14 TEMMUZ KERKÜK KATLİAM'INI 49. KEZ HÜZÜNLE VE ÖFKEYLE ANIYORUZ

49 Yıl Önce 14 Temmuz 1959 Tarihinde Kerkük Türklerine Karşı İşlenen Canavarca Kanlı Katliam, aslında insanlığa karşı işlenmiş bir suçtur. Milliyetçi ve Türkçü Liderlerimiz canavarca ve haince Komünist Kürtler Tarafından Katledilmişlerdir. Şehitlerimiz Kerkük uğruna kanlarını, canlarını Kerkük’ün temiz toprağına adak vermişlerdir Ruhları şad olsun.
Türk Milletinin Başı sağolsun

Şehitlerimizin Adları ise,

1- Ata Hayrullah- albay
2-İhsan Hayrullah- yarbay doktur
3-Selahattin Avcı - iş adamı
4-Mehmet Avcı .... Memur
5-Nihat Fuat Muhtar. öğretmen
6-Cihat Fuat Muhtar.. öğrenci
7-Emel Fuat Muhtar .. öğrenci 12 yaşında
8-Kasım Neftçi .. iş Adamı
9-Ali Neftçi .. Serbest Meslek
10- Osman Hıdır .. Kahve Sahibi11-Cahit Fahrettin ..Öğrenci
12- Zuhur İzzet Casım -Çaycı..Kahve Sahibi
13-Şakır Zeynel .. Kahve Sahibi
14-Gani Nakip ..Memur
15- Kemal Abdulsamat ..Mühendis
16-Fatih Yunus Ali..Teknisyen
17-Cuma Kamber ..Teknisyen
18-Enver Abbas ..Öğrenci
19-Kazım Abbas Bektaş ..Öğrenci
20- Hacı Necmettin Abdullah .Serbest Meslek
21-Hasib Ali ..İşçi
22-Nurettin Aziz .. İşçi
23- İbrahim Ramazan ...Tamirci
24-Abdulhalik İsmail ...Öğrenci
25- Abdullah Ali Bayatlı..Teknisyen
26-Selahattin Kayacı..İşçi
27- Abbas Kadir ...Öğrenci
28-Selahattin Köprülü ...Polis
29-İbrahim Hemze ...Kasap
30- Adil Abdülhamit .. Öğretmen
31-Abdullah Ahmet...İşçi
32-Habib Ali ..
33- Abdugani Seyit Mehmet..
34- Sadık Kaleli...
35-Halil Şakır ...Serbest meslek
36-Salah Terzi ..Serbest meslek

Türkmeneli İnsan Hakları Derneği
http://www.turkmeneliihd.com/HABERLER/14%20temmuz_sehitlerimiz.htm

TURKMENES IRAKIENS - COMMEMORATION DES MARTYRS TURKMENES EN IRAK

TURKMENES IRAKIENS - COMMEMORATION DES MARTYRS TURKMENES EN IRAK

Liste :

http://turkmenfriendship.blogspot.com/2008/07/irak-trkmenleri-ehitler-haftasi.html

IRAK TÜRKMENLERİ ŞEHİTLER HAFTASI

13 Temmuz 2008.


14 Temmuz 2007, Irak Türkmenlerinin Kerkük'te uğradıkları en büyük katliamın 49. yıldönümüdür. Bu tarih, katliamlar zincirinde en önemli halka olduğu için unutulmaz ve bütün şehitler her yıl o gün rahmetle ve minnetle anılır. Irak Türkmen Cephesi, 14 Temmuz'u başlangıç alarak, 14-20 Temmuz tarihlerini "Irak Türkmenleri Şehitler Haftası" ilan etmiştir.

IRAK TÜRKMENLERİ ŞEHİTLER HAFTASI

(14 - 20 TEMMUZ 2008)

"Önce kahvede koptu kıyamet

Kızıllar köpek sürüsü gibi saldırıyordu

Üzerine her Türk'ün.

Kanla yeniden yazılmaktaydı

Kaderi Kerküğün.

İlk şehîd Osman Bey oldu.

Sonra İhsan Bey'i vurdular alçakça.

Türk'ün asil evladı

Binbaşı Ata Hayrullah'ı hiç sormayın!

Ters yönde giden iki cipe bağladılar

Ayaklarından;

Sürüdüler yetmedi,

Öldürdüler yetmedi,

Sonunda bir ağaca astılar.

İhtiyar demediler, suçsuz demediler,

Milliyetçi diye oydular gözlerini,

Gözlerini oydular Hacı Necmi'nin.

Hasta yatağından kaldırıp

Katlettiler Adil Hamit'i.

Seyit Gani balta ile parça parça edildi.

Gayrı bilinmiyordu

Bu başlar kimin başı,

Ya bu eller, ayaklar kimin?

Bir mahalleye karşı koyarak

Kahramanca can verdi İbrahim Ramazan

Emel, Nihat, Cihat

Üç kardeşi bir nefeste öldürdüler;

Emelcik on dördüne yeni giriyordu.

Birbirlerine sarılarak can verdi

Nice yavrular.

Sokaklar kan kusuyor,

Analar bağrına taş basıyordu.

Nûrdan birer ampul gibi sallanıyordu

Elektrik direklerinde çıplak cesetler.

Öyle bir haldeydi ki vahşeti köpeklerin;

Sabır taşı olsaydı çatlardı kahrından,

Tutulurdu dili olsa göklerin.

Ne korkunç katliam ki

Üç gün üç gece sürdü,

Barzani Kürdü hâlâ kan istiyordu.

Beşerin yüzkarası, silinmez bir lekeydi

Kısacası:

Vahşetten de öteydi vahşetin bu türlüsü..."

Ayhan İNAL

14 Temmuz 1959 günü başlayan bu "vahşetten öte vahşet" Irak Türkmenleri'ne uygulanan ilk katliam olmadığı gibi sonuncusu da değildi. Ancak şairin ifadesi yerinde idi; insanlıktan nasiplenmeyen birtakım yaratıklar büyük bir hışımla saldırarak Kerkük'ü kana buladılar. 36 masum insan, yalnızca Türk oldukları için acımasızca katledildi. Hınçlarını alamayan gözü dönmüş yaratıklar onların cansız cesetlerine bile işkence etmekten geri durmadılar.

