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October 10, 2007
Turkey Authorizes Troops to Enter Iraq to Fight Rebels
By SEBNEM ARSU and SABRINA TAVERNISE
ISTANBUL, Oct. 9 - Turkey took a step toward a military operation in
Iraq on Tuesday, as its top political and military leaders issued a
statement authorizing troops to cross the Iraq border to eliminate
separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the northern region.
Turkey moved toward military action in the face of strong opposition
by the United States, which is anxious to maintain peace in the
region, one of the rare areas of stability in conflict-torn Iraq. But
more than two dozen Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent days,
and the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed far
more determined than before to act decisively.
A government official without authorization to speak publicly on the
issue who asked not to be identified by name, said preparations were
under way to seek parliamentary approval for a cross-border military
operation, a request that would be the first formal step toward an
offensive.
The Associated Press reported that the request would be submitted to
Parliament as early as Wednesday.
Government offices and institutions have been ordered "to take all
economic and political measures, including cross-border operations
when necessary, in order to end the existence of the terror
organization in a neighboring country," said the statement, which was
released by Mr. Erdogan's office, after he met with political and
military leaders in Ankara.
A Turkish military offensive into northern Iraq, while unlikely, would
have far-reaching consequences for the United States. Turkey is a NATO
member and has the region's most powerful army. Turkey's support of
the United States in the Iraq war is crucial. The United States'
Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey supplies the military in central
Iraq.
Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, said the United States
had encouraged Turkish officials to work together with the Iraqi
government.
"In our view, it is not going to lead to a long-term, durable solution
to have significant incursions from Turkey into Iraq," he said at a
news briefing in Washington.
But Iraq's government has little authority in the region, which is
controlled exclusively by Kurds, and an accord reached by Iraq's
interior minister and senior Turkish officials last month did not
include permission for military operations, a formulation that
frustrated Turkey.
Relations between the United States and Turkey are delicate on another
front. A bill on the Armenian genocide - the killing of more than a
million Armenians by Turkey at the end of World War I - is due before
the House Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. Turks have been
working to prevent its consideration, with Mr. Erdogan making phone
calls Tuesday, according to a Turkish member of Parliament in
Washington to work against the bill.
Its passage "would be insulting to Turkey," said Egeman Bagis, the
Parliament member. "It would mean losing Turkey's support in the
region."
He did not say precisely what that might mean. Turkey ended military
cooperation with France last year after France voted to make denial of
the Armenian genocide a crime.
"It could make it very difficult for Turkey to continue supporting"
the United States in Iraq, Mr. Bagis said.
Turkey's foreign minister, Ali Babacan, made a similar appeal to
Israeli authorities on a visit over the weekend, asking them to press
Congress to drop the matter. Turkey has close relations with Israel,
and Turkish officials have bristled at a recent statement by the
Anti-Defamation League declaring that the killing of Armenians was
"tantamount to genocide."
Some analysts said that given the complex relationships among Turkey,
Iraq and the United States, Turkey would continue to consider military
action a last resort.
Edip Baser, a retired general who was special coordinator in a United
States-Turkey effort against the Kurdish Workers' Party in 2006, said
it was likely that political and military leaders would wait for the
appropriate time to act.
The government official who asked not to be identified by name said:
"Our government will soon start technical consultation with the
military to see what they need in order to end this violence that make
our hearts bleed. First, there needs to be necessary preparations and
assessments. We can say that they have already started." Senior
cabinet members, state officials and high-ranking military officials
met Tuesday after President Abdullah Gul, Mr. Erdogan and Gen. Yasar
Buyukanit, the leader of the Turkish Army, vowed to strengthen efforts
against the Kurdish Workers' Party, the Kurdish rebel group.
Sebnem Arsu reported from Istanbul and Sabrina Tavernise from Baghdad.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/world/europe/10t urkey.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Turkey Authorizes Troops to Enter Iraq to Fight Rebels
By SEBNEM ARSU and SABRINA TAVERNISE
ISTANBUL, Oct. 9 - Turkey took a step toward a military operation in
Iraq on Tuesday, as its top political and military leaders issued a
statement authorizing troops to cross the Iraq border to eliminate
separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the northern region.
Turkey moved toward military action in the face of strong opposition
by the United States, which is anxious to maintain peace in the
region, one of the rare areas of stability in conflict-torn Iraq. But
more than two dozen Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent days,
and the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed far
more determined than before to act decisively.
A government official without authorization to speak publicly on the
issue who asked not to be identified by name, said preparations were
under way to seek parliamentary approval for a cross-border military
operation, a request that would be the first formal step toward an
offensive.
The Associated Press reported that the request would be submitted to
Parliament as early as Wednesday.
Government offices and institutions have been ordered "to take all
economic and political measures, including cross-border operations
when necessary, in order to end the existence of the terror
organization in a neighboring country," said the statement, which was
released by Mr. Erdogan's office, after he met with political and
military leaders in Ankara.
A Turkish military offensive into northern Iraq, while unlikely, would
have far-reaching consequences for the United States. Turkey is a NATO
member and has the region's most powerful army. Turkey's support of
the United States in the Iraq war is crucial. The United States'
Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey supplies the military in central
Iraq.
Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, said the United States
had encouraged Turkish officials to work together with the Iraqi
government.
"In our view, it is not going to lead to a long-term, durable solution
to have significant incursions from Turkey into Iraq," he said at a
news briefing in Washington.
But Iraq's government has little authority in the region, which is
controlled exclusively by Kurds, and an accord reached by Iraq's
interior minister and senior Turkish officials last month did not
include permission for military operations, a formulation that
frustrated Turkey.
Relations between the United States and Turkey are delicate on another
front. A bill on the Armenian genocide - the killing of more than a
million Armenians by Turkey at the end of World War I - is due before
the House Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. Turks have been
working to prevent its consideration, with Mr. Erdogan making phone
calls Tuesday, according to a Turkish member of Parliament in
Washington to work against the bill.
Its passage "would be insulting to Turkey," said Egeman Bagis, the
Parliament member. "It would mean losing Turkey's support in the
region."
He did not say precisely what that might mean. Turkey ended military
cooperation with France last year after France voted to make denial of
the Armenian genocide a crime.
"It could make it very difficult for Turkey to continue supporting"
the United States in Iraq, Mr. Bagis said.
Turkey's foreign minister, Ali Babacan, made a similar appeal to
Israeli authorities on a visit over the weekend, asking them to press
Congress to drop the matter. Turkey has close relations with Israel,
and Turkish officials have bristled at a recent statement by the
Anti-Defamation League declaring that the killing of Armenians was
"tantamount to genocide."
Some analysts said that given the complex relationships among Turkey,
Iraq and the United States, Turkey would continue to consider military
action a last resort.
Edip Baser, a retired general who was special coordinator in a United
States-Turkey effort against the Kurdish Workers' Party in 2006, said
it was likely that political and military leaders would wait for the
appropriate time to act.
The government official who asked not to be identified by name said:
"Our government will soon start technical consultation with the
military to see what they need in order to end this violence that make
our hearts bleed. First, there needs to be necessary preparations and
assessments. We can say that they have already started." Senior
cabinet members, state officials and high-ranking military officials
met Tuesday after President Abdullah Gul, Mr. Erdogan and Gen. Yasar
Buyukanit, the leader of the Turkish Army, vowed to strengthen efforts
against the Kurdish Workers' Party, the Kurdish rebel group.
Sebnem Arsu reported from Istanbul and Sabrina Tavernise from Baghdad.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/world/europe/10t urkey.html?_r=1&oref=slogin