Turkey’s flirtation with ‘tribes’ (Iraq)

[Aidoneus]

Turkey’s flirtation with ‘tribes’
28 August 2003
KurdishMedia.com - By Welat Lezgin

Turkey recently criticised the U.S. for preferring the close friendship of Iraqi Kurds instead of Turkey’s. Last Thursday, the Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, speaking after his meeting with the delegation headed by US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee President Richard Lugar, said that US was Turkey’s friend and that the U.S. should not ignore this friendship for the friendship of "two tribe leaders," referring to the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Massoud Barzani and the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Jalal Talabani.

However, if the above statement is to be taken as a parameter underlying Turkey’s foreign policy, the paradox seems to have been lost on the Turkish officials as Turkey yesterday received a delegation from the Arab-Sunni Al Obeid tribe to hold talks on the issue of Turkey sending troops to Iraq. The delegation met with the Turkish Foreign Ministry officials and the deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Ali Tuygan in Ankara.

According to the Turkish NTV news channel, after also meeting with the representatives of the Iraqi Turkmen Front in Ankara, the to sides are to have agreed on a joint struggle against the Kurds. The news channel quoted a representative of the Al Obeid tribe saying, “We feel uncomfortable with the activities of Americans and the actions of the Kurds and want the Peshmergas (Kurdish forces) to leave our cities as soon as possible. For this reason we are ready to struggle with you (Turkmens) against them (Kurds).”

--snip--

http://www.kurdmedia.com/reports.asp?id=1620

[bemildred]

1. Oh, good.

Soon Iraq will be just like Afghanistan. We hold the
capital and bomb the mostly warlord ruled countryside.
Meanwhile all the neighbors chip in with arms and supplies.

[Darranar]

2. You mean it isn't already?

Just change factions of warlords to factions of religions, and you have Iraq from Afghanistan.

[Aidoneus]

6. another mention of these al-Obeid

from Don's LBN thread--
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=90888
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030831/ts_afp/iraq_worldwrap&cid=1503&ncid=1480

--snip--

Elsewhere Saturday, tribal Sheikh Hatem al-Assy al-Obeidi, who presides over a million-strong clan, was arrested by US troops west of the northern Iraqi oil capital of Kirkuk on suspicion of abetting sabotage of fuel pipelines, tribal sources told AFP.

"US forces broke into Sheikh Hatem al-Obeidi's house in al-Ramal village and his nephew's house in al-Asar village where they found several weapons and four million Iraqi dinars (around 2,700 dollars) with some gold and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher," one source said.

--snip--

combined with,
“...We feel uncomfortable with the activities of Americans and the actions of the Kurds and want the Peshmergas (Kurdish forces) to leave our cities as soon as possible. For this reason we are ready to struggle with you (Turkmens) against them (Kurds)...”

Obviously, everything is in complete control and going according to the plans of the brilliant strategists back in the homeland.

[bemildred]

8. I believe there has been discomfort there from the

beginning. I'm not sure if these are the "arabs" that
Hussein moved in up there, but there has been a loud whining
noise coming from those areas from the day we "won". It seems
to be a rather nasty, um, dislike that they hold for each
other, the old invader/invaded thing. Where have we seen that
before?

[lindashaw]

3. I hope that the United States can do one thing right in all this...

and not sit by and let Turkey slaughter the Kurds. Turkey is not a friend of the US.

[bemildred]

4. Its a worry.

I don't think its on the table right now though.
The Kurds are our buddies, and the Turks told us to shove
it when the war was getting going.
now.

[Darranar]

5. It might be...

Once they realize the trouble they're in, they'll be asking countries to send in troops. They might bribe Turkey with the Kurds to get them to help.

[bemildred]

7. One of the things about chaos is you never know whats next.

And you are quite correct these loons are capable of trying
just about anything, having little in the way of knowledge or
judgement to prevent them from doing even really stupid things,
let alone making subtle mistakes. I would love to hear Dumbsfeld
give a lecture now on his little saying: "When you are stuck on
a small problem, try making it bigger" (my paraphrase).

Edit: I believe they have already asked Turkey for troops. Right
now IIRC Turkey, India, and Pakistan are/were our big hopes for help.