Crossfire War – PKK Militants Say They Received Support From US

Crossfire War – Ankara – Baghdad – Tehran Watch – West Asia Theatre: Ankara – Damascus – Tehran – Baghdad/Erbil – London – Washington; Chaos Management – Turkey Finds More Reasons to Justify Invasion of “relatives” in N. Iraq – Pkk Militants State Receiving Support From Us

Night Watch: SIRNAK – Most of you know governments have long had in place crisis management teams, at the highest level of government decision making, which would go into highly publicized action during a regional or international pre-planned, arranged crisis, including a limited war. It was raised to a high art during the forty-five year Cold War 1945-90. Government officials, diplomats and military leaders were extremely proud to have been designated, chosen to have been a member of the team, some of them even achieved celebrity status. They actually believe peace is bad for their career and for the profit of industrial groups that arm them. However, it has been gradually dawning on them, in any number of governments that the planned crisis and war in Iraq has not gone as gloriously as they projected and not just due to the attacks by Islamic groups and the obvious support, they daily receive from Tehran-Damascus-Riyadh. Instead of a regional-international crisis to manage and show off, governments in the West-Russia are now confronted by regional-international chaos, which will take every resource in their disposal to survive. [AKI]

It is a chaos they set the stage for by providing the Ayatollah Khomeini with the communication assistance he required, which enabled him to become the leader of the demonstrations against the Shah of Iran during Khomeini’s four months residence in a suburb outside Paris from October 1978 – February 1979. The West-Russia had projected Khomeini’s influence would not reach beyond Central Asia, but obviously it has, even into Turkey’s military and government leadership. Ankara may not want to emulate the Ayatollah’s ascetic and strict lifestyle, but they agree with the basic principle of his foreign policy, Islamic military unity and when ready, attack the world around them. The Jihad is always offensive and it is directed at their main economic- international rivals, the West-India-Russia. And now one of the great mysteries of the war, World War III and the extent of Turkey’s support for the Jihad, and how Ankara intends to use it, is about to be answered. Ankara is concentrating on areas they used to control during the height of the Ottoman Empire, West Asia and the Balkans. Ankara is achieving influence in Central Asia by investing there and they seem to be willing, as are Tehran-Riyadh, to work closely with Moscow after the Jihad runs its course this year and into the next, though currently Ankara-Tehran have maintained their support of Tbilisi-Georgia in the South Caucasus, a war Turkey – Iran can use as a delaying action against Russia.

It was no secret Turkey’s powerful military establishment showed no interest in assisting London-Washington in the removal of Saddam or in the occupation because they, as other Islamic governments in the region, did not want to see another Islamic country again occupied by the West. But Ankara, however, revealed its serious interest in Iraq’s future with the hilarious statement by then Turkey Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on March 8, 2003 when he stated boldly, “…those who are in Northern Iraq and also in whole Iraq, including the Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens, are our relatives.” Gul was not exaggerating he actually believes that and I suspect he was not just speaking for himself but also for Turkey’s established society, those who own Ankara’s decision making and this is just one of the many reasons NATO has an extremely brief future. Gul elaborated by continuing, “Everybody should attach importance to peace and brotherhood these days. I always say this. Turks, Kurds, Arab and everybody are brothers in this country. Those who are living in not only Turkey but also in Northern Iraq and whole Iraq, including the Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen’s, are our relatives.”

This is the most sociable reason for invading a country in all of recorded history. As if people in northern Iraq are just waiting to be part of a regional family reunion with Turkey as the head, but I don’t think Gul has ever said that again publicly or even privately since Ankara would risk embarrassing Tehran and other Islamic governments. Imagine hosting a mentality like that at a dinner party. Therefore, Ankara refused in any way to help its non-relatives in London-Washington to remove Saddam or to assist the doomed occupation. But obviously, with increasing attacks by the Kurdish militant-separatist group PKK, has increased Ankara’s aim of achieving family unity and defeating those disrupting the peace and stability in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, even it means ending whatever relations they have with Washington.

Ankara has already been conducting artillery bombardments into northern Iraq against Kurdish bases and has even sent in ground troops on raids across the border. Most Turkish troops, however, are still in staging areas in southeast Turkey waiting for the official word to invade. One of the staging areas is the town of Sirnak and today AKI reported four PKK militants, who escaped from a PKK camp in northern Iraq and surrendered to Turkish troops, have just stated in Sirnak to Turkey’s press, “We have seen that two American armoured vehicles brought various weapons to our base at Mount Kandil.” U. S. Embassy spokesperson, Kathryn Schalow in Ankara, immediately denied the statement, “We do not have any contact with the PKK.” Over Turkey’s news channel NTV now Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul responded the Turkish government has no official information concerning the statement of the former members of the PKK but “If we are provided with relevant information we would act no matter who is behind this, no matter if the U. S. or anyone else.” I suspect the militants have now met Turkey’s army commander General Yasar Buyukanit. It was mentioned again last week by Turkey’s government they have detailed plans for an invasion of northern Iraq.

Regular readers of crossfirewar.com know I have suspected Washington and other Allied governments, including Moscow, would not want to see Ankara or Tehran have too many easy successes anywhere and therefore may decide to arm the PKK, so Turkey and Iran would have a difficult time controlling the Kurdish population not only in northern Iraq but also their own Kurdish communities in Turkey-Iran. Recently Ankara has issued some strong and threatening statements on U. S. F-16s over flights into Turkey’s airspace as Washington attempts to monitor Turkey’s massive troop buildup on Iraq’s border.

This invasion by Ankara was obviously not planned overnight and it was even planned before Gul’s statement in March 2003. I suspect it was planned as soon as the lost alliance of London-Washington decided to let Saddam remain in power for twelve years after 1991, as the network of military bases were constructed for Iran, similar to the ones built for Saudi Arabia during the 1980s. The day after the Gulf War ended, in 1991, CNN showed the London branch office of the San Francisco based engineering firm invited to Iran. The London office was used to avoid Washington’s economic embargo against Tehran and that was why Britain had no embargo. Saddam was removed when the bases were completed and door of the trap of the Iraq occupation is then opened, which the UK/US stupidly and blindly marched into. Ankara knew the occupation would be short-lived and a military wasteland that would limit the presence and effectiveness of UK/US units in other theatres of war. Turkey’s invasion will be the final nail on the coffin of the occupation.

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Willard Payne is an international affairs analyst who specializes in International Relations. A graduate of Western Illinois University with a concentration in East-West Trade and East-West Industrial Cooperation, he has been providing incisive analysis to NewsBlaze. He is the author of Imagery: The Day Before.