Turkish govt., military agree on plan to invade Iraq

ANKARA (www.dailystar.com) Turkey's government and military have agreed on detailed plans for a cross-border operation against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, the foreign minister said Friday.Abdullah Gul urged the United States and Iraq, which oppose a Turkish military move into Iraq, to crack down on rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. But he said Turkey was ready to stage an offensive if necessary."We have decided how to act, everything is clear," Gul told private NTV television."We know what to do and when to do it," he said without providing details.The government has come under pressure from the opposition to launch a military incursion as the country gears up for parliamentary polls on July 22.Nevertheless, the cabinet of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received a boost Thursday after the Constitutional Court backed government plans to hold a referendum on constitutional reforms that would allow voters instead of Parliament to elect future presidents.Turkey has long complained of U.S. inaction against the rebels.Last week, Turkey's military chief asked the government to set political guidelines for an incursion into northern Iraq. Asked whether the government would discuss a possible cross-border offensive during a Cabinet meeting next week, Gul said:"Everything can happen in one day."
On Tuesday, the U.S. military warned Turkey against destabilizing northern Iraq.The U.S. armed forces have a "great relationship with the military of Turkey," said Brigadier General Perry Wiggins, deputy director for operations of the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff.But he cautioned: "As the secretary of defense (Robert Gates) has said, any disruption up in northern Iraq would not be helpful at this time."
To read more go to:
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=7/8/2007&Cat=2&Num=020
As in the days of Noah...