Tuesday, December 18, 2007
UH-OH. . . . .
Looks like Turkey has invaded Kurdish-held Iraq. Its been overnight but they're still there, about 1.5 miles into territory near the Iranian border. This follows aerial bombing of Kurdish PKK bases in Iraq yesterday.
And in other news, Condi Rice made a 'surprise' visit to the disputed Kurdish city of Kirkuk, center of northern Iraq's oil industry. Call me a cynic, but methinks there just might be a connection between that visit and the incursion. No doubt Rice is there as TeamBush's 'Man on the Ground' trying to desperately keep Kurdish Peshmergas (our seemingly best Iraqi allies) from joining the battle against the neighboring Turks (also strong US allies) who have invaded their country, albeit seeking to destroy PKK elements and not take over territory, one hopes.
Even so, it remains very unclear how long Iraqi Kurds will stomach attacks on their territory that are killing their ethnic brethren, and no doubt eventually some Iraqi Kurdish civilians. I'm sure Condi is begging for their restraint and offering many financial and military carrots while in Kirkuk. It might just work if the Turks are efficient and highly restrained. Or it could turn into another Israeli-Lebanon incursion of last summer.
The moderate Siniora government, once praised by TeamBush as the salvation of democracy in the Mideast (correctly so), was forced to sit idle as Israel destroyed what infrastructure Lebanon had managed to build up following years of civil war, and killed scads of Lebanese civilians as well. At the UN, TeamBush strawman John Bolton resisted cease-fire attempts for two weeks, giving Israel the time to 'wipe out' its Shiite Hezbollah targets. But hardly anything went according to plan. The more Israeli troops bombed bridges, airports, refineries, and residential neighborhoods, the more the elected Lebanese government lost respect among its people, as it became clear that being TeamBush's 'Man in Beirut' didn't earn Siniora enough clout to have the US intervene to stop the slaughter. And Hezbollah hung tough, fighting the IDF hard on the ground and launching rocket attacks against civilians deep into Israel.
Final score: Hezbollah became darlings of the Arab world for bloodying the Zionists nose for the first time in decades; Israel and its vaunted IDF looked ineffective and lost some serious face; and the political scene in Lebanon, once a beacon of potential arab democracy, devolved into factional murder choas and is once again teetering on the brink of civil war.
Regardless of Condi's promises don't think the Iraqi Kurds have forgotten these events, even if most Americans have. Keep a close eye on this one, it could get real ugly, real fast.
Looks like Turkey has invaded Kurdish-held Iraq. Its been overnight but they're still there, about 1.5 miles into territory near the Iranian border. This follows aerial bombing of Kurdish PKK bases in Iraq yesterday.
And in other news, Condi Rice made a 'surprise' visit to the disputed Kurdish city of Kirkuk, center of northern Iraq's oil industry. Call me a cynic, but methinks there just might be a connection between that visit and the incursion. No doubt Rice is there as TeamBush's 'Man on the Ground' trying to desperately keep Kurdish Peshmergas (our seemingly best Iraqi allies) from joining the battle against the neighboring Turks (also strong US allies) who have invaded their country, albeit seeking to destroy PKK elements and not take over territory, one hopes.
Even so, it remains very unclear how long Iraqi Kurds will stomach attacks on their territory that are killing their ethnic brethren, and no doubt eventually some Iraqi Kurdish civilians. I'm sure Condi is begging for their restraint and offering many financial and military carrots while in Kirkuk. It might just work if the Turks are efficient and highly restrained. Or it could turn into another Israeli-Lebanon incursion of last summer.
The moderate Siniora government, once praised by TeamBush as the salvation of democracy in the Mideast (correctly so), was forced to sit idle as Israel destroyed what infrastructure Lebanon had managed to build up following years of civil war, and killed scads of Lebanese civilians as well. At the UN, TeamBush strawman John Bolton resisted cease-fire attempts for two weeks, giving Israel the time to 'wipe out' its Shiite Hezbollah targets. But hardly anything went according to plan. The more Israeli troops bombed bridges, airports, refineries, and residential neighborhoods, the more the elected Lebanese government lost respect among its people, as it became clear that being TeamBush's 'Man in Beirut' didn't earn Siniora enough clout to have the US intervene to stop the slaughter. And Hezbollah hung tough, fighting the IDF hard on the ground and launching rocket attacks against civilians deep into Israel.
Final score: Hezbollah became darlings of the Arab world for bloodying the Zionists nose for the first time in decades; Israel and its vaunted IDF looked ineffective and lost some serious face; and the political scene in Lebanon, once a beacon of potential arab democracy, devolved into factional murder choas and is once again teetering on the brink of civil war.
Regardless of Condi's promises don't think the Iraqi Kurds have forgotten these events, even if most Americans have. Keep a close eye on this one, it could get real ugly, real fast.
Labels: Iraq, Kurds, TeamBush, Turkey
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