# Will Turkey Invade Iraq?



## Marauder06 (Jun 4, 2007)

Lots of articles in the paper recently talking about how Turkey is posturing for an incursion into Iraq to clear out the PKK in Kurdistan.  Do you think they'll do it?


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## pardus (Jun 4, 2007)

Not if they want their application into the EU to be approved.

The Turks have a terrible human rights record when it comes to the Kurds.

I cannot see them invading and risking a fight with the US and political fallout with the EU, that would also probably draw the KDP into the fight alongside the PKK, hopefully this is all just posturing.


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## Typhoon (Jun 4, 2007)

This has been an issue for some time now, and one of the main reasons, in my outsiders opinion, why we didn't get enough bodies to the fight when we first went in to Iraq. Remember that the 4th ID was denied access to Iraq via Turkey...


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## Boondocksaint375 (Jun 4, 2007)

Typhoon said:


> Remember that the 4th ID was denied access to Iraq via Turkey...


 

They did the same thing to us when we were enroute to astan and we ended up sleeping in a gym in Moron, Spain with another unit.


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## Marauder06 (Jun 4, 2007)

More fuel on the fire:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070605/D8PIAK5G0.html

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Kurdish rebels fired rockets and grenades at a Turkish military outpost Monday, killing seven soldiers in an attack that heightened tension at a time when Ankara has threatened military action against the rebels in northern Iraq. 

The army sent helicopter gunships and reinforcements to Tunceli province in southeastern Turkey after two guerrillas rammed a vehicle into the military post, threw hand grenades and opened fire with automatic weapons, the governor's office said. 

Soldiers returned fire, killing one attacker who authorities said had explosives strapped to his body. Local media said the second attacker escaped injured. 

Several other guerrillas simultaneously opened fire on the outpost from a nearby forest, the governor's office said. The attack left seven soldiers dead and seven injured. One of the injured was in critical condition, authorities said. 

 The attack came as Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told European Union officials visiting Ankara that "we have every right to take measures against terrorist activities directed at us from northern Iraq."


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## Brooklynben (Jun 4, 2007)

Both the Kurds and the Turks are simply posturing and waiting for the right time to light the region up.  Last heard, Turkey had massed some 2 or 3 divisions on the boarder in anticipation to this reality.  If Iraq unravels or the US pulls out a significant portion of it's security resources out of Iraq, it won't be just Iran and the Saudis mixing it up in the ensuing political vacuum formally known as Iraq.


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## pardus (Jun 5, 2007)

New Zealand is amassing a platoon to invade, be afraid be very afraid!


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## pardus (Jun 5, 2007)

I was at one time invited to Iraq as a guest of the KDP I turned the offer down due to a difference in opinion.
I later went to Turkey as a tourist and being not so bright discovered after returning that I'd carried a bussiness card from a senior member of the KDP in my wallet the entire time!   :doh:


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## HoundDog (Jun 5, 2007)

pardus762 said:


> New Zealand is amassing a platoon to invade, be afraid be very afraid!



quickly Mohamed hide the sheep!!


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## 104TN (Jun 5, 2007)

Sounds like it might be time to redraw the line up there.


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## pardus (Jun 5, 2007)

HoundDog said:


> quickly Mohamed hide the sheep!!



Start using spell check (and using proper grammar to the best of your ability), you've been advised on this before, do it, it's no longer a request.

You will learn while you are here, we will make you better or...

OK? :)


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## Gypsy (Jun 5, 2007)

You know you're laughing on the inside, GW.  ;)


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## pardus (Jun 5, 2007)

LOL, where's my big stick?  :)


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## Gypsy (Jun 5, 2007)

pardus762 said:


> LOL, where's my big stick?  :)



I'm not even going there. 


Eyes, will be looking forward to hearing what your buddy has to say.


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## HoundDog (Jun 5, 2007)

pardus762 said:


> Start using spell check (and using proper grammer to the best of your ability), you've been advised on this before, do it, it's no longer a request.
> 
> You will learn while you are here, we will make you better or...
> 
> OK? :)



Pardus my spell check said there was nothing wrong when I wrote this, I've been using the Mozilla fire fox 2.o spell check download that was listed in the spell check thread and I only use fire fox to get to the site. This figures


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## Boondocksaint375 (Jun 5, 2007)

Yeah watch your "grammer" 


I'm just cracking myself up today. This is what happens when I stare at a screen all day long. Im out!


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## pardus (Jun 5, 2007)

OK, well keep an eye on your grammar and spelling.

Begin sentences with capitals etc...

Your'e doing ok.


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## HoundDog (Jun 5, 2007)

pardus762 said:


> OK, well keep an eye on your grammar and spelling.
> 
> Begin sentences with capitals etc...
> 
> Your'e doing ok.



