|
Turkey: Troops Would Halt Kurds
Turkey has plans to send tens of thousands of soldiers into northern Iraq if the United States attacks through the north, senior intelligence and military sources said yesterday. The troops would aim to prevent the formation of a Kurdish state and a possible flood into Turkey of Kurdish refugees, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. About 4,000 Turkish troops, including engineers, have been sent to the mountainous border region so that they could quickly be rushed into northern Iraq if there is a conflict, said the sources, who have been part of the Turkish planning. U.S. officials reportedly have asked Turkey to let tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers pass into Iraq if there is a war. Turkish military officials have said that if there is an attack through the north, Turkey plans on sending its own soldiers into the region. A leading daily newspaper, Hurriyet, reported yesterday that Turkey would send 65,000 to 70,000 troops into northern Iraq if there is a massive U.S. assault from the north.Hammer + Anvil A senior Turkish intelligence official confirmed the report, saying Turkey is especially concerned that if Iraq disintegrates, Iraqi Kurds could seize the key northern city of Mosul and the oil center of Kirkuk. Control of those cities would make the Kurds a significant regional power. And Turkey ain't gonna let that happen If sent to Iraq, Turkish soldiers likely would secure northern areas, while avoiding combat against Iraqi troops. I think the Iraqis would much rather surrender to the Turks than be captured by the Kurds. Northern Iraq is controlled by ethnic Kurds, many of whom have for decades sought an independent state. Turkey is concerned that if Saddam Hussein is ousted, the Kurds might declare independence and inspire greater nationalism among Kurds in southern Turkey. In 1991, at the end of the Persian Gulf War, about 500,000 Kurds fled to Turkey after Hussein crushed a Kurdish uprising. The million dollar question is what are the Kurds going to do? Posted by: Steve 2002-12-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=8627 |