Türkmenler, 1920 yılından günümüze kadar Irak'ta 20'ye yakın katliama maruz kaldılar:

01- Kaçakaç Katliamı, Telafer - 1920
02- Levi Katliamı, Kerkük -1924
03- Gavurbağı Katliamı, Kerkük - 1946
04- Kerkük katliamı, 14-17 Temmuz 1959
05- Tazehurmatu Katliamı-1, 1979
06- Türkmen Liderlerin Katliamı, 16 Ocak 1980
07- Tazehurmatu Katliamı-2, 25 Mart 1991
08- Altunköprü Katliamı 28 Mart 1991
09- Erbil Katliamı, 31 Ağustos 1996
10- Tuzhurmatu Katliamı 22 Ağustos 2003
11- Telafer katliamı-1, 9 Eylül 2004
12- Telafer Katliamı-2, 21.02.2005
13- Musul katliamı, 24 Eylül 2005
14- Yengice Katliamı, 10 Mart 2006
15- Karatepe Katliamı, 4 Haziran 2006
16- Kerkük Katliamı, 13 Haziran 2006
17- Tavuk Katliamı, 8 Haziran 2007
18- Amirli Katliamı, 7 Temmuz 2007

Türkmen Cephesi (ITC) olarak, bu katliamlara dünya kamuoyunun dikkatini çekip Irak'taki Türk varlığının sistemli bir şekilde yok edilmeye çalışıldığını anlatabilmek için 2007 yılında 14 Temmuz - 20 Temmuz tarihleri arasını "Irak Türkmenleri Şehitler Haftası" olarak ilan etmiştik. Bu uygulama artık gelenekselleşerek şehitlerimizin hatıraları yad edilecektir.

"Menem sultan Türkmenlerin tahtında
Şehit oldum elli dokuz vaktında
Güçlü heykel milletçin bıraktım da
Men ölmerem; şehit menem, Türk menem.
Men ölmerem, yurda can verdi özüm
Savaşlarda hiç bükülmedi dizim
Kerküklüyem, Türkmence dedim sözüm
Men ölmerem; şehit menem, Türk menem.
Men çiçeğim Telafer kucağında
Uzanmışım Altınköprü Dağı'nda
Şehit oldum gamlı Tisin Bağı'nda
Men ölmerem; şehit menem, Türk menem.
Keder gördüm men Erbil'in eriyem
Tavukluyam, Türkmenlerin barıyam
Kan dökmişem bir kemik bir deriyem
Men ölmerem; şehit menem, Türk menem.

Şükür olsun fermanımı yazana
Rızkı verip görünmeyen gezene
Bunu yazıp yemin eden ezana
Men ölmerem; şehit menem, Türk menem.

Halil SAÇIUZUN

1920 - 2007 yılları arasında Türkmenlere karşı uygulanan katliamlardan çoğunun sorumluları bu dünyadan göçüp gittiler. İçlerinde, Saddam Hüseyin gibi daha dünyada iken feci şekilde cezalandırılanlar olduysa da asıl hesaba Cenab-ı Allah tarafından çekileceklerine inanıyoruz.

Türk Milleti tarih boyunca, zamanın şartları gereği fethettiği ülkelerde yaşayan topluluklara karşı katliamlarda bulunmadı, onların kültürlerine, dinlerine ve dillerine müdahale etmedi. Buna rağmen milletimiz dost elini uzattığı, söz ve güç sahibi olduğu dönemlerde iyilikten başka hiçbir şey düşünmediği toplulukların ihanetlerine uğraya uğraya bugünlere geldi. Onun içindir ki, "Türk'ün Türk'ten başka dostu yoktur" sözü bir gerçeğin ifadesi olarak ortaya çıkmıştır.

Bugün kısaca "Ortadoğu" diye adlandırılan Irak, Suriye, Lübnan, Filistin, Mısır coğrafyası ve Hicaz Bölgesi Birinci Dünya Savaşı sonuna kadar Türkiye'nin birer parçası idiler. Tarihi mecburiyetten dolayı adı geçen bölgeler kontrolümüzden çıkınca oralarda bulunan kardeşlerimiz zulme ve işkenceye uğradılar. Bu da yetmedi, katliamlarla yok edilmeye çalışıldılar. Daha Osmanlı'nın hatırası taptaze iken 1920 yılının yaz aylarında Telafer'de yaşayan Türkmenler'e uygulanan ve tarihe Kaçakaç Katliamı olarak geçen menfur olay Türkmenlerin vatanlarına sahip çıkmak için verdikleri haklı mücadelelerinin sonunda vuku buldu. İngilizler bölgeyi işgal ettikten sonra Irak'ta kukla bir Krallık kurmuşlar, istedikleri gibi at oynatıyorlardı. Krallık verilen Araplarla bugün bölgede söz sahibi olmak isteyen Kürt aşiretler İngilizlere kul - köle olurlarken Telaferli Türkmenler direnmişler ve kukla yönetimi tanımamışlardı. Paylaşılamayan bir çocuğun hayatı söz konusu olduğu zaman sahte annenin kendini ele vermesi gibi ülke işgal edilince vatansızlar ortama uyarlarken vatanperverler başa baş dişe diş savaşırlar. Telaferde yaşayan Türkmenler de öyle yaptılar. Ancak karşılarında İngilizlerin düzenli ordusu vardı. Karaçuk Dağları'na çekilerek üç ay daha direndikten sonra geri döndüklerinde pek çoğu idam edildi. İngiliz işgaline karşı ilk ve en önemli direnişi onlar göstermişlerdi.

İngiliz işgaline ve kurdurdukları yönetime başkaldıranlar yalnızca Telafer'de yaşayan Türkmenler değildi. Kerkük'lü Türkmenler, 1921 yılında yapılan halk oylamasında İngilizlerin kuklası durumundaki Kral Faysal aleyhine oy kullandıkları için kara listeye alındılar. Kerkük'ü kontrol altında tutan İngiliz paralı askerleri (gurkalar) her fırsatta onları tahrik ediyorlar, Kerküklüler büyük bir sabır gösteriyorlardı. 1924 yılının Ramazan Bayramı arefesinde (4 Mayıs) bir bakkaldan şeker alan İngiliz askeri parasını ödemeyince ortalık karıştı. Asker, bakkalın itirazına ateşle karşılık vermişti. İş giderek büyüdü ve ortalık savaş alanına döndü. Çarşı neredeyse baştan başa yakılıp yıkılmıştı. Bu bir vahşetti ve çok sayıda Türkmen şehit oldu.

