Turkey wants to carve up Iraq, Iran wants to carve up Iraq. The wolves smell blood.

There is our way out of Iraq----just give it to Turkey or Iran or both.






Turkey makes a plan for Iraq
By Kathleen Ridolfo

The Turkish government has formulated a contingency plan that would place at least 20,000 Turkish troops inside northern Iraq in an effort to prevent Kurdish leaders from changing the demographic structure of the highly contested city of Kirkuk, Turkish newspapers report.

The plan ostensibly calls for the reentry of Turkish forces into northern Iraq to rout out Turkish-Kurdish militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and also calls for Turkish troops to prevent further Iraqi Kurdish migration to Kirkuk. The city has a large Turkoman (ethnic Turkish) population, and vast oil reserves.


Turkey has had a long-standing interest in Kirkuk because of its vast oil reserves, and Turkish leaders in 2003 attempted to claim a Turkish historical right to the city.


http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FK04Ak01.html

Iraq lives in a tough neighborhood.


BAGHDAD - Iraq's national intelligence chief Mohammed al-Shahwani has accused Iran's Baghdad embassy of masterminding an assassination campaign that has seen 18 intelligence agents killed since mid-September.

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The intelligence director said the documents showed Iran had a 45-million-dollar budget for sowing chaos in Iraq and had recruited members of Badr and a subsidiary party, Hezbollah, to kill Iraqi intelligence agents.

"A document (showed) that Iran allocated a budget to Badr Corps, totalling 45 million dollars.

"Among the objectives of this budget is to back the formation of a security service grouping several directorates to carry out a set of subversive acts including ... physical liquidation."

Shahwani flipped through folders of charts and writing in Farsi that he said his agents were still sifting through.

He claimed his intelligence service had obtained the names and addresses of Badr members working directly for Iran.

http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=496

To hell with Turkey or Iran ... give it to Israel.

Just what we need, a war with two more countries in the area. Our troops being in control (mostly) of Iraq, if either country tries anything we will have to deal with it. Of course Turkey is a member of NATO, so we may have some pull with them. Iran is another story. We have no influence there.
This could easily wind up a much larger war. I am still pondering what the death of Arafat could lead to. The most likely thing on that score looks like civil war in the occupied territories.

Originally posted by Imagineer
Just what we need, a war with two more countries in the area. Our troops being in control (mostly) of Iraq, if either country tries anything we will have to deal with it. Of course Turkey is a member of NATO, so we may have some pull with them. Iran is another story. We have no influence there.
This could easily wind up a much larger war. I am still pondering what the death of Arafat could lead to. The most likely thing on that score looks like civil war in the occupied territories.

I am hoping that with the end of the noble peace prize winner that peace will come to the middle east. I know it is not likely to happen but I can hope.

old reb

In order to negotiate peace, you must have two sides that can negotiate. Each side must have a leader. With the death of Arafat, there is no leader on the Palestinian side. Until a new leader emerges, if a new leader emerges, who has the support of the majority of Palestinians, no realistic negotiation process can occur.