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Kurdish separatists threaten attacks

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 on Friday. PHOTO: AP

Kurdish separatist rebels said on Friday they were crossing back into Turkey to target politicians and police after Ankara said it was preparing to attack them in the mountains of northern Iraq.

However, the US military said it had not seen any activity to suggest an imminent Turkish offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

As regional tensions rose, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan cautioned that relations between Ankara and Washington were in danger over a US congressional resolution branding as genocide massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

Washington harbors growing concerns about the possibility of a major Turkish military incursion to crush Kurdish rebels seeking a homeland in eastern Turkey. US officials fear such an action could destabilize a relatively peaceful area of Iraq.

Ankara recalled its ambassador from the US for consultations after the US vote, which was strongly condemned in predominantly Muslim but secular Turkey.

"We don't need anyone's advice on northern Iraq and the operation to be carried out there," Erdogan told a cheering crowd in Istanbul, after saying that the US "came tens of thousands of kilometers and attacked Iraq without asking anyone's permission."

Referring to relations with the US and the Armenian resolution, Erdogan, using a Turkish idiom usually employed to describe relations, said: "Where the rope is worn thin, may it break off." He did not elaborate.

"All prospects look bad ... and relations with the US have already gone down the drain," said Semih Idiz, a Turkish commentator.

"If Turkey sets its mind on something, whether wrong or right it will do it. The invasion of Cyprus in 1974 is a good example," he said, referring to a Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus which drew US condemnation and sanctions.

A statement by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) could increase domestic pressure on Ankara to launch a big offensive that Washington fears could have ramifications in the region.

Meanwhile, a US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said on Friday that any offensive by Turkey would likely involve airstrikes and mortar fire.

But so far, the official said, there has been no evidence of Turkish soldiers massing along the border, and the number of troops there now is relatively common.

US military officials have said they believe they will get some type of warning if the Turks launch an incursion into Iraq against the PKK. For years, the US has routinely had military representatives with the Turkish armed forces.

The US has consistently argued against a Turkish offensive, pushing instead for a broader diplomatic solution between Iraq and Turkey over the PKK problem.

But of equal concern is what impact the congressional resolution will have on US military supply routes that have been used recently to move much-needed armored vehicles to troops in Iraq.

While US military officials said that they have seen no indications of repercussions yet from the Turks, the Pentagon has dusted off contingency plans that would reroute supplies and arms if transportation through Turkey or across its airspace is restricted. There is more "focused planning" as a result of the congressional action, the official said.

One key impact could be on the delivery of mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles that the Pentagon has been trying to rush to Iraq. The vehicles give troops better protection against roadside bombs.

Officials are looking at plans to reroute those deliveries around Turkey if needed. Other supply routes -- including those used during the ramp up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 -- could involve Kuwait and Jordan.
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