Turkish Forum

Category: Iraq

  • Turkish-Israeli ties sour further

    Turkish-Israeli ties sour further

    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish-Israeli ties soured further on Saturday after Ankara summoned Israel’s ambassador over an army general’s comments which the Turkish military said could threaten cooperation between the Middle East allies.

    Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:57pm IST

    By Paul de Bendern and Ayla Jean Yackley

    The Foreign Ministry called in Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy to protest over comments by Israel’s land forces commander, reported in the Haaretz newspaper, who criticised Turkey’s occupation of northern Cyprus and its conflict with Kurdish separatists.

    “The relevant statements of (Major General) Avi Mizrahi are ungrounded and unacceptable and as such we have requested an urgent explanation from Israeli authorities,” the ministry said in a statement.

    It was the latest sign of tension between Israel and Turkey, NATO’s only Muslim member, who maintain close military ties but whose alliance has been strained by Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

    Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last month angrily accused Israeli President Shimon Peres of “knowing very well how to kill” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    Erdogan told Reuters in an interview late on Friday that he was saddened by the results of the Israeli elections this week, which showed gains by right-wing parties.

    “Unfortunately the election has painted a very dark picture,” he said on board his plane during a campaign trip.

    Erdogan urged the next Israeli government to look at how it conducted policies and actions towards the Palestinians and to lift an embargo on the Palestinians who he said lived in an “open-air prison”. He said Israel’s tough stance was failing.

    “LOOK IN THE MIRROR”

    Mizrahi was quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz as saying Erdogan should have “looked in the mirror” before attacking Peres and that Turkey was not in a position to criticise Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands when it stations troops in northern Cyprus.

    He also accused Turkey of repressing its Kurdish minority and massacring Armenians during World War One.

    The Turkish General Staff said Mizrahi’s remarks were untrue and completely unacceptable and they demanded an explanation.

    “The comments have been assessed at the kind of level that could damage the national interests between the two countries,” the Turkish armed forces said, suggesting military cooperation could be at stake.

    Turkey and Israel have close military cooperation, which includes allowing the Israeli air force to train in Turkey. The two countries also share intelligence and have strong trade ties, including the sale of important military equipment.

    “There are some people saying cut off ties with Israel, but we are not in that understanding. Before taking any such steps, and I’m not saying we are thinking of taking any such steps, we would have to carry out a big study on such a decision,” Erdogan told Reuters through an interpreter.

    He said there were no plans to halt the training agreement.

    Some diplomats and analysts say Turkey’s role as a mediator in the Middle East, and in particular as a neutral negotiator between Israel and Syria, suffered short-term damage because of Erdogan’s fierce criticism of Israel and defence of Hamas.

    Erdogan dismissed such suggestions.

    “I don’t think that way … Turkey is a strong country that has a (unique) international position,” he said.

    “We were not the ones who wanted this negotiations role. In negotiations between Syria and Israel both countries wanted Turkey to be the mediator, that is why we took part in it.”

    Erdogan said critics misunderstood Turkish foreign policy if they thought the government was siding with Hamas or was against Israel. Turkey wanted peace in the region and was defending the helpless, in this case the civilians in Gaza, he said.

    He said the ruling AK Party, which has roots in political Islam, had restored Turkey’s influence in the world and it was only natural that Turkey should use its new-found strength to help solve crises from the Caucasus to the Middle East.

    Erdogan received a hero’s welcome in Turkey and praise in the Arab world after his outburst in Davos, but raised eyebrows among Western diplomats who asked whether Turkey was turning away from the West.

    https://www.reuters.com/?edition-redirect=in

    Turkish military says ties with Israel may be harmed

    Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:55pm IST

    By Ayla Jean Yackley

    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey on Saturday called on Israel to explain reported remarks by the head of the Israeli army that questioned Turkish policies towards Kurds and Cyprus, saying ties between the Middle East allies could be at stake.

    The Turkish military’s General Staff said criticism by Israeli Major General Avi Mizrahi, the land forces commander, of Turkey’s occupation of Cyprus and its conflict with Kurdish separatists may have damaged strategic relations.

    The Turkish Foreign Ministry also summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest the comments by Mizrahi, reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

    It was the latest sign of tension between Israel and Turkey, NATO’s only Muslim member, who maintain close military ties but whose alliance has been strained by Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

    Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last month accused Israeli President Shimon Peres of “knowing very well how to kill” in a public debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    Mizrahi was quoted by Haaretz newspaper as saying Erdogan should have “looked in the mirror” before slamming Peres and that Turkey was not in a position to criticise Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands when it stations troops in northern Cyprus.

    He also accused Turkey of repressing its Kurdish minority and massacring Armenians during World War One.

