Turkey reports 2 trucks with bombs on streets of Baghdad (Unconfimed rpt)

[Gloria]

From the current World Media Watch...

4//The Turkish Daily News 23 August 2003

http://www.turkishdailynews.com/FrTDN/latest/for.htm#f3



TURKEY DEFINES ITS IRAQ ROLE

(snip)

The meeting of the council came amid reports from Pakistan of a fresh terrorist threat against Turkey and a report from northern Iraq that in Kirkuk Patriotic Union of Kirdustan (PUK) peshmergas have ambushed and killed six Turkmen people.



(SNIP)



According to some unconfirmed reports, Turkey informed the United States very recently that according to Turkish intelligence two more trucks laden with explosives were in the streets of Baghdad.



The MGK meeting also came amid increased Iraq-related traffic in Ankara. Two American delegations were in the Turkish capital last week, while over the past few days there have been visitors to Ankara from Iraq and to Iraq from Turkey.



Turkish government sources said Ankara has been trying to learn of the possible reaction of the Iraqi people to deployment of Turkish troops in that country before a decision on the issue was made.



(SNIP)





Furthermore, Turkey is preparing to host two consecutive American delegations. The first delegation, headed by Republican enator John McCain will be in Istanbul this weekend while a House of Representatives delegation headed by Representative Tom Davis will be in Turkey between Aug. 28 and 30.



The ruling AKP government of Turkey has been looking to back a peacekeeping force to help repair frayed ties with the country's most important ally, but are also mindful of public opposition to the war, which according to some polls was at over 90 percent before the invasion.

[QuietStorm]

1. Might mean Pakistan is getting into the act?

Hamas warns Pakistan against recognising Israel (August 24th 2003)

ISLAMABAD: The founder and spiritual leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas said on Thursday that America was trying to trick Pakistan into recognizing Israel, a move he warned would be a "disaster."

Sheik Ahmed Yassin made the comments in a recorded speech aired on loudspeakers at a rally of nearly 10,000 Islamic students at a university in the capital, Islamabad. Pakistan has no diplomatic ties with Israel, but President Pervez Musharraf has encouraged a national debate about whether Islamabad should recognize the Jewish state.

http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en36307&F_catID=&f_type=source

ARTICLE 2

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has been under bitter criticism since news leaked of his intention to establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel in response to American pressure and as a reward to the Sharon government for accepting the roadmap.

Reading Pakistani newspapers nowadays, one easily comes across many articles written by ultra-nationalist writers in which they show their religion-based rejection of any closeness between Islamabad and Tel Aviv.

snip

The interesting part of the ongoing debate between the two groups was the disclosure of secret information about the private understandings, furtive contacts and secret visits involving Pakistan and Israel.

In a recently published article in the London-based daily Al Hayat, the Pakistani analyst Ahmed Qureshi said that in 1998 Islamabad and Tel Aviv reached a U.S.-backed secret strategic understanding to ensure that none of them would provide the other's enemies with nuclear weapons or advanced technology....

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/Opinion.asp?ArticleID=95910

VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE I THOUGHT

Despite repeated clarifications from the Foreign Office, there was growing concern in some quarters, over the issue of Pakistani troops going to Iraq under US command and Pakistan suddenly recognising Israel. While a healthy debate ensued in the media, Pakistan's official position was not as ambiguous as some made it out to be. After all, President Musharraf himself had stated the position very clearly in his interview with a UAE daily which was reported in The News (16 July, 2003). Now the President has once again reiterated, in Lahore, on August 4, 2003, that while Pakistan, in principle, is agreeable to sending troops to Iraq, these troops cannot be sent "for extension of Iraq's occupation". Therefore, as the president put it, "we will send our troops to Iraq either under the umbrella of the United Nations, OIC or any other world mechanism and not otherwise."

snip

As for the issue of the recognition of Israel, one positive development has been that a taboo subject has been debated - and is being debated -- with great vigour in the media. On this issue also, the official Pakistani position has made it clear that while we should take cognisance of ground realities, we are in no hurry and will link our recognition with progress on the Middle East Roadmap and in consultation with our Muslim allies. Here again there is a strong lobby that wants Pakistan to repudiate its principled position on Palestinian self-determination and recognise Israel immediately. The Israelis are cleverly playing on this, as shown in their latest pronouncement that they will allow Pakistani pilgrims into Muslim holy sites under their occupation even if our passports have no validity for Israel! What a devious way of legitimising Israeli occupation!

