Blood Price For The US Support To Turkey’s PKK Operation: A
Military Base Against Iran
by Mehmet Yaman (source: ANF Fırat News Agency)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Editor's note: Editor's note: This was translated from Turkish by Cem Ertür from
CASMII.
Having given no support to Turkey’s struggle against the PKK for a long time,
the US supported the Turkish army’s recent bombing of the Qandil Mountain.
The reason behind this support is becoming clear now: An agreement made between
the US, Turkey and the Federal Administration of South Kurdistan for the
construction in South and North Kurdistan [i.e. Northern Iraq and Southeastern
Turkey respectively] of two strategic US military bases targeting Iran.
According to a military specialist who trained Kurdish Special Security Forces
in Salahaddin, a military base has already been established on the strategically
important Korek Mountain in the Diyana (Soran) district of South Kurdistan. A
specialist team consisting of seven US and Israeli staff members set up the
connection of new satellite systems and powerful radar receptors and dealt with
technical organisation.
The US dispatched the equipment for this base via Turkish territory. Entry to
and exit from the Korek mountain area was banned before the launch of the
construction work, with the exception of US and Israeli specialists and the
special teams that support them. A US-trained 1,500-strong red beret Peshmerga
force was deployed in the area surrounding the high-security base.
Before the US intervention on Iraq, the Turkish intelligence agency MIT was
operating in the region to collect intelligence by intercepting communication
between guerillas. An Israeli newspaper has previously reported that the US was
establishing a military base a few kilometers from the Iraq- Iran border.
The Wall Street Journal came up with a similar news item on September 11, 2007.
Images of the base are being published for the first time by the ANF Fırat News
Agency. A second team reportedly began its activities for setting up, with
Turkey’s approval, a similar military base in the Yüksekova district (province
of Hakkari, Turkey) near the Iranian border. Although the technical devices
aren’t installed yet, similar work is being carried out there as well. Sepelke
region is also being used for the two bases. According to the political analysts
in the region, if the ongoing US-Israeli intelligence and reconnaissance work on
the PKK will be successful, then this will also be applied to Iran in different
ways. For that reason, the phase that began with the provision to Turkey of
intelligence on PKK seeks to achieve strategically important results in the
medium- and long-term. The first step in that direction was made during a
meeting at the Khanzad Hotel which is located between Hewler [Arbil] and
Salahaddin. In that meeting, it was agreed that in return for receiving
intelligence on the Qandil area, Turkey would refrain from harsh statements and
threats against the Kurdish administration and provide support for the
construction of the military bases targeting Iran and Syria.
