EU-DIGEST

Turkey says 'control your borders' to U.S., Iraq

Turkey relayed a "control you borders" message both to Iraq and the United States, which is leading coalition forces in this country, on Sunday following Friday's attack by outlawed PKK separatists. Turkey gave a note to Iraq and urged this country to take all the necessary measures to find and punish the perpetrators and to prevent any similar incidents, according to diplomatic sources. The sources also said the Turkish Embassy in the United States was launching initiatives with U.S. officials, as this country leads the coalition forces.

Fifteen Turkish soldiers were killed, 20 others were wounded and two soldiers went missing, Friday in an assault staged by PKK terrorists from north of Iraq on Aktutun Gendarmerie Border outpost in Semdinli town of southeastern province of Hakkari. Twenty-three PKK separatists were also killed in the clashes.

Labels: Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, USA

Crude Oil Rises as Turkey Says Pipeline Repair May Take 2 Weeks

Crude Oil Rises as Turkey Says Pipeline Repair May Take 2 Weeks

Crude oil rose for the first time in four days after Turkey said a pipeline carrying crude to the Mediterranean from Azerbaijan may remain shut for two weeks following an explosion on Aug. 5. The pipeline is able to ship 1 million barrels a day, Ali Gungor, governor of the Erzincan province, where the blast occurred, said today. A Kurdish separatist group claimed responsibility for bombing the line, which is still burning.

Labels: Kurdish PKK terrorists, Oil Production, Turkey

For the complete report from efluxmedia click on this link

Kurdish Terrorist Kill Five in Car Bombing in Turkey - by Matthew Williams

A vehicle that was transporting troops in Diyarbakir, a southeastern Turkish city passed a five star hotel when a car nearby exploded. The bomb was detonated by Kurdish terrorists. Five people were killed, including two students who just exited the building they were taking courses. Gov. Huseyin Avni Mutlu said: “A bomb left in a car ... was set off with a remote control. It was a very strong one. It was targeting a military service bus.” According to him 30 soldiers and many civilians including children were among those wounded.

Labels: Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Iraq's other Kurdish rebel group - by Jenne Cuffe

The PJAK is a sister organisation to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). While the US wants the Iraqi government to comply with Turkey's demands and drive PKK fighters from the Kandil mountains, where they have been launching attacks on Turkish military targets, the PJAK continues to operate against Iran from the Iraqi side of the border, and the Iranian government alleges it does so with American financial support.

Labels: Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists

Turkish troops enter Iraq

For the complete report from Bloomberg.com click on this link

Turkish Troops Enter Northern Iraq to Target the PKK - by Camilla Hall

Turkey sent 700 soldiers into northern Iraq and had 20 tanks ready to follow them in an assault on Kurdish militants who have carried out cross-border attacks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in northern Iraq today for a previously unannounced visit, flying into Kirkuk, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said on the party's Web site.

The U.S., alarmed over the prospect of a conflict in a relatively peaceful area of Iraq, had been working with Turkey to prevent an incursion. Turkey says the U.S., which classifies the PKK as a terrorist group, and Iraq haven't done enough to stop the group using northern Iraq as a base.

Labels: Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, War

Turkish Jet Fighter at local base

For the complete report from Forbes.com click on this link

Turkish Planes Bomb Terrorist PKK Targets in Iraq - Susan Fraser

Turkey said dozens of its warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets as deep as 60 miles inside northern Iraq for three hours Sunday, the largest aerial attack in years against the outlawed terrorist group.n the nighttime offensive, the fighter jets hit rebel positions close to the border with Turkey and in the Qandil mountains, which straddle the Iraq-Iran border, the Turkish military said in a statement posted on its Web site. It said the operation was directed against the rebels and not against the local population. As many as 50 fighter jets were involved in the airstrikes, private NTV television and other media reported. Turkey has recently attacked the area with ground-based artillery and helicopters and there have been some unconfirmed reports of airstrikes by warplanes.In Iraq, Mohammad Hajj Hammoud, a Foreign Ministry undersecretary, summoned the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad and asked that Ankara end raids "that cause harm to innocent people and affect friendly bilateral relations," the ministry said on its Web site.Turkish news reports said a PKK command center in Qandil was hit.

Labels: EU, Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, US

PKK terrorist leader acknowledges Turkey strike

A leader of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party on Sunday acknowledged the Turkish military's attack on the group's bases inside Iraq after initially denying it, but said there had been no casualties. On Saturday, Turkey said it had inflicted heavy casualties on a group of "50 to 60 terrorists" inside northern Iraq, and the PKK terrorist leader denied there had been any attack that day. But in his latest comment, again speaking under cover of anonymity, the rebel leader acknowledged the strikes but denied they had caused casualties.