    The Turkish General Staff, in a statement carried by the state-run Anatolian news agency, said Mizrahi’s remarks were untrue and competely unacceptable.

    “The comments have been assessed to be at the extent that the national interests between the two countries could be damaged,” it said.

    Turkey and Israel’s military co-operation includes allowing Israeli jets to use Turkish airspace for training.

    Erdogan told Reuters on Friday there were no plans to halt that agreement.

    The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday it had summoned Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy to receive a protest note that called Mizrahi’s remarks “unacceptable imputations and ravings made against our prime minister and our country”.

    Both the General Staff and the Foreign Ministry demanded an explanation for Mizrahi’s statements from Israeli officials.

    Turkey keeps about 30,000 troops in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus after invading the island in 1974 to thwart a coup attempt by Greek Cypriots. It is the only country to recognise a Turkish Cypriot administration there.

    It has also fought a 25-year war against Kurdish separatists seeking to establish a homeland in the southeast. Turkey denies accusations that it committed genocide against 1.5 million Armenians during World War One.

  • A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Marching on the Pentagon

    A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Marching on the Pentagon


    Want information on the March 21st March on the Pentagon?
    Go to

    Why We’re Marching on the Pentagon
    Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine … Occupation is A Crime

    Please post this event on your Facebook and MySpace pages, and forward it widely to your friends and family.


    Download the 2-sided color ANSWER flyer, which has this statement on the back

    Why are we still marching even after the war criminal George W. Bush has left office? Because the people must speak out for what is right. More than 1 million Iraqis have died and tens of thousands of U.S. troops have been wounded or killed.

    The Iraq and Afghanistan war will drag on for years unless we act now. The cost in lives and resources is criminal regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans are in charge of the government.

    We must also act to end U.S. support for Israel’s ongoing war against the Palestinian people. The Bush Administration gave the green light and provided the weapons and the money for Israel’s recent war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. More than 5,000 Palestinians were killed or wounded; the majority of casualties were civilians, including hundreds of children, in this high-tech massacre. “We the People” pay the bill as the U.S. provides $2.5 billion a year for Israel’s massive military machine.

    Why We Say “Bring All the Troops Home Now Not Later!”

    If Bush’s war and occupation of Iraq was an illegal action of aggression—and it was—how can the new government say that it can only gradually end the war over a number of years? The Iraqis don’t want foreign military forces running their country. No one would!

    The Pentagon has employed 200,000 foreign contractors (mercenaries) and 150,000 U.S. troops to maintain the occupation of Iraq. They have no right to be there. A few thousand are being brought out of Iraq only to be redeployed to occupy Afghanistan, and the fools in the media proclaim “the war is winding down.” That is not true.

    President Obama decided to keep the Pentagon just as it was under Bush. He even selected Bush appointee Robert Gates to keep his position as chief of the Pentagon. Gates announced that the new administration would double the number of troops sent to Afghanistan. That is certainly not the “change” most people thought was coming following the end of Bush’s tenure.

    These are wars for domination in the Middle East and Central Asia.

    The people of the United States want change. We are sick and tired of wars of aggression waged abroad under false slogans of “national security.” These are wars that reap massive profits for corporate weapons-makers with the promise of winning control over the vast oil and natural gas reserves in the Middle East and Central Asia.

    Working people may have another definition for “national security.” What really makes the people “insecure?” Ask the 2.3 million families who are losing their homes because they are being foreclosed when they can’t pay their steep debts to the banks. Ironically, when these same parasitic bankers couldn’t pay their debts, the federal government rushed in with a $2.5 trillion bailout using our tax dollars.

    Or ask working-class students who are being laid off from their jobs just as tuition costs soar out of reach. What defines “security” for millions of young people whose future is at stake? Do they want tax dollars spent to kill poor people abroad or to finance education?

    We will march on Saturday, March 21, the sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq invasion, to demand that taxpayer dollars be used to meet people’s needs—here and everywhere. This year’s real Pentagon war budget will top $1 trillion.

    This amount could create 10 million jobs, provide healthcare and education for all, rebuild New Orleans, and repair much of the damage done in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. We need money for jobs, housing, health care and education, not for wars of aggression.

    The occupation of Iraq alone costs $12 billion each month. This amounts to $400 million each day, $16.7 million per hour and $278,000 per minute.

    The Pentagon war machine does not act in our interests. Its wars benefit the biggest corporations and banks that seek to control the markets and riches of the Middle East. The people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine are not our enemies. They want to live free from colonial-type domination. Only a people’s movement demanding an end to U.S. wars and militarism can win justice for people here and abroad.

