Condi Snubbed by Kurdish Leaders

[Falkenhayn]

+http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7150355.stm

Iraq's Kurdish leader snubs Rice
Iraq's Kurdish leader has refused to meet the US secretary of state because of US tolerance of recent Turkish raids into Iraq, Kurdish officials say.

Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani had been scheduled to meet Condoleezza Rice in Baghdad.

Kurdish officials said it was "unacceptable" the US had "authorised Turkey to bomb our villages" on Sunday.

The bombing of bases of PKK rebels was followed by an incursion into Iraq by about 300 Turkish troops.

The troops are now reported to have withdrawn.

Rice caution

Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said: "It was decided that Massoud Barzani would go to Baghdad to take part in a meeting with Condoleezza Rice and other officials, but he will not go now as a sign of protest against the American position on the bombings by Turkey.

"It is unacceptable that the United States, in charge of monitoring our airspace, authorised Turkey to bomb our villages," he said.

Iraqi officials have said Turkish planes hit 10 villages, killing one woman, while the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has reported seven deaths.

On Tuesday, some 300 lightly armed Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq, a spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga security forces told the BBC.

He said the soldiers moved up to three kilometres (1.9 miles) inside Iraq in an area called Seeda Kan - in the triangle between Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

Fouad Hussein, chief of staff of President Barzani, said the troops withdrew less than 24 hours after the incursion.

"The Turkish force that entered is no longer there," Mr Hussein told Reuters.

The incursion was believed to be the first major Turkish troop deployment in Iraq since Turkey's parliament voted in October to allow the military to launch cross-border operations to combat the PKK.

Ankara accuses PKK rebels of using bases inside Iraq to launch attacks on Turkey.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul was quoted by Turkish media as saying the army was doing "what is necessary".

Ms Rice said that Iraq and Turkey had a "common interest" in stopping PKK Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

Speaking in Baghdad, she also cautioned against taking any action that could destabilise the region.

Ankara has massed up to 100,000 troops near the mountainous border with northern Iraq, backed by tanks, artillery and warplanes.

Iraq and the US previously urged Turkey not to carry out its threat.

As many as 3,000 PKK members are believed to be based inside northern Iraq. Turkey has accused the local Kurdish authorities of supporting them.

[Falkenhayn]

Oh for fuck's sake.

N&P please?

Blar.
~Pablo

[Feil]

The Turks refuse a cease-fire in 2006, then when the PKK attacks a legitimate military target, they respond by bombing civilians. But, clearly, the Kurds are the terrorists, because they don't have jets and tanks, and we all know that jets and tanks make the use of force legitimate.

Good for Barzani. Besides, he's the head of a state, even if the UN doesn't decide to recognize it. Heads of state should meet with heads of state, not their secretaries.