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

EU's Lagendijk: 10 years ago we didn't know as much about the PKK

Joost Lagendijk, Co-chairman of the Turkey-EU Parliament Commission, met yesterday with a delegation from the Turkish Parliament's (TBMM) Social Assistance and Support for Families of Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims Foundation. Lagendijk spoke with Hamit Kose, the president of the foundation, about the EU's stance towards terror in Turkey, and about the perception of the PKK terror group in Europe in general. Said Lagendijk yesterday: "There is sometimes some confusion which could lead to the impression that the EU is soft on this terror. But we strongly condemn the terrorism committed by the PKK." Lagendijk also acknowledged that the EU's stance towards the PKK had changed notably in the last decade, saying "10 years ago, we had much less information, and we had ridiculous responses to it. But in recent years, with the events in London and Madrid, our perceptions of what terror really is have changed." Lagendijk took time to comment during his meeting on what he said was the importance of Turkey "moving into action" on lifting the controversial article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Kurdish rally in favor of terrorist leader Ocalan dispersed in Southern Turkey

Turkish police have clashed with hundreds of supporters of a pro-Kurdish party in the south-eastern city of Van. Tear gas was used to break up the rally by the Democratic Society Party (DTP) when activists chanted in favor of jailed Kurdish PKK terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan. The DTP, which has 20 seats in the 550-member Turkish Parliament is said to be linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The DTP denies any such claim.

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Turkey/Iraq: Turkish commander says Turkey preparing for cross-border operation

Land Forces' Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug was quoted by the state-run Anatolia news agency as saying: "we have entered the process of implementing the authorization.Of course, when or how the authorization would be implemented, that's another matter," the agency quoted him as saying." Basbug said that, although a cross-border operation would not eradicate the rebel group — the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK — it would deal a blow to the guerrillas, according to private NTV television.

Turkey's parliament last month gave the government the green light to order an operation into neighboring Iraq to dislodge separatist Kurdish rebels from camps in the north of the country.

Labels: Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Turkey and the Kurdish Terrorists - Who wants another Israel? - by Ayman El-Amir

The fundamental issue in abeyance is the decades-long aspiration for the creation of a state of Kurdistan. At issue is whether in the imperfect world of geopolitics, the creation of such a state would be a fulfillment of the post-World War I Woodrow Wilson principle of self-determination or a violation of the recognized sovereignty and territorial integrity of four states of the region -- namely, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Is a state of Kurdistan a World War I historical remiss that should now be rectified by redrawing maps and territorial borders? Are the Kurds creating the case of another Kosovo, or could the contiguous Kurdish tribal settlements in four sovereign states follow the example of Jewish settlements in Palestine under the British mandate and stake a claim to a national home for the Kurds with international assistance? Was the US Senate's non-binding resolution calling for the partition of Iraq along ethnic and religious lines a misguided step or the work of pro-Kurdish lobbyists, particularly from Israel?

Israel has a strategic interest in breaking up Iraq, the only Arab country that once had serious ambitions of acquiring nuclear technology under Saddam Hussein.It would allow Israel to break out of its isolation as a non- Arab pariah in the Middle East and join hands with another non-Arab entity in a mutually reinforcing alliance. The new Kurdish stronghold would benefit from Israel's military power and technology, and Washington-backed policies, to build and strengthen other Kurdish minorities in Iran, Syria and Turkey for the ultimate objective of building the independent state of Kurdistan on territories sliced off these countries. Israel would benefit from extended Kurdish family alliances to destabilize its opponents, dominate the Middle East and reshape it in its own interests. That would be the new Middle East the US is hoping for, with Israel hovering over the oil and gas riches of the region.

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

"Turkey PM in 'decisive' US talks"

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Washington for what Ankara has called a decisive meeting with President George W Bush on Kurdish rebels in north Iraq. Turkey has threatened to send troops across the border to hit bases used by the Kurdish PKK rebels unless the US and Iraq do more to stop attacks. The Turkish government is under public pressure to use force against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, USA

Iran, Turkey, Iraq victims of terrorism: Hosseini

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here Thursday that the three states of Iran, Turkey and Iraq are victims of terrorism, and the U.S. is responsible for the situation. Hosseini made the remarks in an interview with the CNN Turk in Istanbul, and underlined the need for holding such joint meetings between Iraq's neighboring countries as well as establishing joint security committees to explore the root causes of terrorism in the region. Underscoring the need for pursuing diplomatic means and joint cooperation in this respect, he noted that given its role, the U.S. should take responsibility for the instability in the Middle East.

