US withholds comment on reported Turkish attack inside Iraq

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The White House withheld comment Saturday on reports that Turkey had undertaken military operations against the armed Kurdish separatist movement PKK in northern Iraq.

"We have been working hard since November 5 to follow up the conversation between President (George W.) Bush and Prime Minister Erdogan to increase cooperation among Turkey, Iraq and the United States to counter the PKK terrorist threat," White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

Earlier Turkey said it inflicted "heavy losses" with airstrikes and artillery against a group of "50 to 60 terrorists ... inside Iraq's borders" in the mountainous region southeast of the Turkish town of Cukurca in Hakkari province.

US State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez declined to confirm the reports of the Turkish attack.

"I can't confirm (those reports)," he told AFP.

Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jaWIvviwQkK_xmkWu6_2FCepKUDg

---

Where's Miss Manners when you need her.

Dear Miss Manners,

When one is attacking a country which has already been attacked and occupied by yet another country, should one send the current occupiers a note to let them know military action has been taken against said occupied country? We did drop them a note and let them know what are plans were before our attack, but are unsure if a follow up letter is also required.

Thank you for any advice you can give.

Sincerely,

Turkey

[maddezmom]

1. no comment

is that like the nondenial denial that means it's true?

[seemslikeadream]

2. THE US HAS AGREED TO SHARE INTELLIGENCE WITH TURKEY TROOPS

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7121396.stm

Turkey cabinet backs Iraq attack

The US has agreed to share intelligence with Turkish troops
Turkey's cabinet has voted to allow the army to enter Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced.
He gave no indication as to whether the decision meant that a military operation was now imminent.

Mr Erdogan says Turkey needs to be able to respond to a recent rise in bomb attacks blamed on PKK rebels from Iraq.

In October, the Turkish parliament voted overwhelmingly to allow military operations to go ahead.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Is intelligence the correct word ?

The providors of information, in general , seem to have the IQ of dandlelions given the background to the Farce in Iraq.

[jimlup]

4. Self Enforced Ignorance

Legal liablity is issue here. They have to pretend not to know that way they aren't legally liable for approving or assisting.

Just like they will never say publically that Israel has nuclear weapons.

[rodeodance]

5. Our Military NEEDS Turkey for the Iraq war--so all is well with the WH. do not expect any comments.

[stillcool]

6. sure makes you wonder...

if anyone knows what's going on over there...

Iraqi Foreign Ministry protests Turkish attacks on Iraqi territories
Saturday, July 21, 2007
BAGHDAD - Associated Press

Iraq's Foreign Ministry sent a formal memorandum to the Turkish government Thursday protesting Turkish shelling of Iraqi territory and calling for a diplomatic solution to the border tension.

The memorandum was sent a day after the Iraqi government claimed Turkish artillery and aircraft bombarded areas of northern Iraq. Turkey has threatened to strike bases of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been launching attacks in Turkey from sanctuaries in Iraq.

The memorandum, a copy of which was distributed to news agencies, said the Turkish bombardment caused "huge fires in the forests and terrified residents," some of whom fled their villages
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=78908

Posted on: Tuesday, 30 October 2007, 12:00 CDT
Turkish Helicopters Attack Rebel Kurds
By DAVID RISING

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish Cobra attack helicopters blasted suspected Kurdish rebel targets Tuesday near the southeastern border with Iraq in a second day of fighting in the area. The prime minister said an escalation of military action was unavoidable.

Three soldiers and six rebels have been killed in fighting, according to local news reports.

As the military pressure continued, the government called a Cabinet meeting for Wednesday to discuss possible economic measures against groups supporting the Kurdish rebels, private CNN-Turk and NTV television reported.

Turkey is reportedly considering a string of economic actions against the self-governing Kurdish administration in Iraq's north, where rebels are based. The region is heavily reliant on Turkish electricity and food imports, as well as Turkish investment in construction.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1123452/turkish_helicopters_attack_rebel_kurds/index.html

Kurds defend recruiting foreign oil producers, including Hunt
Hunt's, Perot's firms among 20 there despite Baghdad's threats

06:42 AM CST on Wednesday, November 28, 2007

By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News
[e-mail]

WASHINGTON – Midway through a tour of Washington and Texas, Kurdish leaders defended their break with Baghdad on oil production, promising to double the number of foreign companies drilling in their territory by the middle of next year.

Two months after Hunt Oil Co. announced its agreement with the Kurds, the Dallas independent looks like the best-known company with eyes for Iraqi Kurdistan.

But 20 foreign companies are operating there, including Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood International Energy, despite warnings from Baghdad that regional officials lack authority to grant such contracts.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-kurdoil_28bus.ART.State.Edition1.2a475dd.html

Law.com
Baker Botts Cuts an Iraqi Oil Deal -- and Draws a Backlash
Monday November 26, 3:02 am ET
Daphne Eviatar, The American Lawyer

In September, Baker lawyered a deal between Hunt and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In mid-November, the Iraqi Oil Minister announced that all oil companies that have cut deals with the KRG will be blacklisted. "Any company that has signed contracts without the approval of the federal authority of Iraq will not have any chance of working with the government of Iraq," oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani told reporters during OPEC meetings in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. "We warned the companies that there will be consequences... that Iraq will not allow its oil to be exported," Shahristani said.

The deal was for exploration rights in northern Iraq. The Baker Botts team was led by Sean Korney, a Dubai-based partner with a record of representing energy companies buying up oil and gas rights around the globe. None were as controversial as the Hunt Oil rights, however. Not only was the deal made in a war zone, but Iraq is still working on oil resources legislation. Under the October 2005 Iraqi constitution, local oil is owned by "the Iraqi people."

Neither Baker Botts nor Hunt Oil would comment on the deal or on the Iraqi government's latest pronouncements.

Both the U.S. and Iraqi governments are annoyed by the Hunt contract. "Any deal has no standing as far as the government of Iraq is concerned," Iraqi oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani told reporters in September, even before he said in November that he'd bar the companies from working in the country. The agreements could "have no legal standing," added Thomas Casey, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, at an October briefing.

The Bush administration also claims that the deal may hurt peace prospects in the region. Passing a national oil law that will cover Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish regions is one of the key "benchmarks" set by the Bush administration to measure progress in Iraq. And this deal, according to Casey, is not "helpful in terms of seeing a national oil law get passed." No one at Baker Botts would comment.

Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee in Congress is investigating whether long-standing ties between Ray Hunt, the CEO of Hunt Oil, and the Bush administration (Hunt sat on the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board) may have given Hunt access to classified information prior to the oil deal. The company denies that it relied on anything confidential.
http://biz.yahoo.com/law/071126/07bdcef1e1da868fc937a53a4c2ec0a9.html?.v=1

[psychopomp]

7. There is a great deal of activity taking place among Turkish and American diplomats

to be sure. It would be unwise to make any comments on such a fluid situation at this juncture.

[Robbien]

8. AP is reporting that Kurds are saying Turkey has not attacked them

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The government of Iraqi Kurdistan and a spokesman for a Kurdish rebel group are saying there hasn't been an incursion into northern Iraq by Turkey's military.

Earlier, Turkey said it's forces carried out an operation against 50 to 60 Kurdish rebels in Iraqi territory, inflicting "significant losses."

But a spokesman for the government of Iraqi Kurdistan says the "situation is calm."

Turkey's announcement that it attacked the rebels comes a day after the prime minister said the government authorized a cross-border offensive.

http://www.kttc.com/News/index.php?ID=20686

[Supersedeas]

9. Iraqi soverignty is a matter of Oily convenience