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Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Turkey, Iraq Agree to Cooperate
Turkey and Iraq agreed to try to root out a Kurdish rebel group from northern Iraq, but Iraq's prime minister said he could not sign an agreement implementing the promise until it was put to his parliament. Read more...
Monday, 6 August 2007
Turkey to Warn Iraq on Rebel Sanctuaries
Cross-border attack on separatists appears likely if Baghdad fails to act. Read more...
Saturday, 4 August 2007
Iraqi Prime Minister to visit Turkey
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit Iran and Turkey next week to discuss security issues and the need for cooperation amid tensions with both countries. Read more...
Labels: foreign policy, iraq
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
US joins Turkey's war against rebel Kurds
(Guradian) The Pentagon confirmed today that it is working closely with the Turkish government to crush Kurdish guerrillas operating from bases in northern Iraq. Read more...
President Bush's Broken Promises
(Wall Street Journal) During his last 18 months in office, President Bush confronts a broader set of international crises than in his first 18 months. While pundits blame unilateralism and the Iraq war, the deterioration of Washington's relations with once-staunch allies has less to do with a lack of diplomacy and more to do with its kind.
Too often, the administration has sacrificed long-term credibility for short-term calm. Take Turkey. At the June 2004 NATO summit in Istanbul, President Bush promised Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the U.S. military would shut down Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorists in Iraq. Read more...
Too often, the administration has sacrificed long-term credibility for short-term calm. Take Turkey. At the June 2004 NATO summit in Istanbul, President Bush promised Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the U.S. military would shut down Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorists in Iraq. Read more...
PKK insurgency grows as AK Party renews debate on cross-border operations
(Eurasia daily) Fresh from its landslide victory in the Turkish elections of July 22, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has once again begun to increase pressure on the United States to move against elements of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq. Read more...
Labels: foreign policy, iraq, U.S.
Monday, 30 July 2007
Turkey set to defy US and hunt Kurdish rebels
(Telegraph) Turkey's newly elected government is prepared to turn its back on its long-standing alliance with the United States to counter the threat of Kurdish terrorism, one of the closest allies of the prime minister has warned.
Egemen Bagis, foreign policy advisor to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Turkish forces were prepared to mount operations against Kurdish PKK fighters who had taken refuge in Iraq, because the US had failed to intervene. Read more...Bush's Turkish Gamble
(Washingtonpost) The morass in Iraq and deepening difficulties in Afghanistan have not deterred the Bush administration from taking on a dangerous and questionable new secret operation. High-level U.S. officials are working with their Turkish counterparts on a joint military operation to suppress Kurdish guerrillas and capture their leaders. Through covert activity, their goal is to forestall Turkey from invading Iraq. Read more...
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Turkey vs. Iraq?
While Turkey has been considering a military operation in northern Iraq against PKK, the US is trying to stop this operation. Richard May, a former US officer in the U.S. Army, writes at the Foreign Policy in Focus website:
"While Capitol Hill battles the White House over Iraq, another battle is brewing in the Middle East. In the last week the Turkish military has moved 140,000 troops from across its country to the southern border with Iraq. These troops represent an invasion force meant to prevent the continued terrorist activities of the Kurdish minority that use northern Iraq as a safe haven. Turkey has previously voiced its intent to attack elements of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) after repeated bombings and recent attacks on civilians in the south of Turkey. If Ankara chooses to use military force in the north of Iraq now, the results would be dire for the future security and stability of Iraq.
Read the full article.
See also our dossier on U.S.-Turkey relations and Turkish Iraq policy.
Labels: iraq
Cross-border operation delayed until after elections
Newspapers report that the military intervention that Turkey has been considering staging in northern Iraq to root out members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based there seems to have been postponed to a time after the elections, with Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdoğan stating "the possibility of getting parliamentary approval for an operation is not on our agenda right now."
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Will Turkey Invade Northern Iraq?
AP on Turkish Iraq policy: Reports that Turkey has massed a huge military force on its border with Iraq bolstered fears that an invasion targeting hideouts of Kurdish rebels could be imminent. But how deeply into Iraq is the Turkish army willing to go, how long would it stay and what kind of fallout could come from allies in Washington and other NATO partners? Read more...
Labels: iraq
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Turk army chief reaffirms need for N.Iraq incursion
Reuters reports that the head of Turkey's powerful armed forces reaffirmed on Wednesday his view that a cross-border operation into northern Iraq was needed to crush Kurdish rebels based there.His comments pile more pressure on Turkey's government to allow a military operation, just weeks before parliamentary polls in which security and terrorism issues will loom large.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
PM Erdogan says fight against PKK is in Turkey, not Iraq
Reuters reports that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan signaled on Tuesday Turkey should focus on battling Kurdish guerrillas at home rather than in northern Iraq. Visit or Iraq dossier for more news and information.
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- Is Turkey going to the Club-Med?
- Turkey, Iraq Agree to Cooperate
- US works to ease tensions with Turkey
- Erdogan to Form New Government
- Club-Med gains supporters; Turkey puts fears to re...
