Turkish Army Begins Ground Assault on PKK in Iraq

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aimUka8ii.Ic&refer=home

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq in their first major incursion in 11 years, stepping up an assault against Kurdish militants after two months of air strikes.

The troops moved in late yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Ankara without saying how many soldiers were involved. Istanbul-based NTV television said that 10,000 Turkish soldiers pushed 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Iraq. CNN-Turk later said the attack involved 3,000 troops.

Britain urged Turkey to withdraw as quickly as possible while Germany said it viewed the incursion with ``great concern.'' Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tried to talk Turkey out of an attack against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is based in the only relatively peaceful area of his country. The operation is planned to last two weeks, CNN Turk television said, citing security sources.

``We will withdraw our troops once the mission is complete and within the shortest possible time,'' Erdogan said, adding that he informed U.S. President George W. Bush about the incursion last night. ``We respect the territorial integrity of Iraq



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/22/wturkey222.xml

Turkish troops pour into northern Iraq
By Tim Butcher, Middle East Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:16pm GMT 22/02/2008



Turkey has launched its biggest military incursion into the Kurdish north of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in an attempt to neutralise once-and-for-all rebels fighting for a Kurdish homeland in Turkey.


Turkish tanks move near the southeastern Turkish town of Silopi
Aware such a cross-border operation will not be welcomed by Iraq and its benefactors in Washington, Ankara issued a careful statement assuring the troops would be withdrawn as soon as possible.

And Abdullah Gul, the president of Turkey, personally informed his Iraqi opposite number, Jalal Talabani, during a phone call as the troops went in.

But this did not stop American diplomats expressing disappointment, especially as Turkey had given assurances it would limit its military operations to pinpoint counter terrorist attacks and not a full incursion.

Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, categorised the incursion as "not the greatest news".


Sources in Ankara said "several thousand" troops had crossed the mountainous frontier overnight in search of militants from the PKK, the Kurdish Workers Party.

[Botany]

1. Rummy in Feb. 2003

Mr Rumsfeld is in Europe to try to gain backing for possible military action against Iraq.

"It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months," he said, speaking at the American air
base at Aviano, in northern Italy.


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it is now 5 years later and now we are about ready to start our 6th year in this bloody mistake.

BTW The Kurds saw us as friends .... we gave the Turks the go ahead for this action.

[seemslikeadream]

2. and georgie is giving Turkey nukes

nukes that he actually gave them a long time ago

[Botany]

4. I had a friend who was a Navy seal and was in the gulf

for the Iran v Iraq war and when I asked him what would
be our best policy for that region. His answer was short
"Stay the hell out."

We are smack dab in the middle of civil and ethnic problems
that go back for 100s of years.

[seemslikeadream]

5. These crazy white men think

they can treat the rest of the world like they were the Native Americans. What's with these guys, they don't stay on the reservations created for them?


All the world's a reservation, n'est pa?

[Supersedeas]

3. nothing to see here -- feed them more Brittney updates and McCain puff pieces