have halted the Islamic State advance. Defenders inside Kobane are calling for even more US air strikes. They do not want the Turkish military to intervene but they do want Turkey to allow Kurdish fighters to cross from Turkey into Syria to help win the battle but so far there is no sign that Turkey will allow this.

Things are coming unglued for Washington in Middle East

Saturday » November 3 » 2007
Since this has been posted there has been further ungluing with Musharaff declaring a state of emergency. This perhaps explains why Bhutto decided to visit her family in Dubai at this particular time!
The hypocrisy of the US over the PJAK is transparent. There are bad (Al Qaeda), neutral (PKK) and good (PJAK) terrorists. The distinction is based not upon their terrorist actions but on their relationship to US policy.


Things are coming unglued for Washington in Middle East

Jonathan Manthorpe
Vancouver Sun


Friday, November 02, 2007


The signs are everywhere that a new, unpredictable and dangerous phase is beginning in Washington's "war on terror" and the fallout from the invasion of Iraq.

In the Middle East, much of the carefully balanced structure of alliances and loyalties has been thrown into confusion by NATO member Turkey's political imperative to confront Kurdish separatist terrorists operating out of northern Iraq.

The outcome, which could see an alliance between U.S. ally Turkey and Washington's "axis of evil" enemy Iran to battle their common irritant, the Kurds, will depend on a meeting between President George W. Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.

If Bush cannot give Erdogan an absolute commitment that American troops in northern Iraq will hand over the 150 or so key leaders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who have been sending terror teams over the border in recent weeks, the Turkish leader has a mandate from parliament to go after them himself, and he has the troops to do it.

Washington has tried this week to dilute its refusal to hand over PKK leaders -- despite labelling them "terrorists" -- by giving Ankara intelligence information about the disposition of the PKK camps.

But Washington is in a fix because the Kurdish region of northern Iraq is the only part of the country that is relatively secure.

Yet hypocrisy blossoms even here. At the same time as Washington considers the PKK "terrorists" it is arming and supporting another Kurdish separatist group, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK).

In Washington's eyes the PJAK are freedom fighters, not terrorists, because they are seeking autonomy for the Kurdish regions in northern Iran, America's enemy.

So it is hardly surprising the Turkish foreign minister flew to Tehran this week to lay the groundwork for an alliance with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad is at the top of his game of sowing dissent and confusion, even as the Bush administration makes increasingly feeble-sounding threats of war to prevent Tehran developing the capacity to make nuclear weapons.

Russia and China have criticized as unhelpful a new raft of unilateral sanctions by the Bush administration against the Iranian leadership. And the director of the International Atomic Energy Authority, Mohamed ElBaradei, has told the White House to cool its rhetoric about an impending "World War III" because Iran is nowhere near being able to make a bomb.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, whose return from exile two weeks ago was meant to herald a new era of stable democracy, has fled back to her family in Dubai.

Her hasty departure on Thursday follows the opening up of a new front by the Taliban.

About 700 people have died in suicide bomb attacks in Pakistan's cities since July when, at Washington's urging, government forces began concerted attacks on Taliban bases in the vast and inhospitable tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

The Taliban, like their supporters in Pakistan and Afghanistan where Canadian forces are battling them around Kandahar, are largely ethnic Pashtun, though they continue to attract hundreds of would-be jihadists from Muslim countries elsewhere.

One result of the Pakistani government military operations has been to solidify Pashtun ethnic loyalties and provoke the Taliban into taking the suicide bomb war into the heartland of the country.

At least 123 people were killed at a rally marking Bhutto's return on Oct. 19. On Wednesday seven people died in an attack at the military headquarters city of Rawalpindi and Thursday eight people were killed when a bomber rammed an air force bus in Punjab province.

Pakistan is on a knife edge awaiting the ruling of the Supreme Court on the legality of Gen. Pervez Musharraf's selection as president last month. Musharraf seized power and established a military dictatorship in 1999, but is attempting to become a civilian president as part of the U.S.-brokered deal with Bhutto, who would be prime minister.

But with the strong possibility that the court will rule against him, and in the face of the Taliban's nationwide insurrection, Musharraf is known to be contemplating a declaration of martial law and ditching the Bhutto deal.

