anafor2004
02-27-2008, 01:48 AM
‘Turkey not seeking approval for operation’
Carter Ham
A top US general has made clear that the Turkish military did not seek Washington's approval to launch its ongoing ground operation into Iraq in order to topple the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases there and noted that Washington did not expect the Turkish military to do so due to the nature of the relationship between the two NATO allies.
Remarks by Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, came in Washington on Monday during a briefing at the Department of Defense, when he was asked whether there is "a general consensus between the Turkish military and the US military in terms of the timing of this operation and when it will -- it can end."
Turkey began the operation last week to curb the PKK members' ability to attack Turkish targets from hideouts on the Iraqi side of the border. It is the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since a US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
"The Turkish military does not ask, nor do -- nor does the United States military provide approval for these missions. It isn't that kind of a relationship. It is -- we have asked and the Turkish military has agreed to provide notification so that their operations do not come in conflict with the Multinational Force Iraq's operations inside of Iraq. So I wouldn't say that it was -- it isn't, again, a situation of approval. Having said that, we've -- they did notify us that it would be of limited duration and of limited depth, and so far, everything we have seen is consistent with that," Ham said in response.
The US general also said the United States has no indications of Turks straying from their original assurance to Washington that their incursion would be "limited in depth and in duration."
27.02.2008
Today's Zaman Ankara
Carter Ham
A top US general has made clear that the Turkish military did not seek Washington's approval to launch its ongoing ground operation into Iraq in order to topple the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases there and noted that Washington did not expect the Turkish military to do so due to the nature of the relationship between the two NATO allies.
Remarks by Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, came in Washington on Monday during a briefing at the Department of Defense, when he was asked whether there is "a general consensus between the Turkish military and the US military in terms of the timing of this operation and when it will -- it can end."
Turkey began the operation last week to curb the PKK members' ability to attack Turkish targets from hideouts on the Iraqi side of the border. It is the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since a US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
"The Turkish military does not ask, nor do -- nor does the United States military provide approval for these missions. It isn't that kind of a relationship. It is -- we have asked and the Turkish military has agreed to provide notification so that their operations do not come in conflict with the Multinational Force Iraq's operations inside of Iraq. So I wouldn't say that it was -- it isn't, again, a situation of approval. Having said that, we've -- they did notify us that it would be of limited duration and of limited depth, and so far, everything we have seen is consistent with that," Ham said in response.
The US general also said the United States has no indications of Turks straying from their original assurance to Washington that their incursion would be "limited in depth and in duration."
27.02.2008
Today's Zaman Ankara