Think Progress

The war expands.

By Nico Pitney on Jun 6th, 2007 at 11:03 am

The war expands.

“Thousands of Turkish troops cross Iraq border to chase Kurd guerrillas,” the AP reports in a breaking news alert.

UPDATE: More details, including officials trying to play down the raid:

Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials told The Associated Press.

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.

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103 Responses to “The war expands.”

  1. Badmoodman says:

    Ahhh, The Turk Surge.


  2. ∞Ω says:

    The Turkish Surge.


  3. kelso says:

    Oh sh*t. Unintended consequences strike again.


  4. Jay Randal says:

    I have been expecting this to happen and when the Turks capture Talabani then they might hang him. Turkey hates the Kurds bigtime.


  5. Zooey says:

    Jesus H Christ…..


  6. the republic of stupidity says:

    Of course it did. What did yu expect. The Rapture crowd must be suffering from premature evacuation as we speak.


  7. TripMaster Monkey says:

    Does TP have a link for this?

    Just askin’…


  8. a in pa says:

  9. Jay Randal says:

    Wait till the Turkish soldiers run into American troops unexpectedly and a firefight erupts. Bush will ignite global WWIII yet.


  10. Tobey Tall says:

    I THINK TURKEY IS IN ON THE ACT TO KEEP AMERICAN FORCES IN IRAQ AS A MEANS TO PROTECT IRAQ FROM INVASION – its bullshit Turkey how much you being paid

    meanwhile

    Iraqi Government Orders Arrest of Oil Workers’ Leaders

    Naftana members spoke to IFOU leader Hassan Jumaa Awad today who alerted the support group to an arrest warrant issued by Prime Minister Maliki’s office. The warrant names four leaders of the Federation including Hassan Jumaa Awad and demands their arrest for ’sabotaging the Iraqi economy’. The Federation is asking for unions and organisations world wide to support them in their unfulfilled demands and to protect them from repressive measures.


  11. joe says:

  12. WH Chief of Staph says:

    Someone go find Mr. Pizzlevent, OK?
    I think he’s over at the beer tent.


  13. JPV says:

    I’ve been expecting a clash between the Turks and the Kurds since the start of the war.

    This is when the fun is REALLY gonna start.


  14. labs says:

    the turks have been poised for weeks to invade iraq and kill kurds. i’m surprised they waited THIS long.

    talibani looked scared last week because the reality had just hit home in his little rat brain.



  15. Zooey says:

    The Turks are “chasing” the Kurds? What does that mean?


  16. Candyce says:

    Wow, I just read a 2-hour old story in which Turkey claimed it would not be going into Iraq. But I see this AP update adds some qualifiers.


  17. FreeTheUSA says:

    We have made Iraq into a bed of terrorism. By leaving large parts of the country basically uncontrolled, there are all kinds of safe havens for terrorists. That’s why we’re even finding guerillas in Afghanistan now using Iraq-made IED’s. The terrorists not only have safe areas of Iraq, but they also have a huge training ground to perfect their tactics.

    Bush’s policies are going to haunt us for MANY years to come. It’s only a matter of time before other countries are drawn into this. The Saudis are already funding the Sunni militias. The Iranians are already supporting the Shia militias. Kurdish anti-Turkish groups are causing more and more problems, forcing Turkey to get involved (or risk an uprising from their own Kurdish polulation).

    God help us if a Republican gets elected. These idiots have fallen for their own bullsh!t talking points about “stay the course” and “fight them there so we don’t have to fight them here”.


  18. Tobey Tall says:

    Turkey says troops crossing into Iraq

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070606/ap_on_re_mi_ea/turkey_iraq;_ylt=AnGXtAkyZdI8IoR0McyLWYtvaA8F

    apparently I read some where 7 turkish troops killed by bomb/ rocket or something ………. somewhere


  19. Vic says:

    This is huge. The big question is will Dumbya let the Turks commit genocide, they’re gonna kill Kurds by the thousands and we will just stand by and let this happen? This is a big event and this really could turn into an excuse for even more separate madness in the region.


  20. Tobey Tall says:

    THIS IS TO JUSTIFY AMERICAN TROOPS STAYING

    TURKEY IS PART OF THE OIL THEFT TOO


  21. Tobey Tall says:

    Eight Turkish Police Killed in Kurdish Attack in Eastern Turkey

    for news on this bookmark this page

    http://www.antiwar.com/regions/regions.php?c=Turkey


  22. Ben B says:

    …and we thought the coalition of the willing was shrinking.

