Ankara’s fourth war front: Turkish soldiers killed in new Iraq offensive
Rick Rozoff
While Turkey’s president and foreign minister recently pledged support for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of former Soviet republics-cum-nations, Ankara continues to flagrantly violate those of no fewer than four other countries.
Today the nation’s leading newspaper, Hürriyet, reported that two Turkish soldiers were killed in Iraq in what was routinely termed a cross-border anti-terror operation in the north of the country. As though Turkey reserves the right to wage armed incursions into neighboring countries that is denied the other nations of the world. The excuse for the latest raids, part of the Turkish military’s ongoing Operations Pençe-Şimşek (Clawed Lightening) and Pençe-Yıldırım launched last week, was that the Turkish troops violating the border of sovereign Iraq were attacking forces of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The same excuse, that of combating the PKK and affiliated groups, is used to excuse Turkey’s invasion and occupation of northeastern Syria since 2014, including its so-called Operation Peace Spring of 2019.
Turkey’s armed attacks inside Iraq go back to 2007 with an attack that included the participation of 50 fighter jets. In 2008 Ankara launched Operation Sun with as many as 10,000 troops. That operation, like the one in Syria, was preceded by aerial bombardments.
Last week Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar spoke with commanders of Operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Yıldırım from the Land Forces Command Operations Center to announce the current offensive, which began on April 23. He said that armored vehicles, warplanes, drones and attack helicopters were being employed and boasted that, “Domestic and national ammunition is used at the maximum rate in the operations,” adding “I kiss the foreheads of all my guns and colleagues….” His claims included hitting 460 targets inside Iraq.
Today’s Hürriyet confirms a total of three Turkish soldiers killed so far in the invasion. No numbers were released for Iraqis killed in Ankara’s offensive.
This is occurring as NATO is taking over training and other military missions in Iraq from the American military. There will soon be as many as 5,000 NATO troops and as few as 500 U.S. ones there. NATO has never objected, as Washington has never objected, to Turkey’s military aggression in Iraq, Turkey, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh/Armenia. Even as both threaten Russia daily over territories they claim belong to Ukraine and Georgia.
In fact earlier this month General Tod Wolters, both commander of U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, said this about Washington’s and NATO trusted ally:
Turkey remains a strategic U.S. Ally, critical to NATO and U.S. interests in Europe, Eurasia, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Ankara continues to view the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as security threats.
Turkey retains a pivotal role in countering Russia.
The last point is the all-important one. As long as Turkey serves as NATO’s bulwark against Russia – and Iraq, Syria and Iran – its gross violations of international law and its military aggression from North Africa to the Caucasus are overlooked. Overlooked by the Russian government as well as the U.S. and NATO it needs to be pointed out.
Erdogan has terrorist proxies in Yemen also.
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Thanks. I’d like to have information on that. The neo-Ottoman/Islamist-jihadi/pan-Turkic Erdogan is spitting in the face of the world and no one – no single nation aside from Syria and Armenia – seems in the least bit concerned. He commits military aggression against three Arab nations – Iraq, Libya, Syria – and the Arab League says nothing. Wages war in Libya and the African Union says nothing. Wages a de facto proxy war against Armenia, a CSTO member, and the CSTO says nothing. Says Russia should give up Crimea and stirs up ethnic Tatars there (with the Russian North Caucasus to come next) and Russia…sells them S-400s.
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I agree with you, I have no idea why Putin is allowing him to import headchoppers to Ukraine either. I’ll get you the information on Yemen. Erdogan is snuggling up to Saudis, which is really odd. Saudis historically have not played well with Muslim Brotherhood.
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Thanks once again. You’re right. Ankara has been deploying jihadis to Ukraine since 2014 and to Syria, Libya and most recently to the South Caucasus. You’re also right about the new Ankara-Riyadh-Tel Aviv axis. Heaven help the nations of the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus and the Black Sea region.
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Heaven them and all of us ….
Here is one article regarding Erdogan in Yemen. In the comments of my post I put quite a few more article links and sources. It’s easier just to give you one link.
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From Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov today:
https://tass.com/politics/1284845
“Turkey and Turkey’s commitment to its independent course of development, which is quite firm, are generally the subject for heightened attention and, perhaps, concern at NATO. And, of course, this is a subject of US concern and the way the United States is trying to raise its voice at Ankara over the story with the S-400s [Russia’s air defense systems] and Ankara’s other actions obviously indicate that Washington does not like how [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is confidently leading Turkey forward and that they would prefer a more compliant Turkey,” Peskov explained.
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I think Turkey, or rather Erdogan is playing his part well, and in compliance with western regimes schemes.
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And someone else is playing his role in an exemplary manner and also working in accord with Western schemes. Someone who seems to take orders from Erdogan.
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Agreed, both are looking very much like controlled opposition.
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Did you know Erdogan came from a poor family, his mother supposedly Jewish, although I have yet to verify that fact. I do know he was imprisoned in his university days for extremism. I would love to know who footed the bill for his rise to power.
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I’ve heard from an Afghan friend that he was an ally and “disciple” of the hideous Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in his youth. Some friend for Russian politicians.
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“Heaven help them and all of us” I meant to say
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From Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov today:
https://tass.com/politics/1284845
“Turkey and Turkey’s commitment to its independent course of development, which is quite firm, are generally the subject for heightened attention and, perhaps, concern at NATO. And, of course, this is a subject of US concern and the way the United States is trying to raise its voice at Ankara over the story with the S-400s [Russia’s air defense systems] and Ankara’s other actions obviously indicate that Washington does not like how [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is confidently leading Turkey forward and that they would prefer a more compliant Turkey,” Peskov explained.
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Reblogged this on Piazza della Carina.
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Now Erdo is planning a base in Iraq
https://parstoday.com/en/news/west_asia-i141004-group_warns_over_'expansionist'_turkish_plan_to_build_base_in_iraq
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Thanks once again for invaluable information I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. What’s with the world – the whole world – allowing him to pull all this off? He’s even hijacked the Afghan talks. Ankara is now not only one of the four major powers in the world but in many ways at the moment the preeminent one.
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You’re welcome. I have no idea what is going on with him being so powerful and seemingly accepted. I am wondering if it goes back to whomever put him in a power position to begin with. I didn’t know that about the Afghan talks, so thank you also. I knew ISIS was transferred there so I should have guessed. I really hope Iran changes their attitude towards him when Rouhani gets the boot. Now would be good. Iran is talking to Kabul regime, one of the most corrupt regimes there is.
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There’s a perspective that says what Turkey is doing in Iraq, Syria and Yemen – and that’s why I raised Tajikistan as well – is fighting a broad proxy war with Iran for influence in the Arab world and beyond. Iran has a very large Azeri minority that I assume Turkey is *warming up* as it is the Tatars in Crimea. Turkey controls northern Afghanistan through (the Uzbek) Dostum, who lived in and owns property in Turkey. An Ankara asset through and through.
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I agree with that perspective. I can’t understand why Iran treats Turkey as friendly any more than Russia does. Iran and Russia need some new leadership in my opinion. I never did care for Rouhani from the beginning.
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Rouhani arrived in the wake of the “Green Revolution” and at least in part subscribes to its alleged tenets. I’m going to write something today suggesting that Iran is the next – and perhaps the main – target of Turkey; what NATO is using it for.
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Good, look forward to it. I think Rouhani gov’t gave U.S. the Intel to murder Soleimani after hearing the Zarif leak.
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