By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Feb. 22, 2008 - The United States has urged Turkey to bring to a "swift conclusion" any ongoing military operations in Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said today. Bryan Whitman told reporters the United States also urged Turkey "to limit their operations to precise targeting of the PKK." Whitman said the U.S. maintains its position that the PKK, a militant Kurdish nationalist group that operates in northern Iraq and Turkey, is a terrorist organization and an enemy of Turkey.
Whitman declined to comment on whether the United States provided intelligence ahead of a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq reported today, but spoke generally of the strategic U.S.-Turkey relationship.
"Turkey is a NATO ally. We have a long-standing, intelligence-sharing relationship with Turkey," he said. "It was intensified recently with respect to the PKK terrorist group."
Whitman said the U.S. respects Turkey's need to protect its population and urges that Turkish officials work directly with Iraqis in dealing with the PKK, which he called "a common enemy." Further, he said, the United States encourages "a long-term agreement that will enhance the stability and security of that border region."
"We believe the long-term solution is one of diplomacy, and not a military solution," he added.
General information was used to produce this entry.
Showing posts with label kurdish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kurdish. Show all posts
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
U.S. Government Has Sympathy for Turkey's Position Against PKK
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Throughout the senior reaches of the U.S. government, there is increasing sympathy for the Turkish position that something has to be done about the PKK – a Kurdish terrorist group that is using camps in northern Iraq as safe havens, a senior defense official said here today. The senior official, speaking on background, said the mood of the Turkish population is such that it may force the government to do something about the Kurdistan Workers Party that it does not want to do.
The PKK has launched a number of cross-border attacks inside Turkey in recent weeks. The most recent killed 17 Turkish soldiers and resulted in the alleged capture of eight others last week.
The official said Americans should not underestimate the volatility of the public mood inside Turkey. Depending on which figures you use, somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000 people were killed in fighting between the Turkish military and the PKK from 1985 to 1999.
U.S. officials from President Bush on down have urged Turkey to refrain from going after the PKK camps inside Iraq. He said the PKK's strategy appears to be to draw Turkey in to a cross-border incursion. The Turks are trying very hard not to become the PKK's pawn. "The Turks would like to avoid a cross-border operation if they can," the official said. "But the patience of the Turkish people is exhausted."
The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq understand the seriousness of the situation, the official said. Iraqi and Turkish officials are meeting at a number of places in the region to solve the PKK problem diplomatically. He called the meetings "the most serious effort at engagement yet" to end PKK activity across the border with Turkey.
American officials are running out of patience, too. U.S. officials in Washington and in Iraq expect "tangible, concrete" results from the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government.
The problem with the PKK grew because the United States has not had a lot of forces in the northern part of Iraq, the official said. Coalition forces have had their hands full dealing with other issues in Iraq, such as al Qaeda in Iraq, the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, improvised explosive devices and car bombs. "We've been busy," the official said.
Over time, the PKK has taken advantage of this, and PKK attacks into Turkey have increased.
The official said he is pleased with the decision to close the offices of the PKK in northern cities and with the government's effort to starve the organization of funds. Whether this is enough to satisfy the Turkish people remains to be seen, he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 24, 2007 - Throughout the senior reaches of the U.S. government, there is increasing sympathy for the Turkish position that something has to be done about the PKK – a Kurdish terrorist group that is using camps in northern Iraq as safe havens, a senior defense official said here today. The senior official, speaking on background, said the mood of the Turkish population is such that it may force the government to do something about the Kurdistan Workers Party that it does not want to do.
The PKK has launched a number of cross-border attacks inside Turkey in recent weeks. The most recent killed 17 Turkish soldiers and resulted in the alleged capture of eight others last week.
The official said Americans should not underestimate the volatility of the public mood inside Turkey. Depending on which figures you use, somewhere between 25,000 and 40,000 people were killed in fighting between the Turkish military and the PKK from 1985 to 1999.
U.S. officials from President Bush on down have urged Turkey to refrain from going after the PKK camps inside Iraq. He said the PKK's strategy appears to be to draw Turkey in to a cross-border incursion. The Turks are trying very hard not to become the PKK's pawn. "The Turks would like to avoid a cross-border operation if they can," the official said. "But the patience of the Turkish people is exhausted."
