Turkey seeking US drones to bolster operations against KurdsWith the anticipated drawdown of US combat forces from Iraq, Turkey is understood to be planning more aggressive action against the Kurdish PKK bases in Iraq’s north, near the Turkish border, and is seeking US drones to bolster its operations.Engel said such action would be “totally hypocritical” given Ankara’s criticism of Israel’s actions against the flotilla – which were taken to stop weapons from reaching the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip – and warned that many of his colleagues in Congress felt similarly.“They think they can just cross borders to go after people they deem terrorists, but Israel’s not entitled to protect its own people,” he said of Turkey’s policy toward the separatist PKK. “There’s a lot of unhappiness in Congress over the way Turkey has acted in this whole flotilla incident.”A letter strongly supporting Israel after the flotilla deaths garnered 338 signatories in the 435-member House of Representatives.“If Congress has its say, it would do whatever it can to keep weapons from going to Turkey,” said one Democratic Congressional staffer, pointing to the “overwhelming” criticism of Ankara following May 31’s flotilla confrontation.He also cited August 3’s incident on the Lebanese border. Following the violence, two key members of Congress have held up aid to the Lebanese military.“The most telling example is what happened with Lebanon,” the staffer said. “Turkey supported a flotilla that ended up probably being much worse [for Israel] than what happened to Israel along the border.”A Capitol Hill aide also pointed to the situation in Lebanon as a key factor shaping the congressional approach to Middle East arms sales.“There’s a magnifying glass on arms sales in that region, after what happened in Lebanon,” he said. “Turkey will get the same scrutiny.”While he noted that Turkey hadn’t used arms against Israel, he still expected congressional opposition to arms sales, because “it sends a message that Turkey’s actions are not going unheeded.”
US denies Erodgan ultimatum
Congress had reportedly opposed arms sales to Turkey.
Turkey seeking US drones to bolster operations against KurdsWith the anticipated drawdown of US combat forces from Iraq, Turkey is understood to be planning more aggressive action against the Kurdish PKK bases in Iraq’s north, near the Turkish border, and is seeking US drones to bolster its operations.Engel said such action would be “totally hypocritical” given Ankara’s criticism of Israel’s actions against the flotilla – which were taken to stop weapons from reaching the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip – and warned that many of his colleagues in Congress felt similarly.“They think they can just cross borders to go after people they deem terrorists, but Israel’s not entitled to protect its own people,” he said of Turkey’s policy toward the separatist PKK. “There’s a lot of unhappiness in Congress over the way Turkey has acted in this whole flotilla incident.”A letter strongly supporting Israel after the flotilla deaths garnered 338 signatories in the 435-member House of Representatives.“If Congress has its say, it would do whatever it can to keep weapons from going to Turkey,” said one Democratic Congressional staffer, pointing to the “overwhelming” criticism of Ankara following May 31’s flotilla confrontation.He also cited August 3’s incident on the Lebanese border. Following the violence, two key members of Congress have held up aid to the Lebanese military.“The most telling example is what happened with Lebanon,” the staffer said. “Turkey supported a flotilla that ended up probably being much worse [for Israel] than what happened to Israel along the border.”A Capitol Hill aide also pointed to the situation in Lebanon as a key factor shaping the congressional approach to Middle East arms sales.“There’s a magnifying glass on arms sales in that region, after what happened in Lebanon,” he said. “Turkey will get the same scrutiny.”While he noted that Turkey hadn’t used arms against Israel, he still expected congressional opposition to arms sales, because “it sends a message that Turkey’s actions are not going unheeded.”