    But so it begins. We feared civil war in Iraq, and it began, but is still not fully acknowledged. The new fear is that Iraq will blow up into a regional war. Fear no more, it has begun. It will be just as much of a regional war as Iraq’s current civil war in that it will be relatively low key until our presence is gone (and by low key, I mean that there will just be high levels of violence with nobody trying to actually seize full power).


  23. Peter says:

    Who will be the first in the administration to say, “No one ever expected the Turks to …”?


  24. JPV says:

    Gotta LOVE the hypocrisy here…

    On June 2, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged Ankara not to stage an incursion. Al-Maliki was speaking during a visit to Irbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq.

    “The Iraqi federal government rejects that Iraq be used as a site to harm neighboring countries,” he said. “Secondly, Iraqi territory must be respected, and we shall not allow it to become a scene of military operations. Just as we do not want to harm our neighbors, we don’t want them to interfere in Iraqi lands.

    “Except the US, of course.”

    U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a trip to Asia, urged Turkey on June 3 not to undertake “unilateral military action.”

    Gates told reporters in Singapore that Turkey has a “genuine concern” about Kurdish terrorism on Turkish territory, but he said the United States opposes any unilateral action by Turkey across the border into Iraq.

    “Do as I say… not as I do.”


  25. Dumb_Fox says:

    Turkey will refer to the “Kurdish guerillas” as terrorists.

    And Chimpy’s “war on terror” will run into another logical cul-de-sac.


  26. Badmoodman says:

    Is Bush going to claim the Turks are insurgents or the Kurds are terrorists, al-Qaeda, et al? Or both. Bush must long for the days of pom-poms at Andover.


  27. Jay Randal says:

    Bush may have allowed the Turks to invade Iraq to scare the Kurds into speeding up passage of the OIL theft agreement. Bush probably tells Talabani that only the US can protect the Kurds from being slaughtered by the Turks.


  28. Candyce says:

    I guess those Kurdistan tourism promos are out for now?

    Have you seen the Other Iraq?

    It’s spectacular.
    It’s peaceful.
    It’s joyful.
    Fewer than two hundred US troops
    are stationed here.
    Arabs, Kurds and westerners all vacation together.

    Welcome to Iraqi-Kurdistan!


  29. hellinabucket says:

    Can we tag out now and let Turkey take the lead?


  30. Ben Dover says:

    Here’s the link to CNN coverage

    http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/06/06/turkey.iraq.ap/index.html

    Well president Cocaine McAWOL has done a heckuva job in Iraqnam hasn’t he.


  31. Tobey Tall says:

    1/ The iraqi Goverment itself passed laws saying they have the power if the American troops stay and not Maliki

    2/ The Oil pipes has been shut down for 2 days now and union leaders arrested

    3/ Turkey Invades to Justify a means for American troops to stay in Iraq to provide security

    ———————————————–

    All part of Butcher Bushes plans to respond to being kicked out with NO OIl

    think about it ——- been planned for ages


  32. Crump's Brother says:

    Oh good!!! Just what we need.


  33. Tobey Tall says:

    Jay Randal – - exactly — I worked this all out 3 weeks ago


  34. TerrytheTurtle says:

    Can’t agree with that statement Tobey. The Kurds and US have a 16 year-old alliance. The Turks were royally pissed off at the arm-twisting that went on in 2002/2003 (remember Wolfowitz calling on the Turkish military to take matters into their own hands when the Turkish parliament shot the bird to Chimpy and Rumsfeld?). The Turks and Kurds have a long running insurgency-counter insurgency which precedes even the first Gulf War. The Kurdish area of Iraq was relatively quiet until now, this doesn’t help the US position at all – it shows that they are losing their grip everywhere….

    There’s nothing good here that two more of the regions antagonists have decided to up the level of violence.


  35. Tobey Tall says:

    Also the main Kurdish Oil pipeline that runs through Turkey has been blown up faster than rebuilt since the beggining of the war – The oil flow stopped 4 years ago


  36. TerrytheTurtle says:

    I think the Turks are coming over because they think the Kurdish autonomy and control of the northern oil region is becoming too solid. The US has shown nothing but incompetence so far, why should this event be under US control if nothing else has been to date? Off to find a link to back up my comments.


