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Savannah Morning News, GA
Oct 19 2007
Fools on the Hill retreat
ELUSIVE FIGHTERS, holed up in mountain strongholds, make cross-border
raids into the territory of an American ally.
Then they duck back across the border where the neighboring nation's
standing government seems powerless to bring the fighters to justice.
Sound like Taliban or al-Qaida fighters crossing from their
Pakistan-based lairs to wreak havoc in Afghanistan?
Try again.
In a situation that virtually mirrors our problem with the baddies
who formerly ran Afghanistan, Turkey finds itself battling Kurdish
separatist fighters based in northern Iraq.
The Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, is fighting for an independent
Kurdish homeland, to be carved out of Turkey. They share common
ancestry with those who occupy northern Iraq.
Until now, Turkey has been held in check by diplomatic pressure from
the United States.
That is, until a foolish group of U.S. representatives decided to
poke the NATO ally in the eye with a resolution declaring as genocide
the deaths of Armenians during and just after World War I.
Following a House committee vote approving the measure, the Turkish
parliament decided to take the gloves off, granting their military
approval to cross into Iraq to kill the Kurdish rebels and end the
insurrection.
In the powder-keg wake of their actions, many of the congressmen who
voted for the House measure - including Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson
- are now elbowing past each other in their attempts to flee
association with the nonbinding resolution.
Of the 19 Democrats and eight Republicans who voted the measure out
of committee last Wednesday, a full dozen have since pulled their
support.
That's good. But their regret is a poor substitute for forethought.
http://savannahnow.com/node/377935
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Oct 19 2007
Fools on the Hill retreat
ELUSIVE FIGHTERS, holed up in mountain strongholds, make cross-border
raids into the territory of an American ally.
Then they duck back across the border where the neighboring nation's
standing government seems powerless to bring the fighters to justice.
Sound like Taliban or al-Qaida fighters crossing from their
Pakistan-based lairs to wreak havoc in Afghanistan?
Try again.
In a situation that virtually mirrors our problem with the baddies
who formerly ran Afghanistan, Turkey finds itself battling Kurdish
separatist fighters based in northern Iraq.
The Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, is fighting for an independent
Kurdish homeland, to be carved out of Turkey. They share common
ancestry with those who occupy northern Iraq.
Until now, Turkey has been held in check by diplomatic pressure from
the United States.
That is, until a foolish group of U.S. representatives decided to
poke the NATO ally in the eye with a resolution declaring as genocide
the deaths of Armenians during and just after World War I.
Following a House committee vote approving the measure, the Turkish
parliament decided to take the gloves off, granting their military
approval to cross into Iraq to kill the Kurdish rebels and end the
insurrection.
In the powder-keg wake of their actions, many of the congressmen who
voted for the House measure - including Georgia Democrat Hank Johnson
- are now elbowing past each other in their attempts to flee
association with the nonbinding resolution.
Of the 19 Democrats and eight Republicans who voted the measure out
of committee last Wednesday, a full dozen have since pulled their
support.
That's good. But their regret is a poor substitute for forethought.
http://savannahnow.com/node/377935
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress