Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
September 19, 2007 By Sebnem Arsu
ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 18 — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused on Tuesday to rule out the possibility of military operations into northern Iraq to root out armed Kurdish separatist groups that he said had taken refuge in the border region.
Mr. Erdogan also criticized some Western countries for what he called their increasingly hawkish stance against Iran.
Meeting with foreign journalists before his trip to the United States to meet with President Bush and others attending the United Nations General Assembly next week, Mr. Erdogan said that despite the relative calm in the northern region of Iraq bordering Turkey, all options remained open in his country’s struggle against Kurdish separatist militants.
“No country can continue living under the constant threat of terrorism,” Mr. Erdogan said in his office at his party headquarters in Ankara, the capital. “This struggle has the same legitimacy for Turkey as it has for the U.S., Spain or United Kingdom.”
The P.K.K., or Kurdistan Workers’ Party, has been operating in Turkey since the 1980s, pressing demands for a separate Kurdish state in a conflict that has taken more than 30,000 lives.
About 3,500 armed rebels are taking shelter in the mountains of northern Iraq and carrying out hit-and-run attacks inside Turkey, Turkish officials say.
“We have done our part in the joint struggle against terrorism in Afghanistan as requested by the U.S.,” Mr. Erdogan said. “Now, we expect the same approach from the U.S. when we expect a three-pronged approach — U.S., Iraq and Turkey — to function against the terror organization settled in northern Iraq.”
Tension surrounding Iran’s nuclear ambitions has added another layer of complexity to Turkey’s relationship with the United States and Europe.
Turkey has signed a memorandum of understanding on natural gas with Iran. The pact was criticized last week by R. Nicholas Burns, the American under secretary of state for political affairs. He arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for a two-day visit.
Mr. Erdogan said Turkey would set its own policies.
September 19, 2007 By Sebnem Arsu
ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 18 — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused on Tuesday to rule out the possibility of military operations into northern Iraq to root out armed Kurdish separatist groups that he said had taken refuge in the border region.
Mr. Erdogan also criticized some Western countries for what he called their increasingly hawkish stance against Iran.
Meeting with foreign journalists before his trip to the United States to meet with President Bush and others attending the United Nations General Assembly next week, Mr. Erdogan said that despite the relative calm in the northern region of Iraq bordering Turkey, all options remained open in his country’s struggle against Kurdish separatist militants.
“No country can continue living under the constant threat of terrorism,” Mr. Erdogan said in his office at his party headquarters in Ankara, the capital. “This struggle has the same legitimacy for Turkey as it has for the U.S., Spain or United Kingdom.”
The P.K.K., or Kurdistan Workers’ Party, has been operating in Turkey since the 1980s, pressing demands for a separate Kurdish state in a conflict that has taken more than 30,000 lives.
About 3,500 armed rebels are taking shelter in the mountains of northern Iraq and carrying out hit-and-run attacks inside Turkey, Turkish officials say.
“We have done our part in the joint struggle against terrorism in Afghanistan as requested by the U.S.,” Mr. Erdogan said. “Now, we expect the same approach from the U.S. when we expect a three-pronged approach — U.S., Iraq and Turkey — to function against the terror organization settled in northern Iraq.”
Tension surrounding Iran’s nuclear ambitions has added another layer of complexity to Turkey’s relationship with the United States and Europe.
Turkey has signed a memorandum of understanding on natural gas with Iran. The pact was criticized last week by R. Nicholas Burns, the American under secretary of state for political affairs. He arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for a two-day visit.
Mr. Erdogan said Turkey would set its own policies.