Was there a poster, a few months ago, who was warning about the north of Iraq

[burythehatchet]

erupting in violence?

[TwilightGardener]

1. Joe for Clark? Every night.

[seemslikeadream]

2. yep Joe and he was right

Turkey bombs suspected Kurdish rebels

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3023126#3023126
3023126, Turkey bombs suspected Kurdish rebels
Posted by shain from kane on Wed Oct-10-07 01:27 PM

Source: Associated Press


By SELCAN HACAOGLU
Associated Press Writer


SIRNAK, Turkey --Turkish warplanes bombed positions of suspected Kurdish rebels Wednesday, and the prime minister said preparations for parliamentary approval of a military mission against separatist fighters in Iraq were under way.

A cross-border operation could hurt Turkey's relationship with the United States, which opposes Turkish intervention in northern Iraq, a region that has escaped the violence afflicting much of the rest of the country.
-----------------------------
Turkey and the United States are NATO allies, but ties have also been tense over a U.S. congressional bill that would label the mass killings of Armenians by Turks around the time of World War I as genocide. President Bush strongly urged Congress to reject the bill, saying it would do "great harm" to U.S.-Turkish relations.
---------------------------------------
Turkish troops blocked rebel escape routes into Iraq while F-16 and F-14 warplanes and Cobra helicopters dropped bombs on possible hideouts, Dogan news agency reported. The military had dispatched tanks to the region to support the operation against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in response to more than a week of deadly attacks in southeastern Turkey.



Read more: http://www.bnd.com/283/story/149436.html





Sibel Edmonds and other Whistleblowers Group
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=344





Turkish PM clears way for Iraq assault
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2010021&mesg_id=2010021


Ruffling feathers - will Turkey invade northern Iraq?
Posted by seemslikeadream on Tue Oct-09-07 08:52 PM


Ruffling feathers - will Turkey invade northern Iraq?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1608046

Turkey sent 350 special ops forces south into Kurdistan
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1544571

This is so pissing me off -
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1547409

Turkish Commandos Inside Iraq?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1529843

Novak: Bush considering secret military action in Turkey
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1474571
This is my fourth and last time
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1429288

It is really a little too quiet up north right now -
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1472171

Please- watch the north in Iraq - this is going to blow shortly.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1429138

Turkish PM threatens to invade northern Iraq - 250,000 men in the region
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1393490

Turkish security services in possession of videotapes of weapon deliveries by US military to PKK
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1327965






http://rigorousintuition.ca/board/viewtopic.php?t=12870

Ruffling feathers - Will Turkey invade northern Iraq?
Key Points
Turkey's government is under pressure to attack rebel Kurdish bases in Iraq after the ruling party's election victory.

The Turkish military wants to launch an invasion to disrupt the Workers' Party of Kurdistan (Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan: PKK) before it can take advantage of growing disaffection within Turkey's Kurdish population.

The government will have to balance the military's ambitions against its relationship with the US, which will not want northern Iraq's stability harmed by a Turkish invasion.


The Turkish military is preparing for a potential offensive against Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq. Graeme Wood examines the country's options.

Turkey is once again undergoing preparations for a possible invasion of northern Iraq to disrupt the activities of the Workers' Party of Kurdistan (Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan: PKK). On 7 August, Iraqi and Turkish Prime Ministers Nouri al-Maliki and Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly work towards ending the PKK presence in Iraq. The decision followed Turkey's July general election, won by the ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi: AKP), which saw the opposition parties, the Republican People's Party and the National Action Party, running on nationalist platforms.

Such a cross-border operation against the PKK would not be unprecendented. Turkish soldiers have been fighting the PKK in Iraqi Kurdish regions since the mid-1990s, usually just across the border from Turkey. Every few years the fight against the guerrilla movement reaches a minor crescendo, with the Turkish military weighing the option of swooping into the Kandil mountains to completely destroy the PKK's camps. Four significant incursions were launched in the 1990s and 2001.

So far, Turkish deployments inside Iraq have been modest. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (nephew of KRG President Massoud Barzani) confirmed in early August that Turkish troops had already begun operating in Iraqi territory. However, their main activity has consisted of preparatory work on the Turkish side of the border, in particular the establishment of 'temporary security zones' in the border provinces of Hakkari, Siirt, and Sirnak. These zones involve tighter controls on civilian movement and could be a prelude to cross-border action.