The spokesman referred to the recent U.S. Senate's plan for dismembering Iraq into three sectors for Sunnis, Kurds and Shiites, saying that this is in line with the American Greater Middle East plan and to preserve its own national interests. This, he said, will bear no fruit but instability in the region.

Labels: Iran, Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

When it comes to invading Iraq, what would Ataturk do? - by Bridget Johnson

"I am not ordering you to attack; I am ordering you to die," Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is quoted as telling his troops in the 1915 battle of Gallipoli, in which British and French forces were prevented from taking Istanbul with heavy casualties. So seems the motto of Kurdish terrorists who keep ambushing Turkish soldiers on the Iraqi border, racking up a Turkish body count of 42 in the last month as well as kidnapping eight soldiers. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has embraced a death wish. Tanks have massed along the Iraqi border, just waiting for the word go. On Oct. 17, the Turkish parliament voted 507-19 in favor of going into Iraq to rout the PKK. And just days ago, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said, "We are determined to make those who cause this sadness grieve with an intensity that they cannot imagine. "You'd better believe the Turks. While in Baghdad and Washington, everyone is freaking out.

Note EU-Digest: Staunch opponents of terrorism like the US can't be hypocrites and the EU should not play the "Holy Saint". The Turks should be able to defend their country as anyone would. Go for it, Turkey. Its time to show the world that the legacy of Ataturk and secularism is alive and well in Turkey

Labels: Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

EU support for Turkey: This is legitimate defense

Dutch Ruijten, who prepared the report on Turkey, which was approved by the European Parliament, said: "Turkey has the right to act in self defense." The European Parliament approved the report on Turkey which was significant in temrs of its effect on the Progress Report. The Dutch reporter said. "we can not tell a country not to defend itself."

* "A cross-border operation is a legitimate defense"

European Parliament gave its full support on the cross-border operation by Turkey. The European Parliament approved the report on Turkey, which was significant in temrs of its effect on the Progress Report. The Dutch reporter said. "we can not tell a country not to defend itself."

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Israel Lobby May Be Source of Armenian Genocide Resolution - by Wayne Madsen

Experts on U.S.-Turkish relations in Washington report that the recent deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara are primarily due to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Turkey's other erstwhile friends, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), pulling support for their former allies in Turkey because of increasingly closer Turkish relations with both Syria and Iran -- two countries that are being targeted by the neocon cells operating in Vice President Dick Cheney's office and among Kadima and Likud circles in Jerusalem.In fact, Turkey, Syria, and Iran are cooperating in battling PKK forces on their respective territories. Israel's Mossad has re-established close links with the Kurds in the region. It appears that Israel is willing to sacrifice its past close relations with Turkey in its support for the Kurds and creating tension between the non-Arab powers in the region -- Iran, Turkey, and the Kurds. The election of Turkish Islamist-oriented Abdullah Gul as President of a secular-oriented Turkey was a green light for AIPAC, the ADL, and the neocons and other right-wing networks in Washington to turn up the heat on Ankara. The subsequent threat by Turkey to deploy troops into northern Iraq to go after Kurdish guerrillas, some of whom are reportedly backed by the Mossad and U.S. paramilitary private security forces, was enough to cause the Israel Lobby to break their historic links to the Turks. Adding to the anger of the Israel Lobby was the recent natural gas deal inked between Syria, Iran, and Turkey. Iran will provide Syria with Iranian gas via Turkish pipelines.

Labels: Armenian Genocide, Israel, Israel Lobby, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Iraq Must Act `Immediately' Against Kurdish Rebels, Rice Says ( what about the US and the EU?) - by Viola Gienger and Ben Holland

The Iraqi government must take ``immediate steps'' against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, as Turkey pledged to wait a few days before deciding on its own military action. The government in Baghdad must ``demonstrate its commitment to regional stability,'' Rice said in a statement with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband issued yesterday in Washington. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would await U.S. and Iraqi actions before mounting any raid and suggested Turkey's operation might not involve ground forces.

The U.S. is pressing Turkey to avoid a cross-border attack against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, out of concern it could destabilize the war effort in Iraq.

