Turkey Weighs Iraq Strikes

Military should begin sorties into northern Iraq this month
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 16, 2007 4:07 AM CDT
Turkey Weighs Iraq Strikes
A Turkish man, carrying a national flag on his shoulders, visits Edirnekapi National Cemetery, where troops killed in the fight against Kurdish rebels are buried, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 12, 2007. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would not be deterred by the possible...   (Associated Press)

Despite intense diplomatic opposition from the US, the Turkish prime minister has set in motion the parliamentary process to deploy troops to Northern Iraq. PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a motion yesterday authorizing military action in response to attacks across the border by  Kurdish rebels, the Times of London reports. The motion is expected to be approved by parliament tomorrow.

Turkey is threatening to begin sorties into the northern, predominantly Kurdish areas of Iraq, charging that the US hasn't done enough to contain strikes on Turkish soil by some 3,000 Kurdish separatist insurgents hiding there. The vote last week by a congressional committee to recognize Armenian genocide also inflamed the Turkish leadership.The US has sent several State Department officials to try to calm the response. (More Turkey stories.)

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