  37. Tobey Tall says:

    1/ the Iraqi goverment have the power now to Boot American troops out / as of yesterday

    2/ The Oil in the North stopped 4 years ago . yestaerday the Oil in the South stopped though strikes

    3/ look at the equation here

    Bush has let the Turks invade to justify America troops staying to provide security

    Bush needs a means to stay , and still needs the Oil for a victory

    this is stalling the innevitable


  38. Tom3 says:

    The Iraqi government is issuing arrest warrants for the oil union leaders. They intend to quash the strike.

    The oil law is a 30-year ripoff of Iraqi oil. This is the REAL reason Chimpy invaded Iraq.


  39. raynman says:

    how many sparks are going to fly before the powderkeg ignites?


  40. TerrytheTurtle says:

    Turks go ballistic – from Juan Cole 2005 http://www.juancole.com/2005/10/sistani-may-call-for-us-withdrawal.html

    Kirkuk is a powerkeg – Juan Cole 2005
    http://www.juancole.com/2005/06/guerrillas-kill-29-iraqis-tuesday.html
    Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs in conflict – will make Sarajevo look like a game of flag football.


  41. Tobey Tall says:

    theres 3 reasons

    A/ The Turks have a quick war to try to stop the terrorist attacks

    B / The Turks want the Oil

    C/ Bush wants to stay in Iraq to provide security to Iraq from Future Invasions

    I CHOOSE “C”


  42. Jay Randal says:

    The Kurds were getting restive to break away from Iraq forming their nation of Kurdistan and wanting the Kurdish area of Turkey to join them. So Bush decided to allow the Kurds to be punished to force them to completely bow down to him.


  43. heyzeus says:

    I think the Turks are acting precisely because the US is NOT in control, nor presents any viable deterent.
    There is bad blood between current US foreign policy and Turkish interests, as has been stated.
    The US military is bogged down trying to control a single region of Iraq, Bush is preoccupied with trying to provoke Putin, and Condoleeza Rice is shoe shopping.


  44. Tom3 says:

    “Thousands of troops” is NOT a “raid limited in scope”.

    A raid is when you send a platoon of troops, not a whole freakin’ brigade.

    This is a new stage in the Iraq fiasco and it is going to make things much, much worse.


  45. Eric W. Saeger says:

    This is just too friggin hilarious. Yo Peter, the first person to feign dumbfoundedness will be Rice.
    Got military coup? Let’s pull the Cheney lice out of the White House and leave the heads to rot.


  46. Dumb_Fox says:

    So now, a country we are occupying (Iraq) and a country to whom we owe mutual defense obligations (Turkey), are technically at war.

    Has history ever witnessed a bigger clusterf*ck?


  47. Jay Randal says:

    Bush and his pals in Israel have always had a fall back position in Iraq. If they cannot control all of Iraq, then pull back into the Kurdish north and at least control the Kirkuk oil fields.


  48. Shuichi says:

    At this rate, the entire middle east is set to explode. Everything the Neo Cons planned is falling apart at the seams.


  49. Tobey Tall says:

    Why did Maliki a couple months ago tell the Arabs in Kurdistan to leave and pay them to leave ????

    The Kurds have signed PSA’s already with Norwegian companied for Oil and BP for Gas

    Turkey wants the money flowing though their pipeline


  50. TerrytheTurtle says:

    The Kurds were getting restive to break away from Iraq forming their nation of Kurdistan and wanting the Kurdish area of Turkey to join them. So Bush decided to allow the Kurds to be punished to force them to completely bow down to him.

    Comment by Jay Randal — June 6, 2007 @ 11:36 am

    This is consistent at least with Bush’s reckless instinct to gamble, but I still cleave to the position that the US is simply not in control of anything in Iraq. With the entire country of Iraq in flames, Turks and Kurds fighting in the north, Shiite militias in the south and the ’surge’ wreacking mayhem in the middle, US public opinion should finally go off the cliff (even the US media can’t hide that?). The US surge is predicated on reducing violence, not increasing it.


  51. Tobey Tall says:

    Ask yourself why America is NOT protecting the Kurds then youll find the answer

    America/Turkey are both in on the Act to steal Kurds oil…………

    America will never ever get the Souths Oilfields …. Even in Basra they say welcome to Tehran as a joke


  52. pgw says:

    “he first person to feign dumbfoundedness will be Rice.”

    get off her back! “spamalot” is back in town and she needsd new shoes.


  53. Tom3 says:

    Notice how the trolls are silent in here.

    Apparently the Turkish Invasion talking point hasn’t been written by Karl Rove yet.


  54. doro says:

    They would, you know. The story is corroborated by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, nothing yet on BBC or of course CNN.