Note EU-Digest: "The US statement makes no sense at all. First because the Iraq central government has no control whatsoever over the Kurdish region in Iraq. Whatever they say now is talk only, no action. Only US forces are (maybe) able to remove Kurdish PKK terrorists from the Kurdish region in Iraq. As to the other statement that a Turkish incursion into Iraq would destabilize the country, this is also far removed from the truth. Iraq became destabilized the moment it was invaded by the US and Britain. What is a further destabilizing factor is that PKK terrorists are now provided a safe haven in the Kurdish area of Iraq. This can only spell for more turmoil. If the US and its allies are not able to remove the PKK terrorist threat from Iraq, Turkey should have no qualms to enter Iraq and remove the danger these PKK terrorists present to them and Europe.

Also important in this scenario is that Denmark closes down Roj TV, the media outlet of PKK/KONGRA-GEL (included both in the EU and the US’s on lists of terrorist organizations) from operating freely on its territory. ROJ-TV’s broadcasts can only be defined as incitement to terror and violence, and they fall squarely within the scope of the UNSC Resolution No. 1624. Isn't it time for us in Europe to show we have some "spine" left to help our European applicant member Turkey to eliminate this terrorist threat, which in the long run could harm us all?"

Labels: Denmark, EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Roj TV, Turkey

EU sides with Turkey after Kurdish guerrilla ambush but cautions Ankara against entering Iraq

The European Commission sided with Turkey Monday after the latest ambush by Kurdish guerrillas but cautioned Ankara against sending troops into Iraq in pursuit of rebels of the Kurdish PKK organization. The EU appeal came as dozens of Turkish military vehicles headed toward the Iraqi border on Monday and protesters demanded tough action against Kurdish rebels. A rebel ambush killed 12 Turkish soldiers on Sunday, pushing Turkey closer to a possible attack on guerrilla bases in northern Iraq.

"The European Commission expresses its solidarity with Turkey in the fight against terrorism, which is a common challenge for the EU and Turkey," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a brief statement issued in Brussels. Rehn, the EU's point man in relations with EU membership candidate Turkey, said the EU understands Turkey "faces continual cross-border attacks from the PKK, which is on the EU list of terrorist organizations, (and) understands Turkey's need to protect its citizens."

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Storm Warnings : Turkey- Iraq - by René Wadlow

The Government of Turkey is under pressure from the military and part of the population to do something after a land mine exploded on Sunday 7 October some 25 kilometres inside Turkey from the Iraq border in south-eastern Sirnak Province. The mine killed 13 soldiers, and the Army is frustrated by the fact that PKK fighters can carry out attacks on Turkish soil and then cross the frontier into Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turkish Government is under pressure to please the Army after the Army accepted the election of former Foreign Minister Abdullal Gul as President. Some, especially in the military, felt that Gul’s Islamic convictions put the secular nature of the Turkish state in danger. There was even talk of a military coup to prevent Gul’s election. While these objections to Gul have calmed, the Turkish military can expect some favors in return for their moderation on the political front. Punitive raids into Iraq might be such a favor. The PKK is made up largely of youth, influenced by Marxism, independent of traditional Kurdish tribal leaders. It started a program of violence against the Turkish State and against Kurds who were considered allies of the Turkish government. The PKK is strong in the poor mountainous areas where the State authorities had difficulty to penetrate. The PKK has military bases in northern Iraq and training camps in Syria.

René Wadlow is the editor of the online journal of world politics www.transnational-perspectives.org and the Representative to the United Nations, Geneva, of the Association of World Citizens. Formerly, he was professor and Director of Research of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, University of Geneva. To get a copy of the complete report write to him at: Wadlowz@aol.com

Labels: EU, Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, US

Kurdish PKK terrorists rebels ambush, kill 12 Turkish troops and civilians

Kurdish rebels have killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers near the border with Iraq and reportedly taken some others hostage, causing Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to call a crisis meeting. "Our anger, our hatred is great," he said Sunday on national television. However, Erdogan said the government would take "an approach that is calm, far from agitation and based on common sense."The late Saturday attack, one of the worst in a decade, comes four days after Turkey's parliament approved a motion allowing troops to enter Kurdish-dominated northern Iraq to fight the rebels.Erdogan said he will meet later today with President Abdullah Gul and army chief General Yasar Buyukanit to decide on Turkey's response to today's military casualties. Gul will meet with the leaders of the political parties represented in Turkey's parliament tomorrow, he said.