Bhutto may well view family life in Dubai with renewed fondness.

jmanthorpe@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Sun 2007








Copyright © 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

Iraq vows to hunt down Kurdish rebel leaders

One group of rebel leaders they will be sure not to arrest are those from the PJAK who are fighting against Iran. They are apparently being aided by US arms. The US distinguishes them from the PKK for obvious reasons even though they carry out terrorist operations against military units in Iran. Unlike the PKK they do not seem to consider civilians as legitimate targets.
It remains to be seen how much will really get done as the central Iraqi government is certainly not going to be able to send troops to northern Iraq as the Kurd authorities would blow a fuse.


Iraq vows to hunt down Kurdish rebel leaders
Sat Nov 3, 2007 2:50 PM EDT



By Sue Pleming and Mussab Al-Khairalla

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Iraq said on Saturday it was ready to hunt down and arrest Kurdish guerrilla leaders responsible for cross-border raids into Turkey in an effort to avert a major incursion by the Turkish military.

Major powers and countries in the region, meeting in Istanbul to discuss Iraqi security, are seeking to ease tensions on the Turkish-Iraqi border that could escalate into a bigger regional crisis.

Turkey wants leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) arrested and seeks the closure of camps in northern Iraq which they use as bases for cross-border attacks in their 23-year-old campaign for a homeland in southeast Turkey.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul as diplomatic efforts between Turkey, Iraq and the United States intensified.

"The prime minister renewed the willingness of the Iraqi government to take steps to isolate the terrorist PKK, prevent any help reaching its members, chase and arrest them, and put them in front of the Iraqi judiciary because of their terrorist activities," Maliki's office said in a statement.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told a news conference his country did not rule out carrying out military action jointly with Turkey against the PKK.

Erdogan is to meet U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday and the Turkish premier was upbeat about the outcome of talks.

"I believe this visit will give positive results on the United States taking concrete steps at a time when northern Iraq-based terrorist attacks are testing our nation's patience," Erdogan told reporters before leaving for Washington.

Turkey is impatient at what it regards as U.S. and Iraqi foot-dragging over the threat from the PKK and has massed 100,000 troops on the border for a possible offensive against about 3,000 rebels using Iraq as a base.

But the government in Baghdad has little influence over the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north and the success of any measures against PKK militants would depend on the cooperation of Kurdish authorities. Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani has so far refused to arrest PKK members.

"Soon you will see a number of visible measures implemented on the ground to show our seriousness," Zebari said.

In northern Iraq, a Kurdish official said the regional government had shut down the offices of a political party which sympathizes with the PKK, the Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party, following calls by the Baghdad government.

GUERRILLA ATTACKS

The so-called "neighbors' conference," hosted by Turkey, was meant to focus on improving security in Iraq but has been overshadowed by the fall-out from the PKK guerrilla attacks.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has promised more action from the United States but provided scant details on how far Washington was prepared to go except to offer improved intelligence-sharing on the PKK.

No major announcements were made during Rice's two-day visit, or at the conference, partly because she did not want to upstage Monday's meeting in Washington between Erdogan and Bush.

Erdogan has come under pressure to act after dozens of Turkish soldiers were killed in PKK attacks in recent weeks.

The United States supports limited strikes by Turkey on PKK training sites but opposes any large-scale invasion.

"All options are on the table. How, when and whether or not to use these instruments is a matter of strategy for us," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told a news conference.

Several thousand people protested in the capital Ankara on Saturday, the latest in a series of demonstrations.

"It is clearly unacceptable that Iraq's territory is used to mount cross-border attacks," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Istanbul meeting of dozens of foreign ministers, held in an Ottoman palace on the banks of the Bosphorus.

A declaration after Saturday's meeting of ministers from major Western powers and the region included condemnation of all terrorism in Iraq, applauded bilateral arrangements between Iraq and its neighbors and supported the country's full sovereignty.

"It would blow up the whole region, both inside Turkey and inside Iraq. It is risky to have 100,000 soldiers on the border," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

(Additional reporting by Evren Mesci, Gareth Jones, Emma Ross-Thomas and Daren Butler in Istanbul, Selcuk Gokoluk in Ankara, Sherko Raouf in Arbil and Ross Colvin in Baghdad)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
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Turkey considers cross-border operations

The US refusal to do anything about the PKK a group that the US labels as terrorist is one sign of the bogus nature of the war against terror. As Chomsky has noted there are several varieties of terrorists and some are tolerated by the US and others are even encouraged.