    It doesn’t surprise me at all, if you take a close look on the map, you will find the region inhabited by Kurds covers a large part of Northern Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. There is oil and other resources. Independence would make Kurdistan a very rich country, the size of Turkey itself, and take a large bite out of the income of the countries named above.

    We’re talking about independence here, not about terrorism, as Turkey claims. Guess why Hussein killed the Kurds, guess why Turkey oppressed the Kurds for ages now (one of the reasons, why they are not yet member of the EU). And guess why Kurds are oppressed in Iran.

    Again we are talking OIL.


  55. doro says:

    Sorry, CNN had it, I was just too dumb to find it.


  56. Jay Randal says:

    Tom3 > Bush lover trolls are still on the threads dealing with Gays in the military. They are slow to see new threads posted on TP.


  57. heyzeus says:

    It is odd there is no coverage of this yet on the BBC…


  58. JPV says:

    I think the Turks are coming over because they think the Kurdish autonomy and control of the northern oil region is becoming too solid.

    Comment by TerrytheTurtle

    BINGO!

    There are 30 million Kurds in the world.

    15 million of them are in Turkey.

    About 1/3 of Turkish soil is inhabited by Kurds.

    The Turks fear that if Iraqi Kurds gain any real autonomy, in Northern Iraq, that it will eventually inspire an uprising, of their own Kurdish population. Being that Kurds comprise about 1/4 of the Turkish population, it’s certainly a legitimate concern… to say the least.

    Any talk, regarding this action as being some master plan, by the Bush administration, is giving Bush and his Neocon cronies WAY too much credit. They can barely control Baghdad, with troop levels already at very strained levels. Where are they going to get sufficient enough troops to be able to counter the Turks in the North and maintain order elswhere?

    The Turks must surely have factored these conditions into their decision to cross the border.

    I believe that this minor incursion, is merely a test, to see what reaction the US will have. Depending on how it goes, expect a possible full on invasion in perhaps a few weeks.

    Also, after Cheney gets his way with Iran, perhaps sometime early next year, expect a World War to ensue. The Russians and the Chinese will not stand by any longer, at that point.

    It’s inevitable. Be prepared.


  59. heyzeus says:

    It was a very small title, doro, not to worry ….;)


  60. ace says:

    This report is a lie.

    There were no “Kurdish Guerillas” to chase. This was a false flag operation – the exact template that will be used to allow US troops to “chase” what will be claimed to be “Iranian Guerillas” back across the border into Iran.

    This is just telegraphing the forthcoming offensive invasion and justification.


  61. the republic of stupidity says:

    “… and Condoleeza Rice is shoe shopping.”

    Comment by heyzeus

    You know what they say, heyzeus… when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping…


  62. the republic of stupidity says:

    Also, after Cheney gets his way with Iran, perhaps sometime early next year, expect a World War to ensue. The Russians and the Chinese will not stand by any longer, at that point.

    It’s inevitable. Be prepared.

    Comment by JPV

    Yeeeaaahhh… sadly, you’re probably right.

    What about the possibility of a military coup in this country. Or George II declaring ‘martial law’?


  63. hit_escape says:

    Wha ha? I thought the Iranians were supposed to invade Iraq. Didn’t the Turks get Dumbya’s talking points?


  64. Tom3 says:

    Chimpy cannot barely control Baghdad. Only 1/3 of the neighborhoods are safe after 6 months of the surge. Baghdad is still out of control.

    I hope Chimpy’s self-destructive policies do not also destroy the US.


  65. Tobey Tall says:

    The Kurds have already signed Oil PSA’s with a Norwegian company and BP for the gas

    http://www.kurdistancorporation.com/index.htm

    on this website they boast for investment

    An excellent security situation – not a single coalition soldier has lost their life nor a single foreigner been kidnapped in the area administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government.


  66. JPV says:

    What about the possibility of a military coup in this country. Or George II declaring ‘martial law’?

    Comment by the republic of stupidity

    ANYTHING is possible in this insane world we find ourselves in.


  67. heyzeus says:

    Now the CNN article quotes a US official as saying:
    “Nothing is happening,…”


  68. Tobey Tall says:

    The build up on the border was noticed by America and they did nothing – WHY

    looks like America and Turkey now own the Kurds oil forever


  69. JPV says:

    The Kurds have already signed Oil PSA’s with a Norwegian company and BP for the gas

    http://www.kurdistancorporation.com/index.htm

    on this website they boast for investment

    An excellent security situation – not a single coalition soldier has lost their life nor a single foreigner been kidnapped in the area administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

    Comment by Tobey Tall

    Again, the Turks absolutely fear this sort of thing.

