Monday, October 15, 2007
News Turkey moves toward invasion of Iraq
Posted by Andisheh Nouraee on Mon, Oct 15, 2007 at 9:45 PM
AP:
The Turkish government will seek parliamentary approval for a military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, a government spokesman said Monday, taking action on one of two major issues straining relations with Washington.(snip)
Fighting along the border with Iraq was reported over the weekend, where Turkey's military said it "responded heavily" to attacks from northern Iraq by Kurdish fighters on Friday. Iraqi Kurds reported that Turkish artillery hit their territory.
Before the 2003 invasion, a Turkish invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan was on many people's worst-case scenario list. From an August 2002 New York Times editorial:
The country's volatile mix of Shiites and Sunnis, Arabs and Kurds has been held together only by brute force. A splintered Iraq would tempt Iran, frighten Turkey and perhaps lead to regional war.
And from my Don't Panic column in September 2002:
Turkey fears that if Saddam is toppled, Iraqi Kurds will declare an independent state, and that Turkish Kurds — who live just across the border from Iraqi Kurds — will fight to break off a piece of Turkey and join them.
Today the situation in Iraq is so full of "worse than anyone imagined" situations, Turkey's invasion will barely be noticed by the apathetic American public.
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