Erdoğan says Iraq cross-border operation on table
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called on the United States and Iraq to deal with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq, but said Ankara would take military action itself if necessary.



The government is under mounting pressure from the public and army to tackle the PKK based in mountainous northern Iraq. Dozens of civilians and soldiers have been killed in recent weeks in attacks across Turkey. The influential National Security Council (MGK) reviewed yesterday measures against the PKK, including plans to set up a buffer zone in Iraqi territory.

"First our neighbor Iraq and the United States should take steps on this issue because this is an issue of a struggle against terrorism," Erdoğan said in an interview aboard his plane during campaigning in eastern Turkey late on Tuesday. Asked if he believed Baghdad and Washington would honor promises to combat the PKK, Erdoğan's response was lukewarm. "I wish to remain positive."

Washington, while classing the PKK as a terrorist group, fears any major operation by its NATO ally in northern Iraq could anger Iraqi Kurdish allies and stoke wider conflict in a relatively peaceful region of that war-torn country. Financial markets were rattled earlier this month by reports of a major incursion into northern Iraq, which Turkey denied. Military sources said there had been a limited cross-border raid -- a relatively frequent occurrence since the mid-1990s. Any major cross-border operation would require parliament’s approval. Parliament, where Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has a big majority, is currently in recess ahead of July elections.

“We are continuing discussions with the armed forces. If needed we will take the necessary steps [for a cross-border operation] because we cannot allow the PKK any longer to carry out attacks,” Erdoğan said through an interpreter. The armed forces have recommended a cross-border offensive into northern Iraq, where up to 4,000 PKK militants are based. Tens of thousands of troops have been sent to the border. Analysts say the threat of an incursion may have as much to do with domestic politics ahead of the July 22 election as with security issues. Nationalist concerns over Kurdish separatism and EU attitudes towards Turkey are playing an important role. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union.

Erdoğan also said he expected to speed up reforms required for European Union membership after the July 22 election. He predicted the result returning his AK Party government to power would deliver a strong mandate for change in Turkey. He rejected accusations of a hidden Islamist agenda that have soured his relations with the secularist establishment and momentarily unsettled the financial market usually well-disposed towards his government. “Of course the elections have slowed down [the EU reforms] a bit, but [after the election] it’s full steam ahead,” Erdoğan said.

Turkey began accession talks in October 2005 but critics say reforms needed for Turkey to become a member of the bloc have slowed in the past two years amid disputes over Cyprus, human rights, judicial reform and other sensitive issues. The bloc suspended discussions last December in eight of the 35 chapters, or policy areas, that it must work through, due to Ankara’s refusal to open its ports to EU member Greek Cyprus. The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French president has complicated matters for Turkey, a large, relatively poor and predominantly Muslim country. Sarkozy has said Turkey has no place in the 27-nation EU, but he has recently sought to postpone a debate on changing the goal of the negotiations. France is expected to agree to the EU opening talks on two new policy areas next week. Asked if he expected Sarkozy to stop Turkey’s EU talks or change criteria, he replied: “I don’t have a feeling like that ... This process will have problems, but I [recently] talked to Mr. Sarkozy and it was a positive conversation.”

Juan Cole: Iraq: The Eighth Front

Not only has the US allowed the PKK to exist in northern Iraq although it classifies it as a terrorist organisation it has also turned over security in the area to the Kurds, washing its hands entirely of any responsibility apparently.


Thursday, June 07, 2007
The Eighth Front

According to Turkish sources, hundreds of Turkish troops crossed into Iraqi Kurdistan on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning in hot pursuit of Kurdish terrorists. There was some skepticism about whether this incident actually occurred, and it was both affirmed and denied by various Turkish sources in the course of the day. MSNBC showed footage of the incursion, but I don't know if that was stock footage or if it showed today's events accurately (shouldn't they label these things?). A US military spokesman in Baghdad could not confirm the border incursion but said "we are very concerned." As well he should be.

A hot eighth front may have just opened up in the kaleidoscopic Iraq War, which appears to be gradually fulfilling its potential for unravelling the entire Middle East as it was constituted by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 in the aftermath of WW I.

How many fronts are there in the Iraq War? The Sunni Arab guerrillas of the center, west and north are themselves fighting a four-front war. They are fighting US troops. They are fighting Shiites. They are fighting Kurds in the Kirkuk region and Ninevah and Diyala provinces. And they are fighting other Sunni Arab forces (Baathists fight Salafi fundamentalists, and both fight tribal levies gravitating to the Americans).

