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10/22/07

Bloomberg.com: Iraq Must Act `Immediately' Against Kurdish Rebels, Rice Says (what about the US and the EU) - by Viola Gienger and Ben Holland


For the complete report from Bloomberg.com click on this link

Iraq Must Act `Immediately' Against Kurdish Rebels, Rice Says ( what about the US and the EU?) - by Viola Gienger and Ben Holland

The Iraqi government must take ``immediate steps'' against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, as Turkey pledged to wait a few days before deciding on its own military action. The government in Baghdad must ``demonstrate its commitment to regional stability,'' Rice said in a statement with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband issued yesterday in Washington. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would await U.S. and Iraqi actions before mounting any raid and suggested Turkey's operation might not involve ground forces.

The U.S. is pressing Turkey to avoid a cross-border attack against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, out of concern it could destabilize the war effort in Iraq.

Note EU-Digest: "The US statement makes no sense at all. First because the Iraq central government has no control whatsoever over the Kurdish region in Iraq. Whatever they say now is talk only, no action. Only US forces are (maybe) able to remove Kurdish PKK terrorists from the Kurdish region in Iraq. As to the other statement that a Turkish incursion into Iraq would destabilize the country, this is also far removed from the truth. Iraq became destabilized the moment it was invaded by the US and Britain. What is a further destabilizing factor is that PKK terrorists are now provided a safe haven in the Kurdish area of Iraq. This can only spell for more turmoil. If the US and its allies are not able to remove the PKK terrorist threat from Iraq, Turkey should have no qualms to enter Iraq and remove the danger these PKK terrorists present to them and Europe.

Also important in this scenario is that Denmark closes down Roj TV, the media outlet of PKK/KONGRA-GEL (included both in the EU and the US’s on lists of terrorist organizations) from operating freely on its territory. ROJ-TV’s broadcasts can only be defined as incitement to terror and violence, and they fall squarely within the scope of the UNSC Resolution No. 1624. Isn't it time for us in Europe to show we have some "spine" left to help our European applicant member Turkey to eliminate this terrorist threat, which in the long run could harm us all?"

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