Note EU-Digest: "The Turkish Government is to be complimented for their restraint they are showing so far. Also the Iraqi government today declared on CNN that the Kurdish PKK operating from their soil is considered a terrorist organization, but they unfortunately do not have the political clout or military capability to get rid of these terrorists. The key to solving this problem is in the hands of the US which has done very little so far in fear of angering their Kurdish Allies in Iraq. The US intend to open three US military bases in the Kurdish region of Iraq. The three bases will probably be located in Qaradagh (south of Al-Sulaymaniyah), Zakho area (north of Duhok), while the third one will be based near Arbil. There is also a possibility that the Incirlik base in Turkey, opened in 1992, will be transferred to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Since the PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union it might be useful for Turkey to ask for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and request for a UN presence on the Iraq - Turkey border area? "

Labels: Council of Europe, EU, Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, US

Netherlands: "Strange bedfellows" - Why Is The Netherlands' Terrorists Favorite Lawyer, Britta Böhler, Representing Ayaan Hirsi Ali now?

Now that American Enterprise Institute scholar Ayaan Hirsi Ali has returned to the Netherlands, searching for sufficient funding to cover her prodigious “security" detail [estimated to cost upwards of $2 million per year], an extremely troubling relationship comes into clearer focus; Ali is represented by Britta Böhler, a naturalized citizen of Holland and a notorious defense attorney for European Marxist and Islamist terrorists.Born in Germany, Böhler was an early devotee of Marx and Lenin as a student and a supporter of the Red Army Faction, a German terrorist group. As an attorney, Böhler’s vigorous defense of terrorists and left-wing activism has brought her acclaim within both revolutionary and radical Islamist circles.

"She also happens to be a great admirer of Abdullah Öcalan, a Turkish-Kurdish macho with a preference for blond European women and the leader of the PKK, an extremely violent Kurdish terrorist network which specializes in liquidating opponents. In Ocalan’s terrorist camps, there were a few German women who previously belonged to, or sympathized with the Baader-Meinhof gang. When Turkey finally captured Ocalan, Britta Böhler simply announced she was his lawyer. Just before Ocalan was captured, Böhler tried to arrange his flight to the Netherlands, but the Dutch authorities did not give Ocalan’s plane permission to land - for reasons of State security. Böhler was upset, claiming that Ocalan’s “right to asylum" had been ignored. Böhler and her associates have also played a legal role - as attorneys - in virtually every major terrorism court case in the Netherlands." as reported by Emerson Vermaat, in Front Page Magazine.

Labels: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Britta Böhler, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Netherlands, Terrorism

Norway: Kurdish Islamist Krekar exploits the system - by Adrian Morgan

Mullah Krekar is designated as an international terrorist with links to Al Qaeda. Yet in Norway, European politically correct legal principles protect his "safety" while he continues to use the internet to urge killing and war. Mullah Krekar was born as Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad in the village of Olaqloo Sharbajer, Sulaimania in Kurdish northern Iraq on July 7, 1956. He has been living in Norway as a "refugee" since 1991, being granted asylum in 1992. He graduated from Sulaimania College in 1982, after studying Arabic. He studied Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) in Sindh in Pakistan, under the tutelage of Abdullah Azzam, the mentor of Osama bin Laden and a suspected co-founder of Al Qaeda. This week, Krekar has been attending Norway's Supreme Court in Oslo, while appealing against an order to have him deported. His battles against deportation have gone on since 2002. He officially lost his "refugee" status in August 2002 but has resisted all attempts at deportation. In 2003, the Norwegian immigration department, UDI, decided that Krekar was a threat to national security, and that he had given incorrect information to immigration officials. Krekar appealed their decision. They also decided that his refugee status should be stripped and his travel documents, work and residence permits taken away. Krekar appealed again, and in March 2005 the UDI reiterated its 2003 decision.

rekar is said to have founded Ansar al Islam with financial support from Al Qaeda. The "seed money" for funding has been estimated as $300,000 to $600,000. Ansar al-Islam's main opponents have been members of the secular Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). In February 2003, Ansar Islam members killed Shawkat Hajji Mushir, founder of the PUK. A US State Department report from April 2003 entitled "Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002 states (pp 128-9) that the group is closely affiliated with Al Qaeda, and has provided shelter to Al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan. Ansar al-Islam was then boasting og its production of toxins - ricin, aflatoxins and cyanide.