Then there is a muted Shiite front with two dimensions. Radical Shiites attack US forces. And, in Basra, Diwaniya and elsewhere, there is Shiite on Shiite violence as the Badr Corps paramilitary of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (often infiltrated into the Iraqi police) fights the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr.

So that makes 6-- four Sunni Arab fronts and 2 Shiite fronts.

Then there are the Kurds. Of course they are fighting the Sunni Arabs. But they have also given haven to two terrorist groups. One is the PKK, or Kurdish Worker's Party, which operates in Turkey's eastern Anatolia, blowing things up and killing people. Some 5,000 PKK fighters are holed up in Iraqi Kurdistan, to the rage of the Turkish government in Ankara. The other is PEJAK, an Iranian-Kurdish terrorist group that launches attacks in Iran. Both Iran and Turkey have lobbed mortars and artillery shells over the border into villages of Iraqi Kurdistan as a way of lodging a complaint and making a threat against these Kurdish forces.

So in addition to the Arab-Kurdish front already counted, that makes 2 more fronts, for a grand total of 8. Not all 8 are very active at all times. But all 8 do break out into substantial violence from time to time. And we may have just seen a flare-up in no. 8.

By the way, why does the Bush administration allow its Kurdistan allies to harbor PKK terrorists? I thought that sort of thing was a no-no in the age of the war on terror? Wasn't it even the casus belli for Bush's two big invasions? Or is it all right to do terrorism to Turkey and Iran, but not to the US and Britain? I'm confused.

Turkish troops enter Iraq

Turkey has been requesting US and Kurd authorities to do something about the PKK for ages but nothing seems to happen. Now the US has signed an agreement ceding security in the region to the Kurdish government. Turkey has lost patience, particulary since there have been cross border attacks by the PKM apparently.

Turkish officials: troops enter Iraq By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago



ANKARA, Turkey - Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials told The Associated Press.



Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.

"It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands," one of the officials told the AP by telephone. The official is based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.

The U.S. military said it could not confirm the reports but was "very concerned."

The last major Turkish incursion into northern Iraq was in 1997, when about 50,000 troops were sent to the region.

The officials did not say where the Turkish force was operating in northern Iraq, nor did he say how long they would be there. Both officials are involved in anti-rebel operations, though they did not disclose whether they participated in the planning of the operation on Wednesday.

The officials said any confrontation with Iraqi Kurdish groups, who have warned against a Turkish incursion, could trigger a larger cross-border operation. The Turkish military has asked the government in Ankara to approve such an incursion, but the government has not given formal approval.

An official at military headquarters in Ankara declined to confirm or deny the report that Turkish troops had entered Iraq.

Turkish troops have staged so-called "hot pursuits" into northern Iraq in the past, usually after citing reports of attacks against Turkish soldiers in the border region.

They have sometimes shelled suspected rebel positions across the border.

Turkish authorities rarely acknowledge such military operations, which were more frequent before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The Turkish military said rebels across the border in Iraq opened fire Wednesday on a Turkish military outpost in the province of Hakkari, which borders both Iraq and Iran. It said there were no casualties.

Turkey has been building up its military forces on the Iraqi border recently, amid debate among political and military leaders about whether to attack separatist rebels of the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party. The rebels stage raids in southeast Turkey after crossing over from hideouts in Iraq.

"We can't confirm a thing at this time, but we are looking into it and obviously we are very concerned," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman in Baghdad.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the government has not seen any major operations along the border.

"There has been intermittent shelling, for instance, attacks, certain violations, minor violations on the border which we have documented and reported back to the Turkish side, but honestly we haven't seen any major operations along the border," Zebari told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"We are aware of this Turkish troops buildup on the border and the Iraqi government position has been that we will not accept or tolerate any military incursion into Iraqi territories," he said.

"We have urged all sides, including the Kurdish leadership, to ease tension and to seek dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues because we believe any military incursion into the northern provinces would only lead to further escalations and instability and this is in nobody's interests, not in Iraq's, nor the United States, nor Turkey," he added. "We are in contact with the Turkish officials and we have friendly, good relations with the Turkish government."

George Bagus, an adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also said his office had no knowledge about such an operation and declined to comment further.

