Iran Shelling Norther Iraq (1 Viewer)

[easyt65]

Why hasn't this made the news, and why isn't anyone doing anything about THIS?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1852668,00.html

Kurds flee homes as Iran shells Iraq's northern frontier
Michael Howard in Qandil Mountain
Friday August 18, 2006
The Guardian

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.

Some displaced families have pitched tents in the valleys behind Qandil Mountain, which straddles Iraq's rugged borders with Turkey and Iran. They told the Guardian yesterday that at least six villages had been abandoned and one person had died following a sustained artillery barrage by Iranian forces that appeared designed to flush out guerrillas linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who have hideouts in Iraq.

Although fighting between Turkish security forces and PKK militants is nowhere near the scale of the 1980s and 90s - which accounted for the loss of more than 30,000 mostly Turkish Kurdish lives- at least 15 Turkish police officers have died in clashes. The PKK's sister party in Iran, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (Pejak), has stepped up activities against security targets in Kurdish regions. Yesterday, Kurdish media said eight Iranian troops were killed.

Rostam Judi, a PKK leader, claimed yesterday that no operations against Turkey or Iran were being launched from Iraqi territory. "We have fighters across south-eastern Turkey. Our presence in Iraq is purely for political work."

Frustrated by the reluctance of the US and the government in Baghdad to crack down on the PKK bases inside Iraq, Turkish generals have hinted they are considering a large-scale military operation across the border. They are said to be sharing intelligence about Kurdish rebel movements with their Iranian counterparts.

"We would not hesitate to take every kind of measures when our security is at stake," Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, said last week.

There has been sporadic shelling of the region since May but officials worry that concerted military action against PKK bases in Iraq could alienate Iraqi Kurds and destabilise their self-rule region, one of few post-invasion success stories. Some analysts say Ankara and Tehran may be trying to pressure Iraq's Kurds, afraid that their de facto independent region would encourage their own Kurdish population.

Khaled Salih, the spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government in Irbil, said: "We condemn the shelling and urge the Iraqi government to demand the neighbours to respect our sovereignty."

Despite its support base in Turkey's impoverished south-east, the PKK is regarded by Ankara, Washington and the EU as a terrorist organisation. Mr Judi said the PKK was seeking a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey, and would welcome mediation from the US or Iraq's Kurdish leaders.

Last week, the Iraqi government said it had closed offices run by PKK sympathisers in Baghdad, and another office was shut by Kurdish authorities in Irbil.

The US is also to appoint a special envoy to find a solution to the PKK problem, but that may not be enough. Ilnur Chevik, editor of the New Anatolian newspaper in Ankara, said: "There is huge public pressure on the Turkish government to take action." But he doubted whether Turkish forces would mount a full-scale invasion."The build-up of troops is designed to say to the Americans and the Iraqis, the ball is in your court." Tehran was also taking advantage of the situation, he said, "to show Turkey that it was taking action against its shared enemy, while the US, Turkey's ally, has done nothing".

Meanwhile those displaced wonder when they can resume a normal life. "We know that the PKK are around here," said Abdul-Latif Mohammed, who fled the village of Lowan with his family. "But they live in the mountains. So these bombs just hurt us poor farmers."

 

[Captain America]

This is an outrage. Seems to me that the Kurds are the only ones over there able to get their ka-ka together. And now the Turks and Iranians are attacking them? What on Earth for?

Isn't today s'posed the last day or is that tomorrow?

 

[Kandahar]

Kurdistan needs to immediately declare independence from Iraq, and be immediately recognized by the United States as an independent nation. When this happens it will make it much more difficult for Turkey and Iran to attack a stable sovereign nation. And the world will have much more sympathy for attacks on a liberal democracy like Kurdistan than they do for attacks on a shithole like Iraq.

