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US struggles to avert Turkish intervention in northern Iraq: Ankara
claims Kurdish rebels preparing attacks Operations could wreck
American peace strategy
SIMON TISDALL ANKARA
The Guardian - United Kingdom
Published: Mar 23, 2007
The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military
intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to
derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the
battle to save Iraq from disintegration.
Senior Bush administration officials have assured Turkey in recent
days that US forces will increase efforts to root out Kurdistan
Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas enjoying safe haven in the Qandil
mountains, on the Iraq-Iran-Turkey border.
But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and
diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in
south-east Turkey - and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans
fail to act. "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is
necessary. Nothing is ruled out," Mr Gul said. "I have said to the
Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in
Mexico attacking America. What would you do?. . . We are hopeful. We
have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."
Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in
Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat
Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in
prospect unless Ankara backed off.
Fighting between security forces and Kurdish fighters seeking autonomy
or independence for Kurdish-dominated areas of south-east Turkey has
claimed 37,000 lives since 1984. The last big Turkish operation
occurred 10 years ago, when 40,000 troops pushed deep into Iraq. But
intervention in the coming weeks would be the first since the US took
control of Iraq in 2003 and would risk direct confrontation between
Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurdish forces and their US allies.
Several other factors are adding to the tension between the Nato
partners:
* The firm Turkish belief that the US is playing a double game in
northern Iraq. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming
the PKK's sister organisation, the Iran-based Kurdistan Free Life
party, to destabilise the Iranian government.
* US acquiescence in plans to hold a refer endum in oil-rich Kirkuk in
northern Iraq. Turkey suspects Iraqi Kurds are seeking control of
Kirkuk as a prelude to the creation of an independent Kurdistan.
* Plans by the US Congress to vote on a resolution blaming Turkey for
genocide against the Armenians in 1915. Faruk Logoglu, a former
ambassador to Washington, said that if the resolution passed,
relations "could take generations to recover".
* Record levels of Turkish anti-Americanism dating back to 2003, when
Turkey refused to let US combat forces cross the Iraq border.
The US is already fighting Sunni insurgents and Shia
militias. Analysts say a surge in violence in northern Iraq,
previously the most stable region, could capsize the entire US
plan. But pressure on the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, is also growing as a result of forthcoming elections.
Military intervention was narrowly avoided last summer when he said
that "patience was at an end" over US prevarication. Now conservatives
and nationalists are again accusing him of not standing up to
Washington.
"If they are killing our soldiers . . . and if public pressure on the
government increases, of course we will have to intervene," said Ali
Riza Alaboyun, an MP for Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development
party. "It is the legal right of any country to protect its people and
its borders."
US support for Iranian Kurds opposed to the Tehran government is
adding to the agitation. "The US is trying to undermine the Iran
regime, using the Kurds like it is using the MEK [the anti-Tehran
People's Mujahideen]," said Dr Logoglu. "Once you begin to
differentiate between 'good' and 'bad' terrorist organisations, then
you lose the war on terror." But he warned that military intervention
might be ineffective and could be "disastrous" in destabilising the
region. A recent national security council assessment also suggested
that senior Turkish commanders were cautious about the prospects of
success.
Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state, said last week that the US
was acting to assuage Turkish concerns. "We are committed to
eliminating the threat of PKK terrorism in northern Iraq," he said.
General Joseph Ralston, the US special envoy dealing with the PKK
issue, was less upbeat, admitting that "the potential for Turkish
cross-border action" was growing. "We have reached a critical point in
which the pressure of continued [PKK] attacks has placed immense
public pressure upon the government of Turkey to take some military
action. As the snows melt in the mountain passes, we will see if the
PKK renews its attacks and how the Turkish government responds . . . I
hope the Turks will continue to stand by us."
But a Milliyet journalist, Kadri Gursel, said: "The US attitude has
really pissed off the government and the army. The US really doesn't
understand how exhausted and fed up they are."
