Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Bloomberg.com
February 24, 2008 By Ken Fireman, Bloomberg News
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on Turkey to wrap up as quickly as possible its latest military incursion into northern Iraq to combat Kurdish fighters.
Gates also said Turkey won't be able to solve the problem of cross-border Kurdish raids through purely military means, such as the current operation that began Feb. 21.
``I would hope that it would be short, that it would be precise and avoid the loss of innocent life, and that they leave as quickly as they can accomplish their mission,'' Gates told reporters today in Canberra, Australia.
Asked if he had a timetable in mind for the Turks to wrap up the operation, Gates replied, ``The shorter the better.''
The Turkish armed forces said as many as 79 Kurdish fighters and seven Turkish soldiers have been killed in the current operation, which they called their largest incursion into northern Iraq in 11 years.
The operation is the latest Turkish attempt to neutralize armed members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, based in camps in northern Iraq.
Turkey has battled the PKK, which seeks autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, for two decades. The U.S. and European Union have branded the PKK a terrorist organization.
Reach Out
While expressing sympathy for the Turkish goal of blunting the PKK, Gates urged Turkish leaders to battle the group through political and economic as well as military methods. He said Turkey should reach out to its Kurdish population through such means as a way of eroding the PKK's base of support.
``These economic and political measures are really important,'' Gates said. ``Because after a certain point people become inured to military attacks. If you don't blend them with these kinds of non-military initiatives, then at a certain point I think that the military efforts become less and less effective.''
Gates said he based that assessment on the U.S. experience in fighting insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said he didn't think the Turkish incursion threatened to destabilize the Iraqi government. Gates called on Turkish officials to coordinate with their Iraqi counterparts as closely as possible in informing them of their plans.
Gates said the Kurdish regional government that holds sway in northern Iraq has become ``much more active'' in trying to control the PKK fighters based in their area.
Gates is scheduled to meet with Turkish leaders later this week in Ankara, toward the end of an eight-day Asian trip.
February 24, 2008 By Ken Fireman, Bloomberg News
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on Turkey to wrap up as quickly as possible its latest military incursion into northern Iraq to combat Kurdish fighters.
Gates also said Turkey won't be able to solve the problem of cross-border Kurdish raids through purely military means, such as the current operation that began Feb. 21.
``I would hope that it would be short, that it would be precise and avoid the loss of innocent life, and that they leave as quickly as they can accomplish their mission,'' Gates told reporters today in Canberra, Australia.
Asked if he had a timetable in mind for the Turks to wrap up the operation, Gates replied, ``The shorter the better.''
The Turkish armed forces said as many as 79 Kurdish fighters and seven Turkish soldiers have been killed in the current operation, which they called their largest incursion into northern Iraq in 11 years.
The operation is the latest Turkish attempt to neutralize armed members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, based in camps in northern Iraq.
Turkey has battled the PKK, which seeks autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, for two decades. The U.S. and European Union have branded the PKK a terrorist organization.
Reach Out
While expressing sympathy for the Turkish goal of blunting the PKK, Gates urged Turkish leaders to battle the group through political and economic as well as military methods. He said Turkey should reach out to its Kurdish population through such means as a way of eroding the PKK's base of support.
``These economic and political measures are really important,'' Gates said. ``Because after a certain point people become inured to military attacks. If you don't blend them with these kinds of non-military initiatives, then at a certain point I think that the military efforts become less and less effective.''
Gates said he based that assessment on the U.S. experience in fighting insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said he didn't think the Turkish incursion threatened to destabilize the Iraqi government. Gates called on Turkish officials to coordinate with their Iraqi counterparts as closely as possible in informing them of their plans.
Gates said the Kurdish regional government that holds sway in northern Iraq has become ``much more active'' in trying to control the PKK fighters based in their area.
Gates is scheduled to meet with Turkish leaders later this week in Ankara, toward the end of an eight-day Asian trip.