İngilizler gün oldu çekilip gittiler ama Türklerin çilesi bitmedi. Arapların hedefinde de Türkmenler vardı. 1946 yılında Gavurbağı'nda haklarını arayan petrol işçileri, 1959 Temmuzu'nda da yukarıda sözünü ettiğimiz "vahşetten de öte vahşet"le Kerküklü Türkler hedef alındı. Kırılıp dökülenin hesabını yapan bile olmadı. Çünkü hunharca şehit edilenler yürekleri dağlamıştı. Albay Ata Hayrullah, Dr. Yarbay İhsan Hayrullah, İş adamı Selahaddin Avcı, Devlet Memuru Mehmet Avcı, öğretmen Nihat Fuat Muhtar, öğrenci Cihat Fuat Muhtar, öğrenci Emel Fuat Muhtar, Çiftçi Kasım Neftçi, Serbest meslek sahibi Ali Neftçi, Kahvehane işleten Osman Hıdır, öğrenci Cahit Fahreddin, kahvehane işleten Zuhur İzzet Casım Çaycı, yine kahvehane işleticisi Şakır Zeynel, devlet memuru Gani Nakip, mühendis Kemal Abdussamed, teknisyen Fatih Yunus Ali, teknisyen Cuma Kamber, öğrenci Enver Abbas, öğrenci Kazım Abbas Bektaş, serbest meslek erbabı Hacı Necmeddin Abdullah, işçi Hasib Ali, işçi Nureddin Aziz, tamirci İbrahim Ramazan, öğrenci Abdulhalik İsmail, teknisyen Abdullah Ali Bayatlı, işçi Selahaddin Kayacı, öğrenci Abbas Kadir, polis memuru Selahaddin Köprülü, kasap İbrahim Hemze, öğretmen Adil Abdülhamid,, işçi Abdullah Ahmed, Habib Ali, Abdulgani Seyit Mehmed, Sadık Kaleli, Halil Şakır, Salah Terzi ve Kemal'in annesi olarak bilinen yaşlı bir kadın Türk oldukları için sorgusuz sualsiz katledildiler.

Bu olaydan yirmi yıl sonra Tazehurmatu'da yaşayan Türkmenler de Irak yönetiminin hışmına uğradılar. Türkleri sindiremeyeceklerini anlayınca bu defa onların önde gelen kişilerine, liderlerine yöneldiler. Tazehurmatu'da Türkmenler katledilirken, Mart 1979'da Albay Abdullah Abdurrahman, Dr. Rıza Demirci, Adil Şerif ve Dr. Necdet Koçak da Kerkük'te tutuklandılar. Saddam Rejimi'nce tutuklananların sonu belli idi ve bu işin geri dönüşü yoktu. Türkmen liderler, 16 Ocak 1980'de idam edildiler.

"Men ölmerem; şehit menem, Türk menem..."

Şairin dediği gibi şehitler ölmezdi. Onlar bedenen terk-i diyar eyleseler de Türklük şuurunun giderek kökleşmesini sağladılar. Nitekim, bunun şuurunda olan büyük dava adamı Necdet Koçak, Saddam tarafından idam edilmeden bir gece önce kendisini görmeye müsaade edilen ailesi ve dava arkadaşlarına şunları söylüyordu:

"Arkadaşlar, ağaç budandıkça yeşerir. Sizden ricam davayı bırakmayın ve sürdürmeye devam edin. Ben şu anda her zamankinden daha huzurluyum. Allah'ımın huzuruna gönül rahatlığıyla çıkıyorum. Bayrağı size teslim ediyorum. Bu bayrağı şerefle taşıyacağınızdan eminim. Doğruluktan ve Allah'ın yolundan asla şaşmayın. Allah'a emanet olunuz."

Bizler, Necdet Koçak'ın vasiyetini yerine getirmekle yükümlüyüz. Çünkü; tarihiyle, kültürüyle, folkloruyla, mezarlıkları, çarşıları ve pazarlarıyla o diyarlar Türk'tür, Türk'ündür, bizimdir. Bin yıldan fazla o topraklara yar olup bulunduğumuz coğrafyayı vatanlaştırmışız. Bunu anlamayanlar, anlamak istemeyenler katliamlara devam ettiler...

1991 yılında, Saddam Hüseyin'in Kuveyt'i işgal etmesi üzerine başlayan 1. Körfez Savaşı Irak'ın yenilgisiyle sonuçlanınca ülkede bir kargaşa yaşandı. Saddam Hüseyin, daha çok Bağdat'ı koruma telaşına düştüğü için ülkenin güneyinde ve kuzeyinde otorite boşluğu oluşmuştu. Güneyde Şiîler ayaklanırken kuzeyde de Kürt gruplar işgal hareketlerine giriştiler. 18 Mart 1991 günü Kerkük'e giren işgalciler tapu ve nüfus dairelerini talan ederek pek çok vesikayı yok ettiler. Kürtler, önlerine çıkan bir fırsatı değerlendirerek bugünkü fiilî durumun temelini işte o günlerde atmışlardı.

Kendi halkına karşı itibarı sarsılan Saddam bir şeyler yapmalı ve güç gösterisinde bulunarak otoritesini yeniden kurmalıydı. 1991 yılının Ramazan ayında tam teçhizatlı birliklerini olay bölgelerine gönderdiği zaman işgalciler zaten işlerini bitirip gitmişlerdi. Olan, içinde yaşadıkları devlete bağlı kalıp en güçsüz zamanında bile isyan etmeyen Türklere oldu.