    Get Involved

  • Greater Israel

    Greater Israel

    By Wayne Madsen
    Online Journal Contributing Writer

    Jan 30, 2009, 00:20

    WMR) — Israeli expansionists, their intentions to take full control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and permanently keep the Golan Heights of Syria and expand into southern Lebanon already well known, also have their eyes on parts of Iraq considered part of a biblical “Greater Israel.”

    Israel reportedly has plans to relocate thousands of Kurdish Jews from Israel, including expatriates from Kurdish Iran, to the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Nineveh under the guise of religious pilgrimages to ancient Jewish religious shrines. According to Kurdish sources, the Israelis are secretly working with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to carry out the integration of Kurdish and other Jews into areas of Iraq under control of the KRG.

    Kurdish, Iraqi Sunni Muslims, and Turkmen have noted that Kurdish Israelis began to buy land in Iraqi Kurdistan, after the U.S. invasion in 2003, that is considered historical Jewish “property.”

    The Israelis are particularly interested in the shrine of the Jewish prophet Nahum in al Qush, the prophet Jonah in Mosul, and the tomb of the prophet Daniel in Kirkuk. Israelis are also trying to claim Jewish “properties” outside of the Kurdish region, including the shrine of Ezekiel in the village of al-Kifl in Babel Province near Najaf and the tomb of Ezra in al-Uzayr in Misan Province, near Basra, both in southern Iraq’s Shi’a-dominated territory. Israeli expansionists consider these shrines and tombs as much a part of “Greater Israel” as Jerusalem and the West Bank, which they call “Judea and Samaria.”

    Kurdish and Iraqi sources report that Israel’s Mossad is working hand-in-hand with Israeli companies and “tourists” to stake a claim to the Jewish “properties” of Israel in Iraq. The Mossad has already been heavily involved in training the Kurdish Pesha Merga military forces.

    Reportedly assisting the Israelis are foreign mercenaries paid for by U.S. Christian evangelical circles that support the concept of “Christian Zionism.”

    Iraqi nationalists charge that the Israeli expansion into Iraq is supported by both major Kurdish factions, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headed by Iraq’s nominal President Jalal Talabani. Talabani’s son, Qubad Talabani, serves as the KRG’s representative in Washington, where he lives with his wife Sherri Kraham, who is Jewish.

    Also supporting the Israeli land acquisition activities is the Kurdistan Democratic Party, headed by Massoud Barzani, the president of the KRG. One of Barzani’s five sons, Binjirfan Barzani, is reportedly heavily involved with the Israelis.

    The Israelis and their Christian Zionist supporters enter Iraq not through Baghdad but through Turkey. In order to depopulate residents of lands the Israelis claim, Mossad operatives and Christian Zionist mercenaries are staging terrorist attacks against Chaldean Christians, particularly in Nineveh, Irbil, al-Hamdaniya, Bartalah, Talasqaf, Batnayah, Bashiqah, Elkosheven, Uqrah, and Mosul.

    These attacks by the Israelis and their allies are usually reported as being the responsibility of “Al Qaeda” and other Islamic “jihadists.”

    The ultimate aim of the Israelis is to depopulate the Christian population in and around Mosul and claim the land as biblical Jewish land that is part of “Greater Israel.” The Israeli/Christian Zionist operation is a replay of the depopulation of the Palestinians in the British mandate of Palestine after World War II.

    In June 2003, a delegation of Israelis visited Mosul and said that it was Israel’s intentions, with the assistance of Barzani, to establish Israeli control of the shrine of Jonah in Mosul and the shrine of Nahum in the Mosul plains. The Israelis said Israeli and Iranian Jewish pilgrims would travel via Turkey to the area of Mosul and take over lands where Iraqi Christians lived.

    Previously published in the Wayne Madsen Report.

    Copyright © 2008 WayneMadenReport.com

    Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report (subscription required).

    Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal

    Source:  Online Journal, Jan 30, 2009

  • Poor Richard’s Report

    Poor Richard’s Report

    United States: Treasury Calls Anti-Iranian Kurdish Group A Terrorist Organization
    February 4, 2009The U.S. Treasury has labeled the anti-Iranian Kurdish group Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) a terrorist organization and will freeze any assets the PJAK has under U.S. jurisdiction, Reuters reported Feb. 4. PJAK is a front for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting against Turkey’s government for 25 years. PJAK members fight