During major incursions in the 1990s, fighting occurred on a front stretching more than 100 miles, mostly in rugged terrain where communications were difficult and the Turkish Kurds were already entrenched in the mountains

Turkey seeks UN approval for incursion in Northern Iraq against rebels.

Apparently Turkey already has a very small military contingent in Iraq that has been there for ages. The US has turned over security in the area to Kurdistan. Turkey asked that US for ages to do something about the PKK and this seems to be the US response. Kurdistan obviously tolerates the rebel presence.

Turkey seeks UN OK for cross-border action
Move follows attack by Kurdish rebels in Iraq
Steven Edwards, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, June 05, 2007
UNITED NATIONS - The prospect that Turkish troops will invade northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebels rose yesterday as Turkey reportedly asked to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to reaffirm its right to self-defence.

The move comes as the latest Kurdish rebel attack inside Turkey killed at least seven Turkish soldiers and injured seven more at a military outpost near the Iraqi border.

Turkey has been massing troops on the border, and reminding the UN of its rights under the body's charter would signal the government is preparing the legal and diplomatic ground for military action.


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Font: ****The U.S. believed as recently as Sunday that it had dissuaded Turkey from mounting any operation in one of the few parts of Iraq that is relatively peaceful and prosperous, but the new rebel attack appears to have changed the mood in Ankara.

"We have every right to take measures against terrorist activities directed at us from northern Iraq," Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, told European Union officials visiting the Turkish capital.

Turkish media commented yesterday that the EU was tacitly backing Turkey's right to retaliate after Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, and Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner, neither condemned nor openly supported Mr. Gul's declaration.

The rebels, members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), seek to create an independent Kurdish state from parts of southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq, northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran.

Faced with an Arab insurgency and al-Qaeda resistance in central and southern Iraq, the U.S. has been reluctant to intervene in the north, where the mainly Kurdish population enjoys semi-autonomy.

"We have not seen effective steps taken as of now," one senior Turkish diplomat said.

But he also said there were numerous channels of communication open with the Iraqis and the Americans, and expressed confidence something short of a cross-border incursion would occur.

The Turkish parliament would have to approve any military action outside Turkey's borders, but the government has already said it would back the armed forces if they requested permission to launch an attack.

Trouble Brewing between Turkey and US?

The Turkish government has been requesting Iraq to crack down on these groups for ages. The US does not want to interfere it seems even though it classifies the PKK as a terrorist group. Obviously all terrorist groups are not equal in fact from time to time the US has helped out terrorist groups acting against Iran.


Turkey's military chief on Thursday said it was necessary to launch a cross-border military operation into northern Iraq against Kurdish rebels but that any decision to do so needed political approval from the Turkish government.

"It is necessary to launch an operation into Iraq," Chief of General Staff Yasar Buyukyanit told reporters. "The (Kurdish Workers' Party) PKK has huge freedom of movement in Iraq."

He also said the military had launched a number of large-scale operations against PKK rebels in south-east Turkey.

Buyukyanit said the operations had been launched as snow melting in mountain passes made it easier for rebels from the PKK to enter Turkey from neighbouring Iraq.

The general's statement will increase pressure on the Turkish government to give the green-light to a cross-border operation aimed at destroying PKK camps in mountainous northern Iraq. The military has previously said there are around 5,000 PKK guerrillas based at the camps.

The Turkish government has repeatedly called on the United States and Iraq to launch its own operations against the PKK, an organization that both the United States and the European Union describe as a terrorist group, the last coming on Wednesday from Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.

"Our position is very clear ... If harm is coming to Turkey from a neighbour then that neighbour must do something to stop it," Gul said on Wednesday. "If they do not have the power (to stop the PKK) then international law provides the necessary remedies," Gul said.

While US officials have expressed their sympathy for Turkey's position they say that US forces in Iraq are too stretched to be able to carry out such an operation.

The United States is also concerned that a Turkish operation would upset Iraqi Kurdish groups and might destabilize the region, the only part of Iraq that is relatively free of violence.

Buyukyanit said 13 Turkish soldiers had died fighting PKK rebels in the first four months of the year and complained that the 2003 US- led invasion of Iraq had resulted in a large number of Iraqi army weapons falling into the hands of the Kurdish guerrillas.

More than 32,000 people, mainly Kurdish civilians caught in the crossfire, have been killed since the PKK launched its fight for independence or autonomy in the early 1980s for the predominantly Kurdish-populated south-east of Turkey.