Ordu birlikleri Tuzhurmatu, Tavuk ve Tazehurmatu gibi Türk bölgelerini topa tutarak Kerkük'e doğru ilerlerken paniğe kapılan halk sağa sola dağılmaya başlamıştı. 27 Mart 1991 günü Kerkük'e giren ordu birlikleri oradan Altunköprü Kasabası'na yöneldiler. İşgalci ve talancı Kürt gruplarını bulamayınca öfkelerini suçsuz - günahsız insanlardan alma yoluna gittiler. 28 Mart günü iftar öncesi, Altunköprü'de oturan ve panik sırasında Kerkük'ten, Tavuk ve Tuzhurmatu'dan kaçarak oraya sığınan Türkmenlerden, çocuk, genç ve yaşlı demeden topladıkları tam 102 kişiyi alıp götürerek Dibis Kasabası yakınlarındaki Kayabaşı diye anılan yerde kurşuna dizdiler. Bugün Altunköprü Şehitliği'nde yatmakta olan şehitlerimiz şunlardır:

01-Ahmet Enver Abdullah-1942

02- Hazım Enver Abdullah-1962

03- Atilla Ahmet Enver - 1976

04- Turan Ahmet Enver -1974

05- Adnan Halit Menden -1958

06- Mehmet Halit Menden-1952

07- Oğuz Semi Emin-1983

08- Cengiz Mazlum Nuri- 1968

09- Mansur Mazlum Nuri-1967

10- Nuri Mazlum Nuri-1971

11- Hani Mithat izzet -1970

12- İsam Mithat İzzet-1964

13- Amir Mithat İzzet-1960

14- Melik Faysal Süleyman-1966

15- Şalan Faysal Süleyman-1967

16- Abbas Salh Sait-1973

17- Abdullah Kahya-1973

18- Ali Abdullah Kahya-1974

19- Abdusselam Reşit Hasan-1966

20- Adil Bayız Hurşit-1972

21- Ali Hüseyin Abbsa-1973

22- Atilla Nasih Bezirgan-1968

23- Ayat Kadır Rahman-1966

24- Aziz Ali Sait- 1955

25- Aziz TACIL-1953

26- Cabbar Sıduk-1957

27- Celil Fethi Mehemet- 1945

28- Cemal Ahmet Farac-1962

29- Cemal Şükür Sait-1964

30- Cevdat Haydar Behram-1959

31- Çetin Eesat Behçet-1974

32- Erdal İhsan Mahmut-1972

33- Erşat Hurşit Reşit-1955

34- Eyüp Salah Sait -1975

35- Fazil Cihat Fettah-1954

36- Halil Fettah-1945

37- Halil Fithi Mehemet-1956

38- Hamit Garip- 1942

39- Haşim Heydar-1968

40- Haşim Mehemet Tevik-1966

41- Kasim Mehmet Tevik-1962

42- Hayder Gaydan-1956

43- Hişam İhsan Ali-1971

44- Hüseyin Ali Ahmet -1958

45- Hiseyin Ali Ekber-1965

46- İhsan Ali Feyzulla-1932

47- İhsan Mahmut Veli- 1940

48- Mehemet Reşit Veli-1925

49- İmet Mehemet Reşit-1960

50- İsam Osman Cemil-1964

51- İsmail Şükür-1973

52- Yıldırım Kekir kerim-1979

53- Mehmut Attar -1940

54- Mehemet Selim-1982

55- Mustafa Süleyman19 74

56- İskandar Ali -1957

57- Necet Teki-1967

58- Necip Sait Salih-1957

59- Nevzat Kadır Rehman-1968

60- Nihat Abdulkerim Ali-1965

61- Nizamettin Şükür Hamdi-1958

62- Nurettin Terzi Ve İki Çocuğu

64- Orhan Hamit-1967

65- Osman Cemil-1930

66- Ömer Hurşit Salih-1936

67- Amir Ömer Hurşit-1954

68- Sabah Ahmet Hamdi-1944

69- Saddam Reşit Hasan -1971

70- Saip Tatar Kadir-1955

71- Salah Sait Salih-1938

72- Setter Rahman Aziz-1945

73- Suud Hattap Osman-1967

74- Şahap Ahmet Farac-1961

75- Şahin Nasih Bezirgan-1975

76- Şükür Hamdi Mehmet-1932

77- Tarik Bayız Hurşit-1963

78- Adnan Bayız Hurşit-1964

79- Yaşar Hamid Abdurrahmam-1965

80- Zaim İsmail Hasan -1961

81- Zeynelabidin Fazil -1946

82- Zeynelabdin İbrahim- 1975

83- Hesip Müşir Rıza-1953

84- Abdurrahman Müşir Riza-1995

85- Selam Reşit -1954

86- Nedam Reşit -1965

87- Hişam İhsan Ali Riza-1957

88- İhsan Ali Riza -1958

89- Mehmut Reşit -1954

90- Cünit Seet Behçet-1972

91- Cemil Süleyman Abbas-1983

92- Kemal Sabir Ahmet-1981

93- Sezer Cuma Ysin-1978

94- Sacida Hisam Tufik-1975

95- Şükriya Semin hasan-1944

96- Bedriya Halit-1936

97- Şamil Abdulrahim-1947

98- Kabil Abbas Burhan-1928

99- Rüştü Halil-1967

100- Nezar Mehdi-1957

101- Ercuman Gaylan Mehmet- 1956

102- Abdulmecid Abdulkerim-1941

I. Dünya Savaşı'ndan sonra bölgeyi İngilizler işgal etmişlerdi. Körfez Savaşları'ndan sonra bu defa İngilizleri de yanlarına alan Amerikalılar, "Irak'a demokrasi getirmek" iddiasıyla okyanus aşırı diyarlardan gelerek Irak'ı işgal ettiler. "Irak'ta demokrasi" kulağa hoş gelen bir söylemdi. Orada yaşayan Türkmenler de elbet bundan memnun olurlardı. Ancak ümitler kısa bir süre sonra boşa çıktı. Tıpkı 1918'de başlayan İngiliz işgali yıllarında ve sonrasında olduğu gibi ezilenler, hor görülüp itilerek katliama uğrayanlar hep Türkler oldu.