Thanks :) Sorry just sometimes I'm tired and i type... and I spell things so wrong.:doh:


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## pardus (Jun 6, 2007)

Its not making mistakes that is so bad, we all do that, Its when people are helping you you need to make an effort to earn/repay their effort (not saying you aren't just telling you) in return.

I'm thinking on a wider scale than spelling here, you understand?


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## Boondocksaint375 (Jun 6, 2007)

*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.
The officials said any confrontation with Iraqi Kurdish groups, who have warned against a Turkish incursion, could trigger a larger cross-border operation. The Turkish military has asked the government in Ankara to approve such an incursion, but the government has not given formal approval.
An official at military headquarters in Ankara declined to confirm or deny the report that Turkish troops had entered Iraq.


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## pardus (Jun 6, 2007)

So the Turkish Army has invaded a foreign country without it's own govts approval! :uhh: :eek: wow!


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## Boondocksaint375 (Jun 6, 2007)

I love it.


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## Marauder06 (Jun 9, 2007)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19135911/

_BAGHDAD - Iraq’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused Turkey of “intensively shelling” northern Iraq this week, adding it had handed the Turkish envoy in Baghdad a protest letter.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry said the shelling caused “huge damage” in an area between Dahuk and Arbil provinces in Iraq’s north._


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## Boondocksaint375 (Jun 9, 2007)

Well.... they need to protect their own.


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## Marauder06 (Jun 9, 2007)

Yep.  I hope we can come up with something that will keep Kurdistan relatively quiet, while placating the Turks.  I'd like to see the PKK turn their efforts east instead of west.  :2c:


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## Boondocksaint375 (Jul 9, 2007)

*Iraqi FM: Turkey massing 140,000 troops*

:eek:
Iraqi FM: Turkey massing 140,000 troops 
By BUSHRA JUHI, Associated Press Writer 36 minutes ago 


BAGHDAD - Turkey has massed 140,000 soldiers on its border with northern Iraq, Iraq's foreign minister said Monday, calling the neighboring country's fears of Kurdish rebels based there "legitimate" but better resolved through negotiation. 
The Turkish military had no comment to the remarks by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd from northern Iraq, and it was unclear where he got the figures. If they are accurate, Turkey would have nearly as many soldiers along its border with Iraq as the 155,000 troops which the U.S. has in the country.
Zebari's comments came amid calls by Turkey's military for the government to give it the green light to carry out military operations in northern Iraqi against the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
"Turkey is building up forces on the border. There are 140,000 soldiers fully armed on the border. We are against any military interference or violation of Iraqi sovereignty," Zebari said in Baghdad.
Turkey has been pressuring the United States and Iraq to eliminate PKK bases in Kurdish-controlled parts of northern Iraq and has said it will carry out a cross-border offensive if necessary.
"Turkey's fears are legitimate but such things can be discussed," Zebari said. ""The perfect solution is the withdrawal of the Turkish forces from the borders."
He added: "No one wants a new military conflict in the region."
He said there had been no "Turkey military violation until now," citing artillery shelling and Turkish surveillance overflights.
Pentagon officials said they could not immediately confirm the report from Zebari, and repeated the hope that Turkey would not launch an incursion into Iraq.
"We've been working with them and recognize that problem that exists there. But we're also encouraging them that an incursion into Iraq is not the way to solve this," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters Monday.
Turkey has long complained of U.S. inaction against separatist rebels, who have escalated attacks inside Turkey in recent months. Last week, Turkey's military chief asked the government to set political guidelines for an incursion into northern Iraq.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Friday confirmed that detailed incursion plans were ready.
Zebari said that his government cannot send its troops to secure the border with Turkey at a time when U.S. and Iraqi forces are fighting a deadly insurgency that has killed thousands of people.
"Our military forces are over-occupied with securing the streets and we do not have forces enough to open a new front. We do not want any conflict. However, no military violation has taken place till now," Zebari said.
Turkey has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since 1984 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people. There has been a recent surge in rebel attacks, and 67 soldiers have been killed this year. More than 110 rebels were killed in the same period, according to the Turkish military.
Zebari said the best way is to address Turkey's "legitimate security concerns" and revive the security and military commission which is made up of the united states, Iraq and Turkey.
___
Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek contributed to this report from Washington.


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## Looon (Jul 9, 2007)

Ruh Roh Raggy:uhh:


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## The91Bravo (Jul 9, 2007)

Ranger Luna said:


> Ruh Roh Raggy:uhh:



you got that shit right.

It only will take a misunderstood spark to touch off something very very bad


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## pardus (Jul 12, 2007)

I went to Turkey as a toursit with a KDP business card in my wallet, didnt realise it was still in there until i'd left the country! :eek::doh:


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## DDSSDV (Jul 12, 2007)

I guess ask the armeanians how this will come out:eek:


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