“Absolutely Nothing”
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) — U.S. forces will not take any actions against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of Turkey which carries out cross-border attacks on Turkey from Iraq, a senior U.S. commander said Friday.
Responding to a question on what the U.S. military will do to the PKK, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq, told reporters at Pentagon via videolink from Iraq that his forces will do “absolutely nothing.”
Mixon is reaffirming the official U.S. position on the issue: U.S. forces should not be involved in the ongoing fight between the PKK and Turkey and the issue should be settled through diplomacy.
The commander said it is not his responsibility to get involved in the fight.
Mixon also refused to give an assessment on the PKK’s fighting abilities.
“I have no idea. You’ll have to ask somebody in the Turkish government,” he said.
Does he think he has any responsibility to try to avoid a Turkish incursion into the north?
“I have not been given any requirements or any responsibility for that,” he said.
But if terrorists are operating in his region, he was asked, why not get involved?
“Let me put it to you very clearly,” he answered. The provincial Kurdish authorities have their own peshmerga militia, Mixon and, “it’s their responsibility” in three northern provinces of Iraq.
He said no one has specifically told him to ignore the rebel problem, “but I hadn’t been given instructions to do anything about it, either.”
If he were ordered to do something, would he have enough U.S. troops?
“That’s a hypothetical question,” Mixon replied. “I haven’t studied it.
“I haven’t been given any instructions that would even vaguely resemble what you just mentioned,” the general said. “So I don’t see any sense in talking about it.”
Despite Turkey’s request, the Pentagon repeatedly said that U.S. forces in Iraq are busy with fighting insurgents and terrorists, and refuse to get involved militarily.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has been requesting Iraq’s Kurdish regional government to cut the supplies of the PKK and disrupt its cross-border movement.
Turkey’s parliament approved on Oct. 17 a government motion backing a cross-border operation into northern Iraq for pursuing PKK militants who have kept attacking against Turkey’s military targets.
The PKK has fought more than 20 years for an independent Kurdish country in southern Turkey.
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Turkey wants to join the EU and they have a turd, I mean kurd problem. I think Turkey should be given the opportunity to show what they’re all about and be given free reign to go clean out the PKK and see how soon they go back to their border after cleaning them out. You kurds should be ashamed of yourselves, you have it good right now and the first thing you want to do is go out and conquer the world. Fucking idiots.
October 27th, 2007 at 2:31 amJohn,
Turkey isn’t in EU. the only part acceptable would be Istambul and some mediterranean cities, but that was a few decades ago ; now they turn into islam option too.
these parts of the world, as I can recall history have always been at war between each others. soI don’t expect this will be over tomorrow
October 27th, 2007 at 2:40 amThis is enough to piss a person off though. Kurds pretty much have their own damn country up there and look at how they’re using it. Acting like the same terrorists we have been fighting. I dont suggest that the US do anything about it, let Turkey go in for a little bit and clean it up
October 27th, 2007 at 4:49 amThe only reason why the Kurds are as prosperous as they are is because the US and the Coalition protected them with air cover for ten tears. It’s pretty stupid to do throw all that prosperity away by behaving like irhabis. If they attack Turkey, then all they end up doing is shooting themselves in the foot to spite their face. Not real smart.
October 27th, 2007 at 8:23 am