Telaferliler, İngilizlerin olduğu gibi Amerikan askerlerinin de hışmına uğradılar. Erbil, Tuzhurmatu, Musul, Yengice, Karatepe, Kerkük, Tavuk ve Amirli'de Türkmen kıyımı devam etti. Kerkük'ün nüfus yapısı bütün dünyanın gözleri önünde değiştirildi. Yakılıp yıkılan eserlerine, o topraklardaki ruh haliyle doğup asırlardan beri dilden dile söylenegelen hoyratlarına, türkülerine, mezarlıklarına rağmen Türk varlığını yok sayıyorlar. Kısacası Türkler, öz yurtlarında garip hale düşürülmeye devam ediyorlar. Tıpkı, Kerküklü büyük şair Mustafa Gökkaya'nın yıllar önce yazdığı "Yaralı Kerkük" isimli şiirinde dile getirdiği gibi:

"Kerkük'üm karalıyem

Ciğerden yaralıyem

El diyer "Bizim Kerkük!"

Bilmem men haralıyem?"Böyle bir durum kabul edilemez. Bu, tarihe de ilme de hakarettir ve Türklük için daha büyük bir katliamdır. Tarih bunu affetmeyecek, er ya da geç sebep olanlardan hesabını soracaktır.

Gerek Irak'taki eski ve yeni rejimler, gerekse işgal dönemlerindeki katliamlarda hayatlarını kaybeden bütün şehitlerimizi saygı ve rahmetle anıyor, haklı mücadelelerini sürdürmeye bir defa daha andiçiyoruz.

IRAK TÜRMEN CEPHESİ (ITC)TÜRKİYE TEMSİLCİLİĞİ

Kerkuk.net

Kurdish Terror in the north of Iraq

National Identity certificate of Mr. Lokman Nejam Ahmed

Mr. Lokman Nejam Ahmed was born on 1st July 1968 in the district of Telkeef that is linked to the city of Mosul. He was arrested on the 8th of July 2007 on the Iraqi/Turkish border Ibrahim Alkhalil by the Kurdish secret police that are known as Asayish while he was travelling from the city of Mosul to Turkey with a group of a Turkmens [1] from the city of Erbil.

Mr. Lokman Nejam Ahmed was working as a deputy of the ITF (Iraqi Turkmen Front) in the city of Mosul and according to the witnesses who were with him at the time. They have confirmed that Mr. Lokman Nejam was forced out of his car by the Kurdish police at the Iraqi Turkish border Ibrahim Alkhalil by the Asayish.

However, after months following his arrest his family with the help of Kurdish friends have managed to find out that he has been imprisoned in the city of Duhok by the Kurdish authorities.
Only his immediate family has been allowed to visit him in prison. His family is allowed visit him once every two months. Mr. Lokman Nejam has been accused of various unfounded accusations and nevertheless the Kurdish police have totally failed to produce any evidence or proof of his illegal involvement against the Kurdish authorities.

Thus Mr. Lokman Nejam Ahmed’s family have approached the deputy governor of the city of Mosul for help and support but unfortunately no support was provided. In my personal opinion the Turkmen people in Turkmeneli [2] and especially the ITF members have been continuously arrested, imprisoned, tortured and treated inhumanely by the Kurdish police only for being Turkmens as this happened recently to a teacher called Ganim Mahmud who is 60 years old, he was tortured and insulted by the Kurdish authority in north of Iraq but later on Mr. Ganim Mahmud was released after a month of continuous torturing and was asked why his nephew is helping the Turkmen teachers in promoting Turkmen teaching.

Mr. Lokman Nejam Ahmed has been kept in the Kurdish prison without formal charges and his case has not been submitted to the court. Thus, the Turkmens plight to all the human rights organisations, government officials, intellectuals, Iraqi and Turkish government for immediate intervention to put pressure on the Kurdish police whom are terrorising the Turkmen people in Turkmeneli.


Mofak Salman
Turkmeneli Party Representative for Both Ireland and United Kingdom
msalman@eircom.net



[1] Turkmens: The Iraqi Turkmens live in an area that they call “Turkmenia” in Latin or “Turkmeneli” which means, “Land of the Turkmens". It was referred to as “Turcomania” by the British geographer William Guthrie in 1785. The Turkmens are a Turkic group that has a unique heritage and culture as well as linguistic, historical and cultural links with the surrounding Turkic groups such as those in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Their spoken language is closer to Azeri but their official written language is like the Turkish spoken in present-day Turkey. Their real population has always being suppressed by the authorities in Iraq for political reasons and estimated at 2%, whereas in reality their numbers are more realistically between 2.5 to 3 million, i .e. 12% of the Iraqi population.

[2] Turkmeneli is a diagonal strip of land stretching from the Syrian and Turkish border areas from around Telafer in the north of Iraq, reaching down to the town of Mendeli on the Iranian border in Central Iraq. The Turkmens of Iraq settled in Turkmeneli in three successive and constant migrations from Central Asia, which increased their numbers and enabled them to establish six states in Iraq.

The Iraq-US Security Agreement

Aljazeera International reports on the current situation in Iraq and the negotiations between Iraq and the US for a Status of Forces Agreement.

US Ambassador in Baghdad Ryan Crocker is interviewed at great length.

PART ONE

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zMk-I4zTGwc

PART TWO

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uRJpEeHydyw&feature=user

Communique from the Iraqi Society for Higher Education Abroad

Scholarships to study in the USA


We would like to have your attention to the announcements for application for scholarships to study for Master and Ph.D. degrees in the United States. For more information, kindly visit the Iraqi Society for Higher Education Abroad at:

http://www.iraqihighereducation.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=92

Please forward this E-mail to friends, colleagues and relatives in Iraq in order to apply.

Kind regards,

Iraqi Society for Higher Education Abroad

www.iraqihighereducation.org

Divide and Conquer: The Anglo-American Imperial Project

Note: KERKUK, the Turkmens' capital city and northern Iraq's oil-rich city is not indicated on the map.

Andrew G. Marshall

July 11, 2008

Establishing an "Arc of Crisis"

Many would be skeptical that the Anglo-Americans would be behind terrorist acts in Iraq, such as with the British in Basra, when two British SAS soldiers were caught dressed as Arabs, with explosives and massive arsenal of weapons.[1]

Why would the British be complicit in orchestrating terror in the very city in which they are to provide security? What would be the purpose behind this? That question leads us to an even more important question to ask, the question of why Iraq was occupied; what is the purpose of the war on Iraq?

