Tweet
TURKEY KEEPS CROSS-BORDER OPERATION ON HOLD
Lale Sarýibrahimoðlu
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 22 2007
[NEWS ANALYSIS]
As the snow started melting in the mountainous border region in
southeast Turkey, local media have reported that the Turkish military
has reinforced its troop strength in the area with armored vehicles
and tanks to deter any Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) infiltration
into Turkey from northern Iraq.
The reports were coupled with reports coming from northern Iraq that
Turkish troops had taken up positions there close to the Turkish
border area. The latest report first came from the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan (PUK), one of two Kurdish groups in northern Iraq. But
while the Turkish military has denied this report, Western sources
have raised skepticism over the news from PUK, which is not in control
of the region.
Instead another Kurdish group, the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party
(IKDP) is in control of the region, recalled one Western diplomat,
questioning the reliability of the PUK report. Since there is no border
security on the Iraqi side of the border and the PKK terrorists are
allegedly in full control of those areas, it would not be surprising
that Turkish troops might occasionally enter northern Iraq, albeit
in a very small area, to deter the PKK from infiltrating into Turkey,
said one Western analyst.
But the liaison office based in Turkey's Silopi township, near
the Iraqi border where US and Turkish military officials coordinate
contacts between the Turkish troops in Turkey and in northern Iraq, as
well as between the Turkish and the US forces in Iraq, has reportedly
observed no such Turkish troop crossing the border.
Today's Zaman has also learned that the TSK has also informed some
NATO member countries about its reinforcements in the Southeast in
the past two weeks.
Time not ripe for Turkish operation in Northern Iraq
Turkey has never ruled out a military option in the form
of cross-border operation into northern Iraq to pursue the PKK
terrorists, although it is conscious that such an operation would
only be a short-term solution in the struggle against the PKK.
But both Turkish and Western military sources have told Today's Zaman
that a Turkish cross-border operation into northern Iraq does not seem
possible in the coming weeks, since several generals, including Deputy
Chief of Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun, will be in Washington next week to
attend the annual meeting of the American-Turkish Council (ATC).
"It would not be wise for the Turkish military to send troops
to northern Iraq while its generals are attending a meeting in
Washington. The Turkish military will not like to look foolish,"
stated one Western diplomatic source in Ankara.
Turkey has also been lobbying the US intensely, in particular the
Democrats, who took control of the House of Representatives and the
Senate during last year's November by-elections, to convince them not
to adopt a resolution terming the killings of Armenians at the hands
of Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide. Crossing the border
into northern Iraq at such a crucial time would not serve Turkish
interests either, while Turkey has been pressing hard to convince
the Democrats and the strong Jewish lobby to pull the resolution from
the table, said another Western diplomat.
Cross-border threat to deter PKK and US
But Turkey does not rule out a possible cross-border operation into
northern Iraq, although it knows that it will only serve Ankara's
interests in the short term. Ankara wants to keep this option on the
table, partly because it seeks to deter the PKK from any intensified
attacks, but also to give a message to its close NATO ally, the US,
that it should take all necessary measures to finish off the PKK
camps in northern Iraq and avoid endangering the fragile stability
in the north of the war-torn country.
But neither Turkish officials, nor some Western analysts, rule out
the possibility of a Turkish cross-border operation at any time,
particularly if the PKK stages a big assault leading to the deaths
of hundreds of Turks.
--Boundary_(ID_3xJMCH5Nr3rCI9bk7uBKRQ)--
Lale Sarýibrahimoðlu
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 22 2007
[NEWS ANALYSIS]
As the snow started melting in the mountainous border region in
southeast Turkey, local media have reported that the Turkish military
has reinforced its troop strength in the area with armored vehicles
and tanks to deter any Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) infiltration
into Turkey from northern Iraq.
The reports were coupled with reports coming from northern Iraq that
Turkish troops had taken up positions there close to the Turkish
border area. The latest report first came from the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan (PUK), one of two Kurdish groups in northern Iraq. But
while the Turkish military has denied this report, Western sources
have raised skepticism over the news from PUK, which is not in control
of the region.
Instead another Kurdish group, the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party
(IKDP) is in control of the region, recalled one Western diplomat,
questioning the reliability of the PUK report. Since there is no border
security on the Iraqi side of the border and the PKK terrorists are
allegedly in full control of those areas, it would not be surprising
that Turkish troops might occasionally enter northern Iraq, albeit
in a very small area, to deter the PKK from infiltrating into Turkey,
said one Western analyst.
But the liaison office based in Turkey's Silopi township, near
the Iraqi border where US and Turkish military officials coordinate
contacts between the Turkish troops in Turkey and in northern Iraq, as
well as between the Turkish and the US forces in Iraq, has reportedly
observed no such Turkish troop crossing the border.
Today's Zaman has also learned that the TSK has also informed some
NATO member countries about its reinforcements in the Southeast in
the past two weeks.
Time not ripe for Turkish operation in Northern Iraq
Turkey has never ruled out a military option in the form
of cross-border operation into northern Iraq to pursue the PKK
terrorists, although it is conscious that such an operation would
only be a short-term solution in the struggle against the PKK.
But both Turkish and Western military sources have told Today's Zaman
that a Turkish cross-border operation into northern Iraq does not seem
possible in the coming weeks, since several generals, including Deputy
Chief of Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun, will be in Washington next week to
attend the annual meeting of the American-Turkish Council (ATC).
"It would not be wise for the Turkish military to send troops
to northern Iraq while its generals are attending a meeting in
Washington. The Turkish military will not like to look foolish,"
stated one Western diplomatic source in Ankara.
Turkey has also been lobbying the US intensely, in particular the
Democrats, who took control of the House of Representatives and the
Senate during last year's November by-elections, to convince them not
to adopt a resolution terming the killings of Armenians at the hands
of Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide. Crossing the border
into northern Iraq at such a crucial time would not serve Turkish
interests either, while Turkey has been pressing hard to convince
the Democrats and the strong Jewish lobby to pull the resolution from
the table, said another Western diplomat.
Cross-border threat to deter PKK and US
But Turkey does not rule out a possible cross-border operation into
northern Iraq, although it knows that it will only serve Ankara's
interests in the short term. Ankara wants to keep this option on the
table, partly because it seeks to deter the PKK from any intensified
attacks, but also to give a message to its close NATO ally, the US,
that it should take all necessary measures to finish off the PKK
camps in northern Iraq and avoid endangering the fragile stability
in the north of the war-torn country.
But neither Turkish officials, nor some Western analysts, rule out
the possibility of a Turkish cross-border operation at any time,
particularly if the PKK stages a big assault leading to the deaths
of hundreds of Turks.
--Boundary_(ID_3xJMCH5Nr3rCI9bk7uBKRQ)--