Kurds flee homes as Iran shells Iraq's northern frontier

[deacon]

Turkey and Iran have dispatched tanks, artillery and thousands of troops to their frontiers with Iraq during the past few weeks in what appears to be a coordinated effort to disrupt the activities of Kurdish rebel bases.

Scores of Kurds have fled their homes in the northern frontier region after four days of shelling by the Iranian army. Local officials said Turkey had also fired a number of shells into Iraqi territory.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1852843,00.html

Sheeesh...........

[The_Warmth]

1. Here's a good link....

to the http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/18/01224/6945">DailyKos page, with maps of the middle east and multiple links to other discussions on the matter.

I tried posting this earlier with almost nil remarks, I believe this is a matter which we need to keep a keen eye on, vote this one up ladies and gents!

200,000 Turk and Iranian forces on our(?) doorstep.

[azurnoir]

3. Gw is about to

do a "Lebanon" on the Kurds our supposed friends using the PKK as an excuse

[cornermouse]

6. Sort of sounds like it could be the beginning of cover

for military movements by the other guys? Is Turkey still on our side?

[Chipper Chat]

2. Does this mean we are now in a de facto war with Iran?

Or are the Iraqi troops "ready" to go fight another country? If so, do Sunnis and Shias want to go up north to defend Kurds? My guess is no.

[LynnTheDem]

4. Love how "TURKEY" doesn't appear in that headline.

Also love how "SHELLING TERRORIST PKK", a group even America has listed as terrorists, doesn't appear in that headline.

Nope.

Just "IRAN" and "KURDS".

And from the Guardian, yet.

[mom cat]

7. I noticed that too. After what Isreal did to Lebanon, how it the US

going to frame the issue. Iran and Turkey acn claim that they were rooting out terrorists just like Israel was.

The US, instead of being a moral leader of the world is setting dangerous precedents for other countries.

[Demeter]

5. This Is Not Good

Opportunism at its worst, coupled with what kind of instigation from our C-in-C (Darth Cheney)?

[nashville_brook]

8. iran or TURKEY!!!

since when is turkey playing ball with Iran? thought they were on "our" side.

nice obfuscation!

[Mr_Spock]

10. They are both worried about a Kurdish state

...that technically has claim to at least part of Turkey, I'm not sure about Iran.

[nashville_brook]

12. our "friends," the Turks, start shit in "Kurdistan" and the story

goes -- IRAN IS FUCKING BOMBING IRAQ!!!! holy fucking shit -- lets go kick their asses!

[cascadiance]

14. There are many groups there that have "claim" to various regions there

... depending on what part of history you look at and who was resident there at what times. As long as people keep claiming different areas as their own there, you're always going to have wars. Needs to be some compromise and try to defer some to the present as much as possible to not disrupt who lives in each area. If there are recent disclocations, etc. (like the Israeli settlements and apartheid wall, etc.), or what's been happening in Dharfur in Africa, etc. then there might be some "corrections" in order to restore where people used to be.

Bottom line is that Turkey claimed that 15-19 of their soldiers were killed when PKK "terrorists" attacked them coming in to Turkey from Iraq, which is far more than the two soldiers that Israel used as a rationalization to attack Lebanon with. As noted here, we in Iraq, and Israel in Lebanon with our blessing is setting a poor example to the rest of the world on what constitutes "justifiable" aggression towards neighboring states. If we weren't in Iraq, and Israel weren't in Lebanon, these attacks could perhaps have been avoided and worked through diplomatic means instead, or treated like the original Iraq aggression on Kuwait was in the first Persian Gulf War if need be. The way it is now, Turkey and Iran may only be the first set of border wars that we'll see with the example we've set in "fighting terrorism" around the world. One more reason why this administration needs to be impeached NOW!

[Mr_Spock]

9. The US is doing all it can to start WWIII by deliberate ignorance

Is anybody in the US capable of anticipating and diffusing these situations?

Yes.

Do they want to?

No.

Murderers.

[nashville_brook]

13. in the words of an old Turk i once knew....

"you better believe it, buddy."

[nashville_brook]

11. bogus intel?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1940119&mesg_id=1940119

[Festivito]

15. No Turkey in title. Iran is fighting "guerrillas", i.e. not terrorists???

Iran fights guerrillas while we fight Iran for supporting terror.

"Scores" of people left. What? 40? Northern Iraq or that region?

Iran's name was verified or was it from what that one interviewee said.

This article does not rest well with me.

[lala_rawraw]

16. Ah Turkey and Iran that should read, no?

[maddezmom]

17. duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2462480