If the answer is, as we are often told with our daily dose of CNN, SkyNews and the statements of public officials, to spread democracy and freedom and rid the world of tyranny and terror, then it doesn’t make sense that the British or Americans would orchestrate terror.

However, if the answer to the question of why the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq occurred was not to spread democracy and freedom, but to spread fear and chaos, plunge the country into civil war, balkanize Iraq into several countries, and create an "arc of crisis" across the Middle East, enveloping neighboring countries, notably Iran, then terror is a very efficient and effective means to an end.

An Imperial Strategy

In 1982, Oded Yinon, an Israeli journalist with links to the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote an article for a publication of the World Zionist Organization in which he outlined a "strategy for Israel in the 1980s." In this article, he stated, "The dissolution of Syria and Iraq into ethnically or religiously unique areas such as in Lebanon is Israel's primary target on the Eastern front.

Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets. Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run, it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel."

He continued, "An Iraqi-Iranian war will tear Iraq apart and cause its downfall at home even before it is able to organize a struggle on a wide front against us. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and Lebanon."

He continues, "In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul and Shiite areas in the South will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north."[2]

The Iran-Iraq War, which lasted until 1988, did not result in Oded Yinon’s desired break-up of Iraq into ethnically based provinces. Nor did the subsequent Gulf War of 1991 in which the US destroyed Iraq’s infrastructure, as well as the following decade-plus of devastating sanctions and aerial bombardments by the Clinton administration. What did occur during these decades, however, were the deaths of millions of Iraqis and Iranians.

A Clean Break for a New American Century

In 1996, an Israeli think tank, the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, issued a report under the think tank’s Study Group on a New Israeli Strategy Toward 2000, entitled, "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm." In this paper, which laid out recommendations for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they state that Israel can, "Work closely with Turkey and Jordan to contain, destabilize, and roll-back some of its most dangerous threats," as well as, "Change the nature of its relations with the Palestinians, including upholding the right of hot pursuit for self defense into all Palestinian areas," and to, "Forge a new basis for relations with the United States—stressing self-reliance, maturity, strategic cooperation on areas of mutual concern, and furthering values inherent to the West."

The report recommended Israel to seize "the strategic initiative along its northern borders by engaging Hizballah, Syria, and Iran, as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon," and to use "Lebanese opposition elements to destabilize Syrian control of Lebanon." It also states, "Israel can shape its strategic environment, in cooperation with Turkey and Jordan, by weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria. This effort can focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq — an important Israeli strategic objective in its own right — as a means of foiling Syria’s regional ambitions."[3]

The authors of the report include Douglas Feith, an ardent neoconservative who went on to become George W. Bush’s Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2001 to 2005; David Wurmser, who was appointed by Douglas Feith after 9/11 to be part of a secret Pentagon intelligence unit and served as a Mideast Adviser to Dick Cheney from 2003 to 2007; and Meyrav Wurmser, David’s wife, who is now an official with the American think tank, the Hudson Institute.

Richard Perle headed the study, and worked on the Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee from 1987 to 2004, and was Chairman of the Board from 2001 to 2004, where he played a key role in the lead-up to the Iraq war. He was also a member of several US think tanks, including the American Enterprise Institute and the Project for the New American Century.

The Project for the New American Century, or PNAC, is an American neoconservative think tank, whose membership and affiliations included many people who were associated with the present Bush administration, such as Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton, Richard Armitage, Jeb Bush, Elliott Abrams, Eliot A. Cohen, Paula Dobriansky, Francis Fukuyama, Zalmay Khalilzad, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Peter Rodman, Dov Zakheim and Robert B. Zoellick.

PNAC produced a report in September of 2000, entitled, "Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century," in which they outlined a blueprint for a Pax Americana, or American Empire.

The report puts much focus on Iraq and Iran, stating, "Over the long term, Iran may well prove as large a threat to US interests in the Gulf as Iraq has."[4] Stating that, "the United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security," the report suggests that, "the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification," however, "the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime change of Saddam Hussein."[5]

Engineer a Civil War for the "Three State Solution"

Shortly after the initial 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, the New York Times ran an op-ed piece by Leslie Gelb, President Emeritus and Board Member of the US-based Council on Foreign Relations, the most influential and powerful think tank in the United States. The op-ed, titled, "The Three State Solution," published in November of 2003, stated that the "only viable strategy" for Iraq, "may be to correct the historical defect and move in stages toward a three-state solution: Kurds in the north, Sunnis in the center and Shiites in the south."

Citing the example of the break up of Yugoslavia, Gelb stated that the Americans and Europeans "gave the Bosnian Muslims and Croats the means to fight back, and the Serbs accepted separation." Explaining the strategy, Gelb states that, "The first step would be to make the north and south into self-governing regions, with boundaries drawn as closely as possible along ethnic lines," and to "require democratic elections within each region." Further, "at the same time, draw down American troops in the Sunni Triangle and ask the United Nations to oversee the transition to self-government there." Gelb then states that this policy "would be both difficult and dangerous. Washington would have to be very hard-headed, and hard-hearted, to engineer this breakup."[6]

Following the example of Yugoslavia, as Gelb cited, would require an engineered civil war between the various ethnic groups. The US supported and funded Muslim forces in Bosnia in the early 1990s, under the leadership of the CIA-trained Afghan Mujahideen, infamous for their CIA-directed war against the Soviet Union from 1979-1989. In Bosnia, the Mujahideen were "accompanied by US Special Forces," and Bill Clinton personally approved of collaboration with "several Islamic fundamentalist organisations including Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda." In Kosovo, years later, "Mujahideen mercenaries from the Middle East and Central Asia were recruited to fight in the ranks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in 1998-99, largely supporting NATO's war effort." The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the British Secret Intelligence Services (MI6), British SAS soldiers and American and British private security companies had the job of arming and training the KLA.

Further, "The U.S. State Department listed the KLA as a terrorist organization, indicating that it was financing its operations with money from the international heroin trade and loans from Islamic countries and individuals, among them allegedly Usama bin Laden," and as well as that, "the brother of a leader in an Egyptian Jihad organization and also a military commander of Usama bin Laden, was leading an elite KLA unit during the Kosovo conflict."[7]

Could this be the same strategy being deployed in Iraq in order to break up the country for similar geopolitical reasons?

