[NYTr] US in a Diplo-Dither over Military Moves by Turkey

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Tim Murphy - activ-l

The Observer - Oct 14, 2007
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2190778,00.html

US tries to halt Turkey attack

Diplomats fly to Ankara to stop military move 
against Iraqi Kurds after 'genocide' resolution 

By Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor

Senior US officials were engaged last night in last-ditch efforts to
persuade Turkey not to launch a major military incursion into Iraqi
Kurdistan to target armed separatists.

A team was diverted from a mission to Russia to make an unscheduled
stop in Ankara yesterday. Against the background of the escalating
diplomatic row between Turkey and the US over a congressional
resolution that branded as 'genocide' massacres of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks in 1915, US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, revealed she
had personally urged Turkey to refrain from any major military
operation in northern Iraq. The row between the two Nato allies comes
against the dangerous background of a threat by the Turkish parliament
to approve this week a 'hot pursuit' of the Kurdish separatist
Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, across the border into northern Iraq.

The threat of military action came after last Sunday's killing by the
PKK of 13 Turkish soldiers in an ambush in Sirnak province, close to
the Iraqi border.

'I urged restraint,' said Rice, on a visit to Moscow, acknowledging 'a
difficult time' between the two countries as she described her telephone
conversations with Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, its Prime Minister
and foreign minister.

'It's a difficult time for the relationship,' Rice said. 'We just
thought it was a very good idea for two senior officials to go and talk
to the Turks and have reassurance to the Turks that we really value
this relationship.' Rice said that in her conversation with the Turks
'they were dismayed' by the congressional resolution. 'The Turkish
government, I think, is trying to react responsibly. They recognise how
hard we worked to prevent that vote from taking place.'

About 60,000 Turkish troops are based near the northern Iraqi border. US
military officials have said they believe they will get some warning if
the Turks attack the PKK.

Rice's phone conversations came as two senior US officials flew to
Turkey yesterday to attempt to defuse tension that has seen the Turkish
ambassador to Washington return home for consultations following the
resolution, which Turks regard as deeply offensive.

US Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and US Under Secretary of
Defence Eric Edelman flew from Moscow, where they had been accompanying
Rice. It was reported that Edelman said on his arrival they were
visiting Turkey to express regret over the approval of the resolution.
The pair are likely to hear sharp criticism from the Turkish government.

'They are sure to raise the northern Iraq issue, but from our
perspective the top issue is the Armenian resolution,' a Turkish
diplomat said. The row between the two allies follows the decision by
the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives to
approve a resolution labelling the 1915 killings genocide, rejecting
appeals by President Bush. Turkey denies genocide but says many died in
inter-ethnic fighting in an issue that is still deeply sensitive to
Turks.

Turkish officials say foreign ministry and military officials met after
the resolution was approved to discuss potential measures against the
US. In initial repercussions, a US visit by Trade Minister Kursad
Tuzmen was cancelled, along with a conference being held by the
Turkish-US Business Council.

Other potential moves may include blocking US access to Incirlik air
base, cancelling procurement contracts, scaling down bilateral visits,
denying airspace to US aircraft and halting joint military exercises,
say analysts and diplomats.

The US relies heavily on Turkish bases to supply its war effort in Iraq.
Ankara has long complained Washington has not done enough to crack down
on PKK rebels who use northern Iraq as a base to attack Turkey. The PKK
said on Friday its guerrillas were crossing back into Turkey to target
politicians and police after the prospect of a cross-border military
operation emerged. Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than
30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic
homeland in south-east Turkey in 1984.