Heads up
I think this may be just rhetoric, but still....
The US did issue a warning to Turkey, in response to which the Turkish Prime Minister pointed to the US acquiescence towards Israel attacking Lebanon.
Also in Iraq news, "The United States urged Iraq to adopt a new hydrocarbon law that would enable US and other foreign companies to invest in the war-torn country's oil sector."
Sam Bodman, the US Energy Secretary, went to great lengths to emphasize the word "hydrocarbon," or perhaps more exactly, not to use the word "oil."
Turkish officials signaled Tuesday they are prepared to send the army into northern Iraq if U.S. and Iraqi forces do not take steps to combat Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there - a move that could put Turkey on a collision course with the United States.
Turkey is facing increasing domestic pressure to act after 15 soldiers, police and guards were killed fighting the guerrillas in southeastern Turkey in the past week.
The US did issue a warning to Turkey, in response to which the Turkish Prime Minister pointed to the US acquiescence towards Israel attacking Lebanon.
“Terrorism is terrorism everywhere,” Erdogan said in Istanbul. “It is not possible to agree with a mentality that tolerates country A and displays a different attitude when it comes to country B.
Also in Iraq news, "The United States urged Iraq to adopt a new hydrocarbon law that would enable US and other foreign companies to invest in the war-torn country's oil sector."
Sam Bodman, the US Energy Secretary, went to great lengths to emphasize the word "hydrocarbon," or perhaps more exactly, not to use the word "oil."
posted by mikevotes at
10:03 AM
4 Comments:
LA Times says it's civil war in all but name. So does Andrew Sullivan. Here's the LA Times link (nothing new, but I thought the article had some pretty good quotes):
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq19jul19,0,886772.story?coll=la-home-headlines
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 10:38 AM
This was inevitable. Anybody who has done any reading about this part of the world would know that the Turks - and tohers - will not stand for any sort of independence for the Kurds.
Of course, we know some people don't read in DC...
By
QuakerDave, at 11:14 AM
The Turks have killed more Kurds than Saddam
By
Graeme, at 12:47 PM
That LATimes piece is pretty good. Thanks
Dave, The game that's being played is that the US (and the Israelis who have had a presence in Kurdistan sin 2004) desperately want to keep feelings of Kurdish independence alive so that it can be used against Iran, yet at the same time, they don't want them significantly upsetting Turkey or having them split off Iraq. It's a very tricky situation right now.
Graeme, I didn't know that. It wouldn't surprise me though with the Turks long and violent battle against the PKK and others.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 1:50 PM
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