The Asia Times Online reported in 2005, that the plan of "balkanizing" Iraq into several smaller states, "is an exact replica of an extreme right-wing Israeli plan to balkanize Iraq - an essential part of the balkanization of the whole Middle East.

Curiously, Henry Kissinger was selling the same idea even before the 2003 invasion of Iraq." It continued, "this is classic divide and rule: the objective is the perpetuation of Arab disunity. Call it Iraqification; what it actually means is sectarian fever translated into civil war."[8]

In 2006, an "independent commission set up by Congress with the approval of President George W Bush," termed the "Baker Commission" after former Secretary of State, James Baker, "has grown increasingly interested in the idea of splitting the Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish regions of Iraq as the only alternative to what Baker calls 'cutting and running’ or 'staying the course’."[9]

It was also reported in 2006 that, "Iraq's federal future is already enshrined within its constitution, allowing regions to form, if not actually prescribing how this should happen," and that, "the Iraqi parliament (dominated by Shi'a and Kurds) passed a bill earlier this month [October, 2006] allowing federal regions to form (by majority vote in the provinces seeking merger)."

Further, "The law, which unsurprisingly failed to win Sunni support, will be reviewed over the next 18 months in a bid to bring its opponents round." The article, however, stated that instead of a three state solution, "a system based upon five regions would seem to have more chance of succeeding.

A five-region model could see two regions in the south, one based around Basra and one around the holy cities. Kurdistan and the Sunni region would remain, but Baghdad and its environs would form a fifth, metropolitan, region."[10]

The author of the article was Gareth Stansfield, an Associate Fellow at Chatham House think tank in London, which preceded, works with and is the British equivalent of the Council on Foreign Relations.

"Ethnic Cleansing Works"

In 2006, the Armed Forces Journal published an article by retired Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters, titled, "Blood Borders: How a better Middle East would look." In the article, Peters explains that the best plan for the Middle East would be to "readjust" the borders of the countries. "Accepting that international statecraft has never developed effective tools — short of war — for readjusting faulty borders, a mental effort to grasp the Middle East’s "organic" frontiers nonetheless helps us understand the extent of the difficulties we face and will continue to face. We are dealing with colossal, man-made deformities that will not stop generating hatred and violence until they are corrected." He states that after the 2003 invasion, "Iraq should have been divided into three smaller states immediately."

However, Iraq is not the only country to fall victim to "Balkanization" in Peters’ eyes, as, "Saudi Arabia would suffer as great a dismantling as Pakistan," and "Iran, a state with madcap boundaries, would lose a great deal of territory to Unified Azerbaijan, Free Kurdistan, the Arab Shia State and Free Baluchistan, but would gain the provinces around Herat in today’s Afghanistan."

Further, "What Afghanistan would lose to Persia in the west, it would gain in the east, as Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier tribes would be reunited with their Afghan brethren." Peters states that "correcting borders" may be impossible, "For now. But given time — and the inevitable attendant bloodshed — new and natural borders will emerge. Babylon has fallen more than once."

He further makes the astonishing statement that, "Oh, and one other dirty little secret from 5,000 years of history: Ethnic cleansing works."[11]

The map of the re-drawn Middle East, initially published alongside Peters’ article, but no longer present, "has been used in a training program at NATO's Defense College for senior military officers. This map, as well as other similar maps, has most probably been used at the National War Academy as well as in military planning circles."[12]

Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed wrote of Peters’ proposal, that "the sweeping reconfiguration of borders he proposes would necessarily involve massive ethnic cleansing and accompanying bloodshed on perhaps a genocidal scale."[13]

Federalism or Incremental Balkanization?

A month before Peters’ article was published, Leslie Gelb of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Joseph Biden, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times, in which they stated, "America must get beyond the present false choice between "staying the course" and "bringing the troops home now" and choose a third way that would wind down our military presence responsibly while preventing chaos and preserving our key security goals." What is this third option? "The idea, as in Bosnia, is to maintain a united Iraq by decentralizing it, giving each ethno-religious group—Kurd, Sunni Arab and Shiite Arab—room to run its own affairs, while leaving the central government in charge of common interests."

They describe a few aspects of this plan. "The first is to establish three largely autonomous regions with a viable central government in Baghdad. The Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite regions would each be responsible for their own domestic laws, administration and internal security. The central government would control border defense, foreign affairs and oil revenues." Then, "The second element would be to entice the Sunnis into joining the federal system with an offer they couldn’t refuse. To begin with, running their own region should be far preferable to the alternatives: being dominated by Kurds and Shiites in a central government or being the main victims of a civil war."[14]

In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2007, Leslie Gelb stated that his plan for "federalizing" Iraq, "would look like this: The central government would be based on the areas where there are genuine common interests among the different Iraqi parties. That is, foreign affairs, border defense, currency and, above all, oil and gas production and revenues." And, "As for the regions, whether they be three or four or five, whatever it may be, it’s up to—all this is up to the Iraqis to decide, would be responsible for legislation, administration and internal security."[15]

The Senate subsequently passed a nonbinding resolution supporting a federal system for Iraq, which has still yet to be enacted upon, because it stated that this resolution was something that had to be enacted upon by the Iraqis, so as not to be viewed as "something that the United States was going to force down their throats."

Further, "when Ambassador Ryan Crocker appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he testified in favor of federalism. In his private conversations with senators, he also supported the idea," yet, while in Baghdad, the Ambassador "blasted the resolution."[16]

Could this be a method of manipulation? If the American Embassy in Baghdad promotes a particular solution for Iraq, it would likely be viewed by Iraqis as a bad choice and in the interest of the Americans. So, if the Ambassador publicly bashes the resolution from Iraq, which he did, it conveys the idea that the current administration is not behind it, which could make Iraqis see it as a viable alternative, and perhaps in their interests. For Iraqi politicians, embracing the American view on major issues is political (and often actual) suicide. The American Embassy in Baghdad publicly denouncing a particular strategy gives Iraqi politicians public legitimacy to pursue it.

