Turkish Helicopters Strike Inside Iraq

[theHandpuppet]

Source: By YAHYA BARAZANJI Associated Press Writer

Nov 13, 10:06 AM EST

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- Turkish helicopter gunships attacked abandoned villages inside Iraq on Tuesday, Iraqi officials said, the first such airstrike since border tensions have escalated in recent months.

It also was the first major Turkish action against Kurdish rebels since Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met President Bush in Washington earlier this month. The United States and Iraq have pressured Turkey to avoid a large-scale attack on rebel bases in northern Iraq, fearing such an operation would destabilize what has been the calmest region in the country.

Meanwhile, Kurdish guerrillas killed four Turkish soldiers in a clash Tuesday in southeastern Turkey, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said.

More than 50 Turkish troops have been killed in a series of hit-and-run attacks by Kurdish rebels since late September. Turkey says it has killed dozens of rebels....

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_TURKEY_KURDS?SITE=OHCIN&SECTION=AMERICAS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Ganja Ninja]

1. Better claim victory and get out now.

All of this "the surge has worked" talk reminds me of the mission accomplished claims only without the flight suit and codpiece. Give it enough time and we'll be back in a fight that could be even worse than the last 6 years.

[theHandpuppet]

2. Yep -- it appears things are quickly going from bad to worse

Bring our troops home NOW!!

[saigon68]

11. More dead children

[Supersedeas]

3. Nothing to see here, feed them more Hillary bashing and Britney updates

[daleo]

4. They attacked abandoned villages?

"But Col. Hussein Tamir, an Iraqi army officer who supervises border guards, said the airstrikes occurred before dawn on abandoned villages northeast of Zakhu, an Iraqi Kurdish town near the border with Turkey. There were no casualties, he said."

A bit of play acting before the real thing?

[gratuitous]

5. Can the U.S. issue a credible protest?

Certainly this isn't going to contribute to the stability of the region and may escalate tensions and hostilities beyond even the United States' formidable ability to create its own reality. But what can the Bush administration say? "You're not entitled to defend your borders"? "You can't launch a pre-emptive war against your neighbor"? I know that he doesn't give a tin shit about what the American people think of him, but the hooting and the jeering from the rest of the international community will surely sting even Little Boots' teeny conscience.

So, if Turkey insists on defending itself, and these skirmishes escalate, it would appear that the quagmire is getting even deeper, just when it looked like we'd bottomed out at last.

[Eugene]

6. Turkey sends special forces to Iraqi border

Source: Reuters

Turkey sends special forces to Iraqi border
13 Nov 2007 17:24:51 GMT
Source: Reuters

-snip-

By Ferit Demir

TUNCELI, Turkey, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Four Turkish
soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) guerrillas on Tuesday and Turkey
sent hundreds of anti-terrorism special forces to
the troubled region bordering Iraq.

Military sources said the special forces would join
up to 100,000 Turkish troops near the border. Turkey
has threatened an incursion into northern Iraq to
root out PKK rebels who use mountains there as a
base for attacks across the border.

It was not immediately clear whether the presence
of the special forces in Sirnak and Hakkari provinces
in southeast Turkey was linked to an offensive
launched on Tuesday against PKK rebels following
clashes, which left four soldiers dead.

-snip-

NTV Web site reported Erdogan as telling a meeting
of his AK Party on Monday night "a cross-border
operation is approaching". The meeting was closed
to the media.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1385904.htm

[Supersedeas]

7. So much for Iraqi national sovereignty and the U.S. control of the security situation

[lovuian]

8. Its begun

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AH-IjStfVBs

And US just allows them in to Iraq ???

[qwlauren35]

9. FINALLY!

I've been looking for someone to post this all day. When I saw it on CNN, it just turned my stomach. How could the US ENCOURAGE one country to bomb another?

Where will we stop?

Once again, Richardson is looking good to me.

[AlphaCentauri]

10. Richarson?

I just got my No Troops Left Behind bumper stiker from Grassroots for Richarson

[ohio2007]

12. Turkey denies Iraq bombings

http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnL148651.html
Prime minister denies it happened and meanwhile,on the Turkish side;

Turkey jails eight soldiers
ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Turkey has jailed eight soldiers amid accusations they cooperated with Kurdish rebels near the border with Iraq.The soldiers were charged Sunday with disobeying orders, a lack of military discipline and escaping abroad, The Turkish Daily News reported Tuesday.

The alleged incidents occurred Oct. 21 when Turkish troops were ambushed by the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party or PKK, which has its strongholds in Iraq and is seeking greater autonomy in Turkey.Twelve Turkish soldiers died it in the ambush and the eight now jailed were taken in PKK custody and released after 15 days, the News reported.

A military investigation is trying to determine whether the jailed soldiers actually fought against the PKK. The soldiers have said their weapons failed to fire, the News reported.


http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/11/13/turkey_jails_eight_soldiers/6182/
Do they shoot deserters in the Turkish army?
Guess we may...or may not...find out. Can't imagine that story getting much media attention in Turkey. It would be to divisive imo.