  • U.S. Government Support for Humanitarian Assistance Activities in Gaza

    U.S. Government Support for Humanitarian Assistance Activities in Gaza

    Fact Sheet
    Office of the Spokesman
    Washington, DC
    January 5, 2009

    The United States Government continues to support the delivery of urgently needed food, health, shelter and other emergency assistance to the people of Gaza through our ongoing support for international organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the World Food Program (WFP), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
    On December 30, the United States announced a contribution to UNRWA for its 2009 appeals. Of the $85 million contribution, $5 million will directly support UNRWA’s Gaza Flash Appeal that will provide food, temporary shelter, and medical assistance for over 500,000 conflict-affected refugees in Gaza. The Flash Appeal funding will also supply up to 500,000 liters of fuel to municipalities and utilities for basic public services, including electricity and water treatment. $20 million will support UNRWA’s 2009 Emergency Appeal for the West Bank and Gaza, of which a large portion bolsters UNRWA’s ongoing emergency assistance activities for more than 1 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza. $60 million will support UNRWA’s General Fund for the provision of education, primary health care, and relief services to Palestinian refugees in the region, including Gaza.
    The United States Government continues to provide food assistance through the World Food Program (WFP) to 20,000 non-refugee Palestinian households in Gaza with a bi-monthly package of five basic foods. Since December 28, WFP and its implementing partner, Community Housing Foundation (CHF), have distributed some 720 metric tons (MT) of food commodities to beneficiaries in Gaza. An additional 1,350 MT is available in Gaza for distribution when the security situation allows.
    The United States Government also continues to support the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC ‘s) efforts to supply Gaza’s hospitals and clinics with urgently needed medicines, surgery kits, hygiene kits, intravenous fluids, bandages, plastic sheeting and other medical equipment. The ICRC is bringing two generators into Gaza to ensure continued operation of Gaza’s hospitals despite electricity cuts and maintenance problems resulting from a lack of spare parts.
    The United States Government has provided other medical and food supplies to health care facilities in Gaza, including syringes, tubes, gloves, x-ray film, tape, silk for sutures and bedding (mattresses, blankets and linens), and 18,000 kilograms of plastic sheeting to cover broken windows and help mitigate the cold.
    The United States is the largest bilateral donor to UNRWA, which provides essential services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere.
    The United States is deeply concerned about the safety of civilians caught up in this conflict, and urges all sides to facilitate the provision of humanitarian relief.
    2009/009

    Released on January 5, 2009
  • Hezbollah will attack if Israeli troops enter the Gaza

    Hezbollah will attack if Israeli troops enter the Gaza

    Email

    Written by dailyclarity on Jan-1-09 11:11am

    From: mydailyclarity. com

    According to Turkish sources Hezbollah has said it will attack Israel from Southern Lebanon if ground troops are sent into the Gaza. Israel must be wary of this development given their experiences in the 2006 war against Hezbollah. If Hezbollah does get drawn into the fighting, this could well see Israel at the center of a broader regional conflict. There appears little doubt that Iran and Syria would support Hezbollah in any such offensive. Given the 10,000 plus Syrian troops poised on Lebanos’ Northern border, it seems unlikely that the fragile coalition Lebanese government could do much to inhibit Hezbollah’s offensive.

    Iran’s Press TV quotes the Lebanese paper al-Hayat as the the source of the report:

    “Turkey and Egypt are reportedly planning to warn Israel that any ground offensive in the Gaza Strip would trigger a response by Hezbollah.

    Citing Turkish sources, the Lebanese daily al-Hayat reported Tuesday that the two countries are seeking to warn Tel Aviv that Hezbollah might open a new front against Israel in Southern Lebanon, should Israeli army launch a ground incursion into the costal sliver.

    Tel Aviv has deployed thousands of troops along the Gaza Strip border on Tuesday, raising concerns over an imminent ground incursion into the region.

    The report came amid the ongoing aerial attacks which have so far left over 385 people killed and 1,800 others wounded in the Hamas-held territory. The military campaign against the region has been ongoing since early Saturday.

    According to the report, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit held a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan on Monday to discuss a four-point plan for a truce between Israel and Hamas.

    The report added that the plan would include the removal of the Gaza blockade as well as guarantees for respecting the agreement.

    The daily claims that Turkey and Egypt believe that they could convince Israel to end its operation and avoid a ground offensive if they worked together.”

    . com/Israel+ World+News/ articles/ 592/Hezbollah+ will+attack+ Israeli+troops+ enter

    Russians evacuated from Gaza Strip coming to Israel

    02.01.2009, 15.28

    tass.com/ eng/level2. …1652&PageNum=0

    ERETZ CHECKPOINT (Israel-Gaza border), January 2 (Itar-Tass) — The operation for the evacuation of Russian and CIS citizens from the Gaza Strip has come to a close. A total of 101 Russian citizens and 70 citizens of other CIS member countries crossed the border. Only several people remain at the Eretz checkpoint, who have some unsettled problems with the Israeli security services. Their settlement is going on. A truck column with the refugees will soon go to the Jordanian-Israeli border, and from there to Amman, where two planes of the Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) are waiting for them.


    daily.com/ index.php? fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80946

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