Tag "Turkey"
by Mehmet Yaman (source: ANF Fırat News Agency) Editor’s note: This was translated from Turkish by Cem Ertür from CASMII. Having given no support to Turkey’s struggle against the PKK for a long time, the US supported the Turkish army’s recent bombing of the Qandil Mountain. The reason behind this support is becoming clear now: An agreement made between the US, Turkey and the Federal Administration of South Kurdistan for
Ha’aretz reports the following: Crews from Israel Aerospace Industries, operating unmanned aerial vehicles, are participating in Turkish military operations against PKK militants in northern Iraq, according to Turkish reports to be published today in the Turkish Daily News. Ten days ago, the Turkish television station Star reported that IAI Heron UAVs are being used in the offensive against the Kurds. The same report stated that Turkey’s Chief of Staff, General
According to the BBC: “Turkey’s air strikes against Kurdish rebels in Iraq on Sunday were approved by the United States in advance, the Turkish military says. The country’s top general, Yasar Buyukanit, said the US opened northern Iraqi airspace for the operation. Jets targeted the Kurdish rebel PKK in areas near the border. The Turkish media said up to 50 planes were used. Iraqi officials say bombs hit 10 villages,
Gwynne Dyer Fifteen months ago, the armed wing of Lebanon’s Hezbollah party, listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and most other Western countries, attacked Israel’s northern border, capturing two Israeli soldiers and killing eight more. Israel replied with a month of massive air attacks all across Lebanon that destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, leveled a good deal of south Beirut, and killed around a thousand Lebanese
(Iran Daily) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday the fate of regional nations are interlinked and they should safeguard one another’s interests. In a meeting with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, Ahmadinejad also said that the Iranian, Iraqi and Turkish nations have friendly and brotherly relations, IRNA reported. He added that enemies are bent on dominating the region and that they are against regional countries, including Iran, Turkey and
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The High Stakes in Iraqi Kurdistan By Patrick Cockburn in Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurds of northern Iraq, expressed defiance yesterday in the face of a threatened invasion by 100,00 Turkish troops, and was scornful of Turkey’s claim that it wants only to pursue Turkish-Kurd rebels.“We are not a threat to Turkey and I do not accept the language of threatening and blackmailing from the government
By Patrick Cockburn in the Qandil mountains, Iraq Turkey used its helicopters and artillery to attack Kurdish guerrillas inside northern Iraq yesterday as the Turkish army massed just north of the border. The helicopter gunships penetrated three miles into Iraqi territory and warplanes targeted mountain paths used by rebels entering Turkey. Guerrilla commanders of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were defiant in the face of an impending invasion. In an
The Bush Administration is considering air strikes, including cruise missiles, against the Kurdish rebel group PKK in northern Iraq. The move would be an attempt to stave off a Turkish invasion of that country to fight the rebels. President George Bush spoke with Turkish President Abdullah Gul by phone yesterday in an effort to ease the crisis. And Prime Minister John Howard says the tensions on the Turkey-Iraq border will
by Amy Goodman President Bush has asked Congress for another $46 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The request brings this year’s total to more than $196 billion — by the far the highest amount since the 9/11 attacks. If the trend continues, war funding could top $1 trillion by the time Bush leaves office. By some measures, that amount would exceed the cost of the Korean
By Christopher Torchia Parliament authorized the government Wednesday to carry out a cross-border attack on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, approving an offensive that would put Turkey at odds with the U.S. There was no sign of an imminent invasion. Washington and Iraq have pressured Ankara to show restraint and Turkish leaders signaled that they would not immediately give the order to send in the 60,000 troops, armor and attack
(Al-Manar TV) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in Ankara on Wednesday that Damascus would back a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to crack down “against terrorist activities” there. “We support the decisions the Turkish government has put on its agenda against terrorism and terrorist activities,” Assad told reporters after talks with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. “We see this as Turkey’s legitimate right,” he said. He was speaking shortly
Russia’s lower house of parliament has called on Turkey not to launch a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Issuing a resolution on Tuesday the Russian lawmakers have called the US invasion of Iraq “gross violation of international law. AP reported that in their resolution, lawmakers in the State Duma – which is dominated by the Kremlin-backed party United Russia – said the 2003 invasion had “inflicted irreparable
by Mizgin (for more on Mizgin click here) “What is most troubling to me as a Jew is that the plight of fifteen million Kurds in Turkey most closely parallels the plight of Jews throughout centuries. For unlike the Iraqi Kurds who have always been at liberty to be Kurds, those in Turkey were ruthlessly legislated out of their ethnic identity and have remained so for more than sixty years.”~
Today I am publishing an interview which truly gives me great pleasure: my Q&A email exchange with Mizgîn, a Kurd who has studied in the West and who generally supports the PKK. That is all I can say about her as in fact that is all I know about her. And that is how it should be. On my blog, names do not matter, not even self-evidently nonsensical ones (like,
by Jacques N. Couvas ANKARA – The button of the stopwatch counting down the invasion of northern Iraq by the Turkish army was probably pressed on Tuesday, at an impromptu meeting between Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two men have, in theory, scheduled meetings on Thursdays, which are often not maintained, as they do not see politically eye-to-eye. The surprise meeting on Tuesday
ANKARA, June 27–The head of Turkey’s powerful armed forces reaffirmed on Wednesday his view that a cross-border operation into northern Iraq was needed to crush Kurdish rebels based there. His comments pile more pressure on Turkey’s government to allow a military operation, just weeks before parliamentary polls. The staunchly secular military dislikes the Islamic-rooted ruling AK Party and political analysts say the generals are trying to portray it as weak
The Turkish Incursion By PATRICK COCKBURN Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas early Wednesday. The incursion, though limited in scope, gives the crisis in Iraq a new twist. “It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands,” said an official in south-east Turkey where there has recently been an upsurge in activity by the
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s Foreign Ministry and military General Staff on Wednesday denied a Web site report that 50,000 Turkish troops had crossed into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels hiding there. “This report is not true,” a Foreign Ministry source told Reuters. A General Staff official described the report as “disinformation”. The report, carried on the DEBKAfile Web site, sparked jitters among foreign investors who fear Turkish military action
June 6, 2007, 3:41 PM (GMT+02:00) DEBKAfile The official Turkish news agency Cihan reports the force, backed by armored vehicles and combat aircraft, is targeting rebel strongholds in 11 provinces in southeastern Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan Wednesday, June 6. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this is only the first wave of Turkish invaders, with more to come. A Turkish force of 90,000 troops has been massed at the sourthern town
