Europeans invade sovereign Iraq as Turkey crosses border

[86Dude]

Sources: Thousands of Turkish troops enter Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials said.

Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.

"It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands," one of the officials told The Associated Press by telephone. The official is based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.

The officials did not say where the Turkish force was operating in northern Iraq, nor did he say how long they would be there. Both officials are involved in anti-rebel operations, though they did not disclose whether they participated in the planning of the operation on Wednesday.

Col. Hussein Rashid, a top official with the Iraqi border guards, dismissed the report.

"Not even a single Turkish soldier has entered Iraqi territory," he said by telephone from his post near the border with Turkey, although he pointed out that Turkish troops have been operating very close to the border as part of a recent buildup. "I have made contacts with many border posts and none report any incident."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/....ap/index.html

[Stigger]

Turks are not really European.

[86Dude]

Originally Posted by Stigger

Turks are not really European.

The euroweeners think they are.

[Dogberry]

Originally Posted by 86Dude

The euroweeners think they are.

Not yet, not by a long chalk

[Feenix566]

Baghdad and Ankara deny reports of Turkish incursion
Published: 6/6/2007

BAGHDAD - The foreign ministers of both Iraq and Turkey denied reports Wednesday that Turkish troops had launched a cross-border raid to strike Kurdish terrorist bases in Iraq's northern highlands.

Turkey has stepped up its military presence in its own southeastern region, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP, but both he and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul denied there had been a recent incursion.

Ankara suspects northern Iraq's Kurdish authorities of turning a blind eye to cross border attacks by separatist fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is fighting for self-rule in southern Turkey.

In recent weeks the tone of the dispute has hardened following a spate of attacks by Kurds inside Turkey, spawning Wednesday's invasion rumours.

"These reports are inaccurate. There hasn't been any Turkish military incursion into Iraqi territory," Zebari told AFP in a telephone interview.

"We've checked those reports with Kurdish regional authorities and with border guards all along the Turkish frontier. They denied that there has been any such incursion or any operation whatsoever," he said.

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp...kish_incursion

[Kaliayev]

Depends how you define "European".

According to NATO, they are European. They have land in Europe and a secular, democratic constitution. According to "Euroweeners" like Javier Solana (you know, the Secratery-General of NATO during the Kosovo war), that counts.

But hey, who wants smudgy people messing up our racially pure continent anyway, right?

[oki]

geographically, a part of turkye is in europe.

so first you announce a huge operation in iraq, and then you just do a little, and go oh this wasnt it, this is no problem....

[grimrebuke]

I notice the State Department being awefully quiet on this, considering we've got that area blanketed with satelites. What do you do when you have two friends and one of them is clearly lying? At some point we are going to have to side with either Iraq, whom we occupy, and the Kurds, who have been a major player on our side in the region... or Turkey, who is a huge provider of UN and NATO troops in support of many of our interests and who is one of the few reliable friends we have in the region. No matter what we do, we hurt our interests.

[Feenix566]

Originally Posted by grimrebuke

I notice the State Department being awefully quiet on this, considering we've got that area blanketed with satelites. What do you do when you have two friends and one of them is clearly lying? At some point we are going to have to side with either Iraq, whom we occupy, and the Kurds, who have been a major player on our side in the region... or Turkey, who is a huge provider of UN and NATO troops in support of many of our interests and who is one of the few reliable friends we have in the region. No matter what we do, we hurt our interests.

That's what happens when you get involved in other people's problems.

[grimrebuke]

Originally Posted by Feenix566

That's what happens when you get involved in other people's problems.

More specifically, that is what happens when you engage in activities that are far outside of your own interests.

[Stigger]

Originally Posted by oki

geographically, a part of turkye is in europe.

Originally Posted by Kaliayev

Depends how you define "European".

According to NATO, they are European. They have land in Europe and a secular, democratic constitution. According to "Euroweeners" like Javier Solana (you know, the Secratery-General of NATO during the Kosovo war), that counts.

Yes, in one respect they can be considered European. They own a small piece of land in Europe, But it is only a tiny fraction of the country. Their capital, along with roughly 95% of their land is located in Asia. They are ethnically middle-eastern. NATO may consider them European but even they themselves would admit that they are not really European.

Originally Posted by Kaliayev

But hey, who wants smudgy people messing up our racially pure continent anyway, right?

The mess has already been made. Lie in it.

[oki]

Originally Posted by Stigger

Yes, in one respect they can be considered European. They own a small piece of land in Europe, But it is only a tiny fraction of the country. Their capital, along with roughly 95% of their land is located in Asia. They are ethnically middle-eastern. NATO may consider them European but even they themselves would admit that they are not really European.

half of istanbul is actually in europe, it has 2 sides, european and asian. the old part with the famous mosques, and the 19th century part are in europe. the asian side is newer, mostly, but the biggest part. and tukye is sort of a mixed culture, the west is pretty similair to greek culture, the further you go east, the more middle eastern it becomes. turks like to see themselves as neighter, they are simply turkish. they used to be a huge empire once.

[Stigger]

Originally Posted by oki

half of istanbul is actually in europe, it has 2 sides, european and asian. the old part with the famous mosques, and the 19th century part are in europe. the asian side is newer, mostly, but the biggest part. and tukye is sort of a mixed culture, the west is pretty similair to greek culture, the further you go east, the more middle eastern it becomes. turks like to see themselves as neighter, they are simply turkish. they used to be a huge empire once.

Ankara is it's capital, not Constantinople.