A Kurd is arrested at an Istanbul rally on Wednesday. Turkey's leaders
are under pressure to crack down on Kurdish militants
claims Kurdish rebels preparing attacks Operations could wreck
American peace strategy
SIMON TISDALL ANKARA
The Guardian - United Kingdom
Published: Mar 23, 2007
The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military
intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to
derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the
battle to save Iraq from disintegration.
Senior Bush administration officials have assured Turkey in recent
days that US forces will increase efforts to root out Kurdistan
Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas enjoying safe haven in the Qandil
mountains, on the Iraq-Iran-Turkey border.
But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and
diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in
south-east Turkey - and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans
fail to act. "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is
necessary. Nothing is ruled out," Mr Gul said. "I have said to the
Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in
Mexico attacking America. What would you do?. . . We are hopeful. We
have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."
Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in
Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat
Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in
prospect unless Ankara backed off.
Fighting between security forces and Kurdish fighters seeking autonomy
or independence for Kurdish-dominated areas of south-east Turkey has
claimed 37,000 lives since 1984. The last big Turkish operation
occurred 10 years ago, when 40,000 troops pushed deep into Iraq. But
intervention in the coming weeks would be the first since the US took
control of Iraq in 2003 and would risk direct confrontation between
Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurdish forces and their US allies.
Several other factors are adding to the tension between the Nato
partners:
* The firm Turkish belief that the US is playing a double game in
northern Iraq. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming
the PKK's sister organisation, the Iran-based Kurdistan Free Life
party, to destabilise the Iranian government.
* US acquiescence in plans to hold a refer endum in oil-rich Kirkuk in
northern Iraq. Turkey suspects Iraqi Kurds are seeking control of
Kirkuk as a prelude to the creation of an independent Kurdistan.
* Plans by the US Congress to vote on a resolution blaming Turkey for
genocide against the Armenians in 1915. Faruk Logoglu, a former
ambassador to Washington, said that if the resolution passed,
relations "could take generations to recover".
* Record levels of Turkish anti-Americanism dating back to 2003, when
Turkey refused to let US combat forces cross the Iraq border.
The US is already fighting Sunni insurgents and Shia
militias. Analysts say a surge in violence in northern Iraq,
previously the most stable region, could capsize the entire US
plan. But pressure on the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, is also growing as a result of forthcoming elections.
Military intervention was narrowly avoided last summer when he said
that "patience was at an end" over US prevarication. Now conservatives
and nationalists are again accusing him of not standing up to
Washington.
"If they are killing our soldiers . . . and if public pressure on the
government increases, of course we will have to intervene," said Ali
Riza Alaboyun, an MP for Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development
party. "It is the legal right of any country to protect its people and
its borders."
US support for Iranian Kurds opposed to the Tehran government is
adding to the agitation. "The US is trying to undermine the Iran
regime, using the Kurds like it is using the MEK [the anti-Tehran
People's Mujahideen]," said Dr Logoglu. "Once you begin to
differentiate between 'good' and 'bad' terrorist organisations, then
you lose the war on terror." But he warned that military intervention
might be ineffective and could be "disastrous" in destabilising the
region. A recent national security council assessment also suggested
that senior Turkish commanders were cautious about the prospects of
success.
Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state, said last week that the US
was acting to assuage Turkish concerns. "We are committed to
eliminating the threat of PKK terrorism in northern Iraq," he said.
General Joseph Ralston, the US special envoy dealing with the PKK
issue, was less upbeat, admitting that "the potential for Turkish
cross-border action" was growing. "We have reached a critical point in
which the pressure of continued [PKK] attacks has placed immense
public pressure upon the government of Turkey to take some military
action. As the snows melt in the mountain passes, we will see if the
PKK renews its attacks and how the Turkish government responds . . . I
hope the Turks will continue to stand by us."
But a Milliyet journalist, Kadri Gursel, said: "The US attitude has
really pissed off the government and the army. The US really doesn't
understand how exhausted and fed up they are."
A Kurd is arrested at an Istanbul rally on Wednesday. Turkey's leaders
are under pressure to crack down on Kurdish militants