This resolution has still not gone through all the processes in Congress, and may, in fact, have been slipped into another bill, such as a Defense Authorization Act. However, the efforts behind this bill are larger than the increasingly irrelevant US Congress.

Also in 2007, another think tank called for the managed "break-up of Iraq into three separate states with their own governments and representatives to the United Nations, but continued economic cooperation in a larger entity modeled on the European Union."[17]

In a startling admission by former US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, stated in 2007 that the "United States has "no strategic interest" in a united Iraq," and he also suggested "that the United States shouldn't necessarily keep Iraq from splitting up."[18]

Conclusion

Clearly, whatever the excuse, or whatever the means of dividing Iraq, it is without a doubt in the Anglo-American strategy for Iraq to balkanize the country. Saying that what is being proposed is not balkanization, but federalism, is a moot point. This is because reverting to a more federal system where provinces have greater autonomy would naturally separate the country along ethno-religious boundaries. The Kurds would be in the north, the Sunnis in the centre, and the Shi’ites in the south, with all the oil. The disproportionate provincial resources will create animosity between provinces, and the long-manipulated ethnic differences will spill from the streets into the political sphere. As tensions grow, as they undoubtedly would, between the provinces, there would be a natural slide to eventual separation. Disagreements over power sharing in the federal government would lead to its eventual collapse, and the strategy of balkanization would have been achieved with the appearance of no outside involvement.

NOTES[1] Global Research, Iraqi MP accuses British Forces in Basra of "Terrorism". Al Jazeera: September 20, 2005: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20050920&articleId=983
[2] Linda S. Heard, The Prophecy of Oded Yinon. Counter Punch: April 25, 2006: http://www.counterpunch.org/heard04252006.html
[3] Richard Perle, et. al., A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm. The Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies: June 1996: http://www.iasps.org/strat1.htm
[4] PNAC, Rebuilding America’s Defenses. Project for the New American Century: September 2000: Page 17
[5] PNAC, Rebuilding America’s Defenses. Project for the New American Century: September 2000: Page 14
[6] Leslie Gelb, The Three State Solution. The New York Times: November 25, 2003:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/6559/threestate_solution.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F3325%2Fleslie_h_gelb%3Fpage%3D3
[7] Michel Chossudovsky, "Osamagate." Global Research: October 9, 2001:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO110A.html
[8] Pepe Escobar, Exit strategy: Civil war. Asia Times Online: June 10, 2005:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF10Ak03.html
[9] Sarah Baxter, America ponders cutting Iraq in three. The Times: October 8, 2006: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article664974.ece
[10] Gareth Stansfield, The only solution left for Iraq: a five-way split. The Telegraph: October 29, 2006: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/10/29/do2904.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2006/10/29/ixopinion.html
[11] Ralph Peters, Blood Borders: How a better Middle East would look. Armed Forces Journal: June 2006: http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/06/1833899
[12] Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, Plans for Redrawing the Middle East: The Project for a "New Middle East". Global Research: November 18, 2006: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=3882
[13] Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed, US Army Contemplates Redrawing Middle East Map
to Stave Off Looming Global Meltdown. Dissident Voice: September 1, 2006: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Sept06/Ahmed01.htm
[14] Leslie Gelb and Joseph Biden, Jr., Unity Through Autonomy in Iraq. The New York Times: May 1, 2006: http://www.cfr.org/publication/10569/unity_through_autonomy_in_iraq.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F3325%2Fleslie_h_gelb%3Fpage%3D2
[15] Leslie Gelb, Leslie Gelb before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The CFR: January 23, 2007: http://www.cfr.org/publication/12489/leslie_gelb_before_the_senate_foreign_relations_committee.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F3325%2Fleslie_h_gelb
[16] Bernard Gwertzman, Gelb: Federalism Is Most Promising Way to End Civil War in Iraq. CFR: October 16, 2007: http://www.cfr.org/publication/14531/gelb.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F3325%2Fleslie_h_gelb
[17] Robin Wright, Nonpartisan Group Calls for Three-State Split in Iraq. The Washington Post: August 17, 2007: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/17/AR2007081700918.html
[18] AP, French report: Former U.N. envoy Bolton says U.S. has 'no strategic interest' in united Iraq. International Herald Tribune: January 29, 2007: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/29/europe/EU-GEN-France-US-Iraq.php Andrew G. Marshall contributed to breaking the Climate Change consensus in a celebrated 2006 article entitled Global Warming A Convenient Lie, in which he challenged the findings underlying Al Gore's documentary. According to Marshall, 'as soon as people start to state that "the debate is over", beware, because the fundamental basis of all sciences is that debate is never over'. Andrew Marshall has also written on the militarization of Central Africa, national security issues and the process of integration of North America. He is also a contributor to GeopoliticalMonitor.com He is currently a researcher at the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) in Montreal and is studying political science and history at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia.
:: Article nr. 45625 sent on 11-jul-2008 19:30 ECT
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=45625Link: globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9451

ISRAELI JETS USING IRAQ'S AIRSPACE

Thu, 10 Jul 2008

US has allowed Israeli jets to use US airbases in Iraq and fly over Iraqi airspace for a likely attack against Iran, Iraqi media say.

It is more than a month that some Israeli planes belonging to Israeli air force use the US military bases in Iraq to land and take off, Iraqi Nahrainnet news [1] network said Wednesday, quoting informed sources close to Iraq's Defense Ministry.

The activities and traffic of warplanes- especially at nights- has lately increased in the US air bases in Nasiriya southeast of Baghdad and Haditha a city in the western Iraq province of Al Anbar, the Iraqi residents and sources said.

They said the US fighters, cargo planes, helicopters and unmanned planes have intensified their flights in the last three weeks.The US military officials have imposed severe security measures around the bases, they said.

They said some aircraft suspected to be Israeli warplanes coming from Jordan, have landed in the US controlled al-Assad airbase near Haditha.It is believed that these activities are parts of a joint Israeli-US training, preparation and coordination to launch an air raid against Iran's nuclear plants.

Israel has conducted a military drill under the supervision of top US military commanders over the Mediterranean Sea from May 28 to June 12, using more than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters, along with helicopters and refueling tanks which many consider as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities

Nahrainnet

Link: www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=63218§ionid=351020201