Turkey Poised to Attack Separatist Rebels in Northern Iraq

Around 100,000 Turkish forces backed by tanks and attack helicopters, have been deployed. Turkey's Prime Minister is warning the United States to act swiftly after Washington asked for a few days before any response to the killing of more than a dozen Turkish soldiers by guerrillas from the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party. Turkey's military says troops responded with a counter-offensive, killing at least 23 Kurdish rebels in sou More..theastern Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recalled security officials to Ankara for crisis talks. The fighting took place in Sirnak province, bordering Iraq, the Anatolia news agency reported, citing the army.The Kurds attacked with a heavy mix of weapons including Sniper Rifles bombs/grenades and heavy machine guns. The regional government in Sirak reported earlier Sunday that a PKK rebel had been killed while fighting the army in the Mount Cudi area. On Saturday, the army announced that it has created 27 new temporary security zones, reinforcing the already existing plan to deter rebel movement in the Sirnak, Siirt and Hakkari provinces, all close to the border with Iraq. Ankara estimates that there are thousands of PKK rebels who are supported or tolerated by Iraqi Kurds. Twelve people were killed at the end of September after a minibus was machine-gunned in Sirnak province, the PKK's bloodiest attack in Turkey in recent years. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, has waged a bloody campaign for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish east and southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

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Bu$hco speaks of using air power to subdue the PKK while in the same breath asking for $46 billion more for his war budget. The figure brings to $196.4 billion the total requested by the administration for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere for the budget year that started Oct. 1.

President Bush spoke with Turkish President Abdullah Gul by phone Monday in an effort to ease the crisis. According to an official familiar with the conversation, Bush assured the Turkish president that the U.S. was looking seriously into options beyond diplomacy to stop the attacks coming from Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.

"It's not 'Kumbaya' time anymore -- just talking about trilateral talks is not going to be enough," the official said. "Something has to be done."

Duhbya, being a self proclaimed student of history surely understands what the Kurds have been through and that they are a people without a country, and will use all diplomatic means to protect their citizens...Or will he?

Turkey has many times in the past squashed Kurdish attempts at self government and it is no surprise that they are again doing so. Afterall, a large part of what was at one time called Kurdistan is in their country and a large part of their population is Kurdish.