    Oil revenues would allow the Kurds to rapidly build their military up, and potentially provide a counter to the Turkish military.

    I think that the Turks want to nip this in the bud, before it becomes a potential problem for them, several years on down the line.


  70. mongo says:

    Hey! Iraq is a sovereign nation! And we were there to help establish that government! Iraq is our ally!

    On to Turkey!


  71. Yikes says:

    Oil WILL RUN OUT. Once it does, those middle east countries will have NOTHING. The US is pushing them to the brink of all out war. The sooner we get used to less oil the better off we will be and then when the oil does run out who will give two shits what happens in the middle east? Only the religious nutbars and their ‘holy lands’.


  72. Chris L says:

    Get ready for the Limbaugh talking points about the PKK Kurdish Workers Party.


  73. SKdeA says:

    Wasn’t Condi just in Turkey?


  74. footjoyboy says:

    “… and Condoleeza Rice is shoe shopping.”

    Comment by heyzeus

    I absolutely love her shoe selection.
    But her feet are as ugly as home made pie…***UGHH***


  75. Jay Randal says:

    If Bush allowed it and looked away, then the Turks would kill the entire Kurdish population in the Middle East. It would be massive genocide. Turks tried to wipe out the Armenians about a hundred years ago.


  76. TerrytheTurtle says:

    The build up on the border was noticed by America and they did nothing – WHY

    looks like America and Turkey now own the Kurds oil forever

    Comment by Tobey Tall — June 6, 2007 @ 12:08 pm

    Still doesn’t fit. If the PKK can blow up the pipelines at will with a compliant Kurdish authority and the occupation of the rest of Iraq has ‘gone so well’ for the overstretched US military, why does provoking the friendliest group in Iraq by allowing the Turks a punitive expedition make any sense?

    You can’t extract oil in the middle of a hostile population. Nope, the Turks are in the driver’s seat here.


  77. TerrytheTurtle says:

    I think the Turks sense that the US has lost control (as evidenced by the Iraqi vote) and is exerting itself to gain influence while it can.


  78. the republic of stupidity says:

    ANYTHING is possible in this insane world we find ourselves in.

    Comment by JPV

    No F*#king Sh*t… what a mess our beloved Commander-In-Chef has made for us all in just 6 yrs.


  79. JPV says:

    If Bush allowed it and looked away, then the Turks would kill the entire Kurdish population in the Middle East. It would be massive genocide. Turks tried to wipe out the Armenians about a hundred years ago.

    Comment by Jay Randal

    Man, some of you guys just don’t get it.

    HALF THE KURDS IN THE WORLD LIVE IN TURKEY!

    The don’t need to invade Iraq in order to commit genocide. And even if they wanted to commit genocide, they have the rest of the world coming down on the, like they did with Milosevic.

    They are more concerned with stopping Iraqi Kurds from gaining statehood and benefiting from any potential oil revenues.


  80. heyzeus says:

    Correction:
    CBS article quotes the US National Security Council spokesman as saying “nothing is happening…”

    (my bad…..)


  81. President George W. Bush says:

    Ok, let’s see…

    Two foreign wars, sucking up our military resources, no end in sight?
    Check.

    Nuclear sabre rattling with iran?
    Check.

    Firin’ up the ol’ cold war with russia?
    Check.

    Letting a heathen city get destroyed by the hand o’ god?
    One down, check.

    Removing pesky constitutional provisions like habeas corpus that try to tell me what to do?
    Check.

    Eliminatin’ interference by man in the affairs o’ god and nature through climate change?
    Check.

    Well, my work is almost done here. Gotta get back to crawford and get ready for the rapture.


  82. Ben Dover says:

    Well we can credit Chimpy McAWOL with one success story in his very long depressing administration – he has successfully ignited a regional war in the middle east. I’ll bet he’s upset now that it will take even longer to hand over the oil wells to his contributors at Exxon/Mobil and BP/Amoco.

    Heckuva job, Chimpy


  83. Hedley Lamarr says:

    Incidents like this were not supposed to happen until AFTER we leave Iraq.


  84. Jay Randal says:

    LOL JPV > Biggest population of Kurds is in Northern Iraq, but yes Turkey has a few million of them. Some historians claim that Turkey has killed about one million of them over the past century. Turks and Kurds are mortal enemies.