The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq understand the seriousness of the situation, the official said. Iraqi and Turkish officials are meeting at a number of places in the region to solve the PKK problem diplomatically. He called the meetings "the most serious effort at engagement yet" to end PKK activity across the border with Turkey.
American officials are running out of patience, too. U.S. officials in Washington and in Iraq expect "tangible, concrete" results from the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan regional government.
The problem with the PKK grew because the United States has not had a lot of forces in the northern part of Iraq, the official said. Coalition forces have had their hands full dealing with other issues in Iraq, such as al Qaeda in Iraq, the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, improvised explosive devices and car bombs. "We've been busy," the official said.
Over time, the PKK has taken advantage of this, and PKK attacks into Turkey have increased.
The official said he is pleased with the decision to close the offices of the PKK in northern cities and with the government's effort to starve the organization of funds. Whether this is enough to satisfy the Turkish people remains to be seen, he said.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Gates Meets With Turkish Minister in Wake of Kurdish Attacks
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 21, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates assured his Turkish counterpart that the United States will work closer with Turkey to confront Kurdish terrorists who launched an attack that killed more than a dozen Turkish soldiers today. The pre-scheduled meeting between Turkish Defense Minister Mehmet Vecdi Gonul and Gates occurred hours after the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, blew up a bridge in Turkey near the border with Iraq as a 12-vehicle military convoy was crossing it, Turkish officials confirmed.
Gonul said the attack killed 17 Turkish soldiers, but sources in Ankara are reporting slightly lower casualty figures. Sixteen people were reported wounded, and 10 are missing following the attack, Gonul said.
Turkish forces launched a counteroffensive, although the precise number of PKK members killed is unclear.
Gonul said plans for additional action are under way, but that an "urgent" response isn't likely. Turkey's cabinet convened an emergency session today to discuss the situation.
Gonul did not rule out retaliation before the upcoming Nov. 5 meeting between President Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The PKK attack occurred just days after the Turkish parliament voted to authorize its troops to cross the border into Iraq to confront terrorists launching attacks into Turkey. The one-year authorization gives the green light for Turkey's military to move into the Kurdish region of Iraq to go after the PKK.
Lack of a central government in northern Iraq since 1991 gave terrorists the opportunity to establish a safe haven there that's now being used against Turkey, Gonul said. He said he told Gates public opinion in Turkey forced the Turkish parliament to authorize cross-border operations to bring the killing to a stop.
These terrorists "harm our people, our children, our women and of course our soldiers," Gonul told reporters. "Our boys are dying."
Gates said he assured Gonul the United States wants to do more to help, but urged restraint in responding too quickly without enough concrete intelligence to act on. "I think that the first and foremost challenge that we face, as is so often the case with terrorism, is actionable intelligence," Gates said. "The key is developing intelligence that will enable us to find these people. That has to precede any action by anybody.
Gates said he told Gonul, "lacking actionable intelligence, for them to send a large force across the border without any specific targets was likely to lead to a lot of collateral damage that nobody needs."
The secretary told reporters he is "heartened that (Gonul) seems to be implying reluctance on their part to act unilaterally."
"I didn't have the impression that anything is imminent," Gates said.
"Restraint should not be confused with weakness," Gates said he told Gonul. The secretary emphasized in today's talks that "a major cross-border operation would be contrary to Turkey's interest as well as to our own and to that of Iraq."
Gates told reporters during an Oct. 18 Pentagon news conference he feared that a Turkish attack "would create an international crisis and further undermine stability in Iraq."
The secretary assured Gonul today the United States is "very mindful of the reality of the PKK terrorist threat and ... very sympathetic toward the families of both soldiers and civilians in Turkey who have been killed by PKK actions."
"There is no difference of view in terms of the threat they pose or that they are terrorists," Gates said. "And we have explored some areas in which we can work more closely with the Turks. We have taken action along some of those lines, including intelligence, and we are continuing to work with issue."
Gonul agreed with the need for more intelligence cooperation, but told reporters here he'd like to see "tangible actions" from the United States in other ways, too. "We like to do these things with the Americans," he said.
Gates had been slated to meet with Gonul as news of the incident broke today. The bilateral session was arranged to correspond with the defense leaders' attendance at the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial, being sponsored by Ukraine.
The two defense leaders also discussed a pending U.S. resolution that declares Ottoman Turks' 1915-1917 killings of Armenians a genocide. Gates told reporters at an Oct. 18 news conference that the measure "has the potential to do real harm to our troops in Iraq."