As these zones and the election demonstrate, attacking the PKK camps is once again being considered seriously in Ankara. Perhaps the most significant reason for this is that the PKK's insurgency has shown surprising resilience by sustaining itself since ending its unilateral ceasefire in May 2004, and there are signs it has taken lethal new tactical turns. In addition, given the PKK's strategic reliance on static camps, the military is confident that it could deal a substantial blow to the organisation in a cross-border operation.

Domestic factors also provide a favourable climate for an invasion in 2007, particularly the ruling AKP's desire to demonstrate its Kemalist credentials. The party narrowly failed to win the two thirds of parliamentary seats necessary to act unilaterally in appointing a president, and so it needs to pander to nationalists such as the National Action Party. Also, a stand-off between the military and the government in May, when the armed forces all but threatened a coup if the AKP's preferred presidential candidate was appointed, demonstrated that the AKP must also take into account the military's wishes in its appointments and policies. An invasion to tackle the PKK is supported within the military and could be seen as a concession to the armed forces from the AKP.

There are, however, obstacles to an invasion. The reaction of Iraqi Kurds, the Iraqi government and the US may mitigate against a cross-border operation, although an agreement could be reached with all parties for limited military operations. Furthermore, Turkish Kurds, who gained the greatest parliamentary representation ever in the July elections by running as independents, could act as a restraint on the government if it requires Kurdish support in parliament.

Given these competing factors, the probability of a Turkish invasion of Iraq is not yet assured. Nonetheless, the Turkish military has pressed forward at the Iraqi border and sent in mine clearance and special forces teams. In August, in the run-up to the Maliki-Erdogan meeting, Iraqi Kurdish media reported intense Turkish shelling and a 1 km incursion into the KRG area in Iraq's Zakho district. These events and the discourse in Ankara suggest that the likelihood of an invasion is at its greatest since 2001. Even if it does not take place in 2007, it is likely to occur in 2008 or 2009.


lots more.........

[WilliamPitt]

3. There was, and is, and his name is Joe For Clark.

And he is a damned good man.

[burythehatchet]

6. thought so. I remember he was being disparaged by a vocal minority

I'm gonna search for his journal if he has one.

[AuntPatsy]

13. I used to think so but after reading what he wrote last night regardless of his fears

for his son and all of our American soldiers, stating that the lives of all Iraqis mean absolutely nothing to him honestly took my breath away, I understand he is from a family of soldiers and therefore knows what war entails but I too have had family members in the military and they did not speak in such a hateful tone, so uncaring of another human life simply because of ones ethniticity..

I'm sorry but regardless of whether he was drinking or not, that was not someone I would call a damned good man. Perhaps he is one to some but then again, some people honestly believe cheney to be a damned good man too.

It was the way he stated his intense disregard of iraq life that blew my mind though many I can honestly say attempted to talk to him very respectfully regarding such a hate filled statement he never budged from his first statement.

[Whisp]

16. yes, I was taken aback as well.

I cannot imagine the stress he must feel having his kid over there. But I sure would hate to hear more of that 'american lives are worth more than iraqi lives' too often here.

[Rick Myers]

4. Joe was spot on!!!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

5. Joe For Clark. Correct me if I'm incorrect, but I believe he was talking about the Turkish troops

lining up at the border. I believe he also said his son is there?

[burythehatchet]

8. I do recall his son was deployed. How horrifying can this nightmare get?

These people have passed these repressive laws because they know they will NEED THEM.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

10. I try not to think about it

but when I do, I see a very grim future before us and I don't know what the hell to do.

:(

[mmonk]

7. Joe especially was worried due to his boy in Iraq.

[MadMaddie]

9. Where is JoeforClark?

[Ilsa]

11. Occasionally he takes breaks from DU.

People can get harshly critical of his predictions, which are really extrapolations, even though they have made alot of sense with regards to the growing threat of violence in northern Iraq.


He is very worried about his son there. We all hope for the best for a safe return.

[MadMaddie]

12. Thank you. And yes we are hoping for the safe return of his son.

[phillysuse]

14. Is there a relationship between the Armenian genocide

Resolution in the House Committee today and the planned Turkish invasion of Northern Iraq?

[burythehatchet]

15. Yes, I believe there is

the Turks do not want to see the resolution passed.

[Catherine Vincent]

17. Maybe Joe will visit us tonight.

It's usually pretty late though.