snip

India is already in line to receive the Phalcon early warning system and the Elta Green Pine radar system; and the Indo-Israeli lobbies are working jointly to pressure the US into transferring the Arrow system to India also -again via Israel. Also, amongst the areas of defence cooperation there is the $30 million deal for 3,400 Tavor assault rifles, 200 Galil sniper rifles, night vision and laser range finding and targeting equipment. Israel will also upgrade the Indian MiG 21s and supply avionics for the MiG 27s, UAVs, laser guided bombs and thermal imagers. Of course, Israel is also training up to 3000 Indian soldiers in anti-insurgency operations, given the Indians dismal performance over the years in Occupied Kashmir. And there is a joint Indo-Israeli agreement to market the advanced light helicopter. In addition to these defence deals, Indian telecom companies signed 22 deals with top Israeli companies in telecom, Internet and mobile sectors, while Israeli venture capitalists have struck deals worth $ 7 billion in India.

http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en34923&F_catID=&f_type=source

OLDER ARTICLE.

Lahore, June 17: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and MMA parliamentary leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad has warned that acknowledging Israel would become final nail in the coffin of President Musharraf's rule.

In a statement Tuesday, he said those talking of acknowledging Israel should learn from what Yasser Arafat got out of it. He said Pakistani rulers were oblivious of the espionage and sabotage activities by Israeli secret service Mossad in those countries which had acknowledged Israel, that was why they were ready to do that only to get the 'US pat on the back' and to get its support for their illegal rule.

........

http://www.jamaat.org/news/pr061903.html

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SOME THOUGHTS: Pakistan and Israel don't have the best blood even though as you read through the links it is in Pakistan's interest to play ball and recognize the State of Israel...

I just wonder considering the history. With the mention of Pakistan in your original article, do we have here another double edged sword. Conflicting agendas, I mean? Pakistani militant extremists, especially with Yassins call NOT TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL, might also be drawn into this JIHAD (meaning holywar), even though this isn't necessarily about religion.

These are blood feuds that go way back. Just a thought. I myself don't know. I just know Sy Hersh seemed at one point concerned about "the Paks" as he calls them, proliferating arms (or various nuclear paraphenalia) to Yemen, Lebanon and Iran, if memory serves, via N.Koreo. And yes if you remember I believe this time in 2002 three N.Korean ships were stopped suspected of hauling arms to Yemen.

I could never find follow up on that though.

[Gloria]

2. Current Asia Times Online (www.atimes.com) has an article on

Pakistan and India and their dealings with Israel. India says that if Israel sells to Pakistan, it will cancel deals with Israel....

and more info, too.

[QuietStorm]

3. yes I think I saw that too.

It might be in editorials, then again I might be confusing it with another article. India and Pakistan are problematic here. Or should I say can be. IMHO, I believe what is problematic are all the intelligence crossovers (Israel and the US respectively).

Israel has had a long intelligence relationship with India. That phalcon deal was in the works since 1998 (so far what my reading has indicated). From what I have read both have been working together on intelligence surveillence of militant muslims in Pakistan. Israel and India go back.

FAS has a very good workup of that relationship. From what I have read Israel has supplied India with UAV's which survey and high tech surveilliance equipment Phalcon seems to describe what in essense has been going on like I said since 1998 that I know of.

When the article popped up on Yassin's demand to Pakistan, well all the information I had skimmed so much quickly through came back to me. There is much cross over here. Pakistan ISI USA. India RAW Israel. No matter how pragmatic one looks at it. The manuever in Iraq is certainly beyond a pragmatic exercise at the moment, the guiding policies IMHO is a combination of US and Israeli strategy (the Guardian just did a nice and safe analysis on this NNIHO (or whoever placed it in Editorials.). Well blah blah blah the point is lines in the sand do seem drawn by civiliation and I am not sure one can forget necessarily the imperial or colonial aspect in terms of India and Pakistan either.

It is the chess board. Iraq is not just isolated unto itself. There is much bad blood.

Thanks do you have that link to asia times? Anyway I will check it out.

ON EDIT: Of course you must understand I am not an authority. I am just hypothesizing based on my frame of reference which by far is not studied formally, if you know what I mean. that is why I like it here. Because others seem to be on the same wave length that appear to me to have the history under their belts better than I. I learn faster that way.

[QuietStorm]

4. disinformation and misinformation

plays a significant roll. Remember a pre-emptive strike is on the horizon. One way or another they have already telegraphed it. One way or another it seems imminent. Strategy is based on justifiable retaliation so stirring the pot becomes like an intelligence campaign of sorts. And this pot is boiling signficantly... staying tuned is a good thing.