Labels: Kurdish PKK terrorists, Mullah Krekar, Norway, Terrorism

"Turkish tanks ready to roll into Iraq in hunt for Kurdish terrorist hideouts"- by Suna Erdem

Turkey was preparing to send troops and tanks into northern Iraq yesterday as the Government came under intense pressure to avenge the deaths of Turkish soldiers in attacks by Kurdish terrorists. Risking a major diplomatic row with Washington and the European Union, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, said that he had ordered preparations for a possible military strike and might seek parliament’s approval as early as today.

Note EU-Digest:PKK terrorists and Kurdish nationalists who have used their safe haven in Iraq to strike and kill innocent civilians in Turkey should be made aware that these acts can not go on unpunished. The US should be the first to know this, given their own retaliation policies around the world in relation to terrorists. The EU should support this military action by Turkey, since the PKK is on its list of terrorist organizations.

Labels: EU, Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, US

TURKEY took a step towards a military operation in Iraq as its political and military leaders issued a statement authorizing troops to cross the Iraqi border to eliminate separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the north. The move came in the face of strong opposition by the US, which is anxious to maintain peace in Iraq's north, one of the rare areas of stability in conflict-torn Iraq. More than two dozen Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent days, and the Government of the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appears far more determined than before to act decisively. A government official said preparations were under way to seek parliamentary approval for a border military operation, a request that would be the first formal step towards an offensive. The request could be submitted to parliament this week.

Note EU-Digest: PKK terrorists and Kurdish nationalists who have used the safe haven in Iraq to strike and kill innocent civilians in Turkey should be made aware that these acts can not go on unpunished. The US should be the first to know this, given their own retaliation policies around the world in relation to terrorists.

Labels: Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, US

Turkey raises troop levels along Iraq border

Turkey's army has boosted troop levels in the restive southeast to more than 200,000, most of them stationed along the border with Iraq, security sources said yesterday. The unusually large buildup, which includes tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft, is part of a security crackdown on Kurdish rebels hiding in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, said the security sources, who declined to be identified. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates dismissed the estimate of 200,000 troops, saying it was too high.The top U.S. general, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace, said Turkey has the capability to fight the rebels inside Iraq without boosting troop levels. "The truth of the matter is that the Turkish armed forces on their side of the border have always had sufficient forces to be able to take actions without having to be reinforced," Pace said.

EU-member candidate and NATO-member Turkey has refused to rule out a possible cross-border operation to crush up to 4,000 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorists believed to be based in mountains in northern Iraq, despite opposition from Washington and Baghdad. The military General Staff in Ankara was not immediately available for comment on troop numbers. It usually does not release such figures.

Labels: Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey

Turkish Army Build - Up against PKK Kurdish Rebels Fuels Anxiety on Iraq Border

Speculation about an imminent incursion into Iraq has grown since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said last week he saw eye to eye with the army over possible military action, despite unease in the United States, Turkey's NATO ally, about such a move. There was also anxiety along the border in southeast Turkey, where many Kurdish villagers form part of a state-backed militia which fights alongside the army against the PKK rebels.

"We support the operations in the mountains here because the PKK made us suffer a lot. I lost 10 people from my family," said Nadir Karadeniz, an official in the village of Gorumlu, located near a military base just a few kilometers from the border.

Labels: Iraq, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey, US

Netherlands connection In Ankara Bombings

It is revealed that the subject of Ankara Bombings in May 22, Güven AKKUŞ had been trained in Holland, at a village near the city of Eindhoven. Doğan News Agency also admitted that the camp where suicide bomber Akkuş trained (for 3 years), has been in use by PKK (Kurdish Labour Party) terrorists for 18 years.

he agency reported that PKK terrorists (recently apprehended by Turkish police) came from Belgium, Austria, France, Sweden and Denmark also trained in the camp and to boot high rank names of PKK has been hosted there.

Labels: Kurdish PKK terrorists, The Netherlands, Turkey

Turkey Says U.S. Planes From Iraq Breached Airspace - by Mark Bentley

U.S. jet fighters from Iraq crossed into Turkey in an area where the Turkish military is building up forces in preparation for a possible attack on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. Two U.S. F-16 combat aircraft flew over the southeastern province of Hakkari for four minutes on May 24 in a violation of Turkish airspace, Turkey's army said in a statement on its Web site late yesterday.

Turkey, with the second-biggest army in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has threatened to enter northern Iraq without the approval of the U.S., saying the U.S. has failed to stop militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, from using Iraq as a base from which to attack Turkey. The deaths of six people in a May 22 suicide bombing in the Turkish capital, Ankara, blamed on the PKK, has increased pressure on the government to order an attack.

Labels: EU, Kurdish PKK terrorists, Turkey