Gates said he updated Gonul today about efforts in the administration and in Congress to ensure that lawmakers understand the consequence of such a resolution's passage. The secretary said he also urged Turkey to consider efforts it might make to improve tensions between it and Armenia.
"I also suggested that it could be helpful if Turkey could consider some measures in terms of reaching out to Armenia in pursuing further reconciliation," he said.
American Forces Press Service
Oct. 21, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates assured his Turkish counterpart that the United States will work closer with Turkey to confront Kurdish terrorists who launched an attack that killed more than a dozen Turkish soldiers today. The pre-scheduled meeting between Turkish Defense Minister Mehmet Vecdi Gonul and Gates occurred hours after the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, blew up a bridge in Turkey near the border with Iraq as a 12-vehicle military convoy was crossing it, Turkish officials confirmed.
Gonul said the attack killed 17 Turkish soldiers, but sources in Ankara are reporting slightly lower casualty figures. Sixteen people were reported wounded, and 10 are missing following the attack, Gonul said.
Turkish forces launched a counteroffensive, although the precise number of PKK members killed is unclear.
Gonul said plans for additional action are under way, but that an "urgent" response isn't likely. Turkey's cabinet convened an emergency session today to discuss the situation.
Gonul did not rule out retaliation before the upcoming Nov. 5 meeting between President Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The PKK attack occurred just days after the Turkish parliament voted to authorize its troops to cross the border into Iraq to confront terrorists launching attacks into Turkey. The one-year authorization gives the green light for Turkey's military to move into the Kurdish region of Iraq to go after the PKK.
Lack of a central government in northern Iraq since 1991 gave terrorists the opportunity to establish a safe haven there that's now being used against Turkey, Gonul said. He said he told Gates public opinion in Turkey forced the Turkish parliament to authorize cross-border operations to bring the killing to a stop.
These terrorists "harm our people, our children, our women and of course our soldiers," Gonul told reporters. "Our boys are dying."
Gates said he assured Gonul the United States wants to do more to help, but urged restraint in responding too quickly without enough concrete intelligence to act on. "I think that the first and foremost challenge that we face, as is so often the case with terrorism, is actionable intelligence," Gates said. "The key is developing intelligence that will enable us to find these people. That has to precede any action by anybody.
Gates said he told Gonul, "lacking actionable intelligence, for them to send a large force across the border without any specific targets was likely to lead to a lot of collateral damage that nobody needs."
The secretary told reporters he is "heartened that (Gonul) seems to be implying reluctance on their part to act unilaterally."
"I didn't have the impression that anything is imminent," Gates said.
"Restraint should not be confused with weakness," Gates said he told Gonul. The secretary emphasized in today's talks that "a major cross-border operation would be contrary to Turkey's interest as well as to our own and to that of Iraq."
Gates told reporters during an Oct. 18 Pentagon news conference he feared that a Turkish attack "would create an international crisis and further undermine stability in Iraq."
The secretary assured Gonul today the United States is "very mindful of the reality of the PKK terrorist threat and ... very sympathetic toward the families of both soldiers and civilians in Turkey who have been killed by PKK actions."
"There is no difference of view in terms of the threat they pose or that they are terrorists," Gates said. "And we have explored some areas in which we can work more closely with the Turks. We have taken action along some of those lines, including intelligence, and we are continuing to work with issue."
Gonul agreed with the need for more intelligence cooperation, but told reporters here he'd like to see "tangible actions" from the United States in other ways, too. "We like to do these things with the Americans," he said.
Gates had been slated to meet with Gonul as news of the incident broke today. The bilateral session was arranged to correspond with the defense leaders' attendance at the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial, being sponsored by Ukraine.
The two defense leaders also discussed a pending U.S. resolution that declares Ottoman Turks' 1915-1917 killings of Armenians a genocide. Gates told reporters at an Oct. 18 news conference that the measure "has the potential to do real harm to our troops in Iraq."
Gates said he updated Gonul today about efforts in the administration and in Congress to ensure that lawmakers understand the consequence of such a resolution's passage. The secretary said he also urged Turkey to consider efforts it might make to improve tensions between it and Armenia.
"I also suggested that it could be helpful if Turkey could consider some measures in terms of reaching out to Armenia in pursuing further reconciliation," he said.
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