 

[easyt65]

Turkey joined the Co-alition against Iraq, but we had to promise in return to keep the kurds 'in check'. The Turks and Iranians (Turks ESPECIALLY) hate the kurds, and the Turks do NOT want the Kurds to break away and make that little section of Northern Iraq their own country. The Turks have a sizeable Kurd population as well, and they do not want them to ban with the Iraqi Kurds should they decide to form their own country in Northern Iraq. So, your proposal for the Kurds to break and create that new country/Goverment would be ill-received and cause a military conflict between Turkey/Iran and the Kurds.

Your supposition that 'becoming their own nation' would make it more difficult for Turkey and Iran to attack them is humerous to me - nothing against you. What difference would becoming a country make? That would elevate them to a status of WHAT for WHOM to come to their aid? look at Lebanon - the U.N. sat back and watched Syria and Iran assassinate the only ambassadors who stood up to those 2 in defense of forging their own free nation. The U.N. then sat back and watched the enslavement of Lebanon by Iran through funding ($100 Million a year), supplying, arming, training, and manning (Iranian soldiers found fighting side-by-side with Hezbollah recently against Israel) an occupational terrorists military branch of the Iranian military in Lebanon that became more powerful than the Leonese military! since Iraq has stood up their new Goverment, just as you propose the Turks should do, you are correct in assuming that it is within the U.N. Charter-defined responsibilities to come to the aid of new goverments, but the U.N. will not come to the aid and defense of the Kurds against the Turks anbd Iranians any more than they came to the defense of Lebanon against hezbollah/Iran or the defense of Iraq against Iran/Al Qaeda!

The only thing that would happenif the kurds declared themselves a seperate and free nation would be an offical war as Turkey moved into northern Iraq, joined by Iran, to supress/kill the Kurds!

And I hate to say it, but without U.N. support, we are too weak and too spread out to handle that right now! & if that means the Kurds are at the mercy of U.N. support/defense, they are $crewed!

 

[Captain America]

I saw a commercial the other day promoting travel to Kurdistan "The Other Iraq." Seems to me like those guys have got a clear focus and want to distance themselves from the rest of warring Iraq.

Heaven forbid one of those countries over there actually succeed and find their happiness.

 

[MSgt]

This is an outrage. Seems to me that the Kurds are the only ones over there able to get their ka-ka together. And now the Turks and Iranians are attacking them? What on Earth for?

Isn't today s'posed the last day or is that tomorrow?

Because our enemies are truly human monsters. The thought of basic human rights and equality for all is damaging to all they cling to. The passed down traditions of hate, bigotry, racism, and intoleration trumps everything in the Middle East. The Kurds are in the same position as Israelis. They are a people that look forward. For that matter, Arabs and Persians would never wish for a "free Palestine." All of the generally hated or looked down upon societies in the Middle East have a commonality. The Kurds have shamed their neighbors by proving that Middle Eastern societies don't need tyrants to control them, that the average man - and woman - can build a nation from the bottom up and that Islam is a religion that can look forward to a brighter future, instead of merely clinging to the past. Despite oppression, long-standing poverty and generations of factionalism of their own, the Kurds proved that the cradle of civilization can still provide a model of contemporary civilization.

Any attack into "Kurdistan" is an attack on civilization. If Iraq becomes determined to split apart, despite our efforts to warn them of a better security and economy by staying together, then we should support the Kurds. They've earned it and they even want American military bases.

 

[Occam's Butter Knife]

Because our enemies are truly human monsters. The thought of basic human rights and equality for all is damaging to all they cling to. The passed down traditions of hate, bigotry, racism, and intoleration trumps everything in the Middle East. The Kurds are in the same position as Israelis. They are a people that look forward. For that matter, Arabs and Persians would never wish for a "free Palestine." All of the generally hated or looked down upon societies in the Middle East have a commonality. The Kurds have shamed their neighbors by proving that Middle Eastern societies don't need tyrants to control them, that the average man - and woman - can build a nation from the bottom up and that Islam is a religion that can look forward to a brighter future, instead of merely clinging to the past. Despite oppression, long-standing poverty and generations of factionalism of their own, the Kurds proved that the cradle of civilization can still provide a model of contemporary civilization.