  85. Juan C says:

    So Turkey just invaded foreign soil to persecute terrorists…isnt that a violation of international law?

    Oh, I just forgot…


  86. Eric W. Saeger says:

    ROS –
    I’m sure we domestic activists and most of the planet would love to see a military coup. The doors would have to be closed to the Democrats as well, though. We mustn’t ever forget their recent bank-breaking vote, which points up exactly why pundits who’ve been around the block many times covering many administrations appear to be right-leaning: they’ve seen what scumbags the Democrats are, and, although Bush’s fascist methods of gittin’ er done puts the whole country at risk, Russert and his type are probably just happy to see the Democrats finally getting theirs after so many decades of corruption.

    Meantime I have to take back what I said about this being hilarious, FWIW. It occured to me that a friend of our family’s is over there now. He signed up for no rational reason and now regrets it. He’s not a violent kid, just a mite slow. Thoughts are with him and his mates.


  87. TerrytheTurtle says:

    Look on the bright side, Chimpy McCodpiece would have liked to have been Baseball Commissioner if he’d not been ’selected’ President in 2000. At least you can still forget about all of this and go eat a hot dog and sing ‘Take me out..’ etc etc.


  88. JPV says:

    LOL JPV > Biggest population of Kurds is in Northern Iraq, but yes Turkey has a few million of them.

    Comment by Jay Randal

    Where in the HELL do you get those “facts” from?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdish_people

    Total population

    27 to 37.5 million

    Regions with significant populations

    Turkey 12 to 15 million
    Iran 4.8 to 6.6 million
    Iraq 4 to 6 million
    Syria 0.9 to 2.8 million


  89. Juan C says:

    JPV, there are ways to correct people, here. Take it easy.


  90. War4Sale says:

    And this is, yet another reason, why Bush was warned not to invade Iraq.

    The Kurds in Iraq and Turkey want their own Republic. If it is formed in what was formerly Northern Iraq, it sets the stage for regional war for the foreseeable future with it’s northwestern neighbors – Turkey.

    The Iraq invasion/occupation of Iraq has destabilized the entire middle east. But, of course, that was precisely the point. War without end is the ultimate Neocon wet dream.


  91. the republic of stupidity says:

    They are more concerned with stopping Iraqi Kurds from gaining statehood and benefiting from any potential oil revenues.

    Comment by JPV

    Me’thinks this is closest to the truth…


  92. Jay Randal says:

    Turkey might accept a Kurdistan, in Iraq, if they would be allowed to deport their entire population of Kurds from Turkey into Iraq. Giving up 1/4 of Turkey’s land to join the Kurds is NOT an option.


  93. JPV says:

    JPV, there are ways to correct people, here. Take it easy.

    Comment by Juan C

    Yeah, I guess I just hate when people don’t do proper research and then spout off BS as fact.


  94. Jay Randal says:

    JPV > you have a bad attitude so go screw off. This site is about discussing things and not your petty bullcrap. It does not matter how many Kurds are in Turkey today or in Iraq > their heartland is considered to be northern Iraq, but yes there are several million in Turkey.


  95. SKdeA says:

    96 comments and NOT ONE TROLL! It’s a record.
    I smell something Rovian in the works.


  96. Tobey Tall says:

    Amazing 3 hours into this and SKY and BBC news have blanked this, must have been unexpected were still waiting to hear from the spin doctors first


  97. Robert says:

    The PKK Kurdish rebels have been at this since 1984. George Bush did not have anything to do with this.


  98. Ray Jandal says:

    JPV > you have a bad attitude so go screw off.

    Give ‘em Hell, Jay !


  99. Krazny says:

    Actually he does Robert,

    one of the many pre-war assessments Bush ignored, said that removing Saddam Hussien would get the Kurds in northern Iraq to push for an independant Kurdistan. The Turkish would not like that much, since the southern part of Turkey is largely Kurdish, and the Turkish Kurds would want to join their brothers to the south. Agian Bush chose to ignore the consequences, and has further destablized the region.


  100. TerrytheTurtle says:

    Where’s Condi to tell everyone that we’re simply witnessing the’birth pangs of the new Middle East’? Or is Footlocker running a twofer today?


  101. freedomrings says:

  102. Where_Is_MichaelMoores_Apology? says:

    The more I read Bush “ignored” this warning or that warning, or ignored intelligence estimates, I have to start to wonder if that is really true, or if he DID read those reports, and wanted exactly what they predicted (a widespread, longterm war in the Middle East, a Sunni-Shia civil war, etc.).



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