Any attack into "Kurdistan" is an attack on civilization. If Iraq becomes determined to split apart, despite our efforts to warn them of a better security and economy by staying together, then we should support the Kurds. They've earned it and they even want American military bases.

I wonder how many of the tools who feign an interest in human rights to disguise a deep contempt for America realize that the Supreme Leader of Iran declared "human rights, are a weapon in the hands of our enemies to fight Islam."

 

[Tashah]

Although Kurdistan technically remains a part of Iraq, the Iraqi constitution recognizes Kurdistan as an autonomous region. Kurdistan has its own constitution, laws, government, military, border crossings, currency, stamps, visas, and so forth.

Neither Turkey nor Iran wish to see an independent Kurdistan. The key to the future of Kurdistan is the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The Kirkuk area contains Iraq's largest oil producing fields and could provide the financial capital Kurdistan needs to thrive as an independent nation. As time goes on, the population of Kirkuk is becoming more Kurdish and both Turkey and Iran forsee the day when this city and area will vote to secede from Iraq and become a part of an independent Kurdistan.

Both Turkey and Iran have a significant Kurdish populations that are either marginalized (Iran) or persecuted (Turkey). With the resources of Kirkuk, an independent and soverign Kurdistan would be an oil-exporting country and a powerful player in the region. This is anathema to Turkish and Iranian national and regional interests.

Simply put, Turkey and Iran are trying to destabilize Kurdistan before Kirkuk democratically defects from Iraq. It is quite posible that both countries could invade and occupy Kurdistan... much like the German/Russian division of Poland in 1939.

 

[NguyenRhymesWithWin]

The PKK is a Kurdish Militant Group with Marxist Ideals. We recognize the PKK as a terrorist group.

Although I'm confused with Iran's (a PKK sympathesizer and financer) involvement I can see Turkeys involvement as the PKK constantly execute terror attacks in Turkey.

I think the PKK are no-good-nicks.

 

[Tashah]

The PKK is a Kurdish Militant Group with Marxist Ideals. We recognize the PKK as a terrorist group.

Although I'm confused with Iran's (a PKK sympathesizer and financer) involvement I can see Turkeys involvement as the PKK constantly execute terror attacks in Turkey.

I think the PKK are no-good-nicks.

Just to be clear here...

The PKK (Kurdish Workers Party - 1974) is a Marxist oriented group that has been designated a terrorist organization. It's primary goal is to establish a breakaway Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey.

The KDP (Kurdish Democratic Party) and the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) joined political and Peshmerga forces to form a single and united organization in 2005. It is this umbrella Kurdish organization that now rules the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. Peshmerga fighters from both the PUK and KDP were instrumental in liberating northern Iraq from Saddam's Republican Guard divisions as US forces swept north into Iraq from Kuwait.

FYI: Jalal Talabani - the founder and Secretary General of the PUK - is now the President of Iraq.

 

[Joby]

Just to clear some more stuff up...

WE (the us) helped Turkey hunt down the PKK in Iraq, and blackmailed the PUK/KDP to help by threatening to end our overflights.

Both the PUK/KDP would have been labeled terrorist groups if they weren't fighting Saddam, who actually did less damage to Kurdish areas in his last 10 years in power than the Turks have done.

In Turkey, it's illegal to speak Kurdish. And, if you are a Kurd, you are either forced to join the Village Guards and face the PKK, or the govt. bulldozes your village. nice choice

 

[Joby]

The PKK is a Kurdish Militant Group with Marxist Ideals. We recognize the PKK as a terrorist group.

Although I'm confused with Iran's (a PKK sympathesizer and financer) involvement I can see Turkeys involvement as the PKK constantly execute terror attacks in Turkey.

Think of it like this. Iran loves to support Kurds-as long as there fighting Turkey
Syria loves Kuds-As long as their fighting Turkey or Iraq