Agence France Presse
Israel will exploit their presence for its own interests
Thu Jul 8, 2004 11:13
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Syria-Iraq border '100 percent under control'

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Thursday, July 08, 2004


BEIRUT: Syrian Information Minister Ahmed al-Hassan said his country's borders were "100 percent under control," defying anyone to prove militants were infiltrating the demarcation lines to fight in Iraq.

"Nobody has any proof Syria is encouraging people going to Iraq, as our borders are 100 percent under control," Hassan told Wednesday's Saudi newspaper Al-Hayat.

He also said Syria is studying the "idea" of inviting Iraqi Premier Iyad Allawi to Damascus, which has been accused along with Iran of supporting insurgents inside Iraq.

Allawi called Monday on Syria and Iran to support the US-led multinational forces in his country. The Syrian and Iranian presidents, Bashar Assad and Mohammad Khatami, held a summit this week in Tehran to denounce the presence of US troops in Iraq.

"The two parties seek the return of complete sovereignty to Iraq and the end of the occupation," said Hassan. "The Iraqi people have the right to resist occupation forces."

On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was quoted as saying by a British daily that his country's intelligence services had gathered information about the support of neighboring countries for insurgents.

Zebari did not name the foreign powers, but the Sunday Telegraph quoted "senior Iraqi officials" as saying "Iran and Syria were the worst offenders."

Hassan called Zebari's accusations "unjust and false." He also expressed concern about the alleged presence of Israeli forces inside Iraq, which he said "is dangerous because ... they are playing a role in stirring internal strife. Some (reports) showed there is an Israeli presence under different banners, as some (Jews) returned to Iraq under the pretext that their parents had been there or saying they are businessmen.

"Even Turkey is ... concerned about the presence" of Israelis in mostly-Kurdish northern Iraq, he said. "As long as occupation forces are present (in Iraq), Israel will exploit their presence for its own interests and influence in Iraq."

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=6006



Turkey and the Israeli interference in Northern Iraq

By K. Gajendra Singh

Al-Jazeerah, July 4, 2004



An article by Pulitzer Prize winning US journalist Seymour Hersh that Israel has been fishing in Kurdish north Iraq, has caused much controversy and exchanges in the region .The report was based on information from former and current intelligence officials in Israel, the United States and Turkey. (Israeli activities in north Iraq were mentioned in COMING OUT OF CHAKRAVHYU- US’s Iraq Exit Policy 15/1/04 www.saag.org/papers9/paper894.html )

Writing in New Yorker magazine Mr. Hersh says that Israel is helping build Kurdish military strength as a counter to growing Shiite militias in Iraq and create a base to spy on Iran specially its nuclear programme. Its agents are active in Kurdish areas of Iran, Syria and Iraq and provide training to commando units and for running covert operations, which could further destablise the region and upset Turkey with whom Israel has almost ally like relations so far.

"If you end up with a divided Iraq it will bring more blood, tears and pain to the Middle East and you will be blamed," a senior Turkish official told Mr. Hersh. "The lesson of Yugoslavia is that when you give one country independence everybody will want it. Kirkuk will be the Sarajevo of Iraq. If something happens there, it will be impossible to contain the crisis."

A recent Intel Brief, an intelligence newsletter circulated by former CIA chiefs, stated that the Israeli actions were placing increasing stress on its relationship with Turkey, which was already strained over the Iraq war. "The Turks are increasingly concerned by the expanding Israeli presence in Kurdistan and alleged encouragement of Kurdish ambitions to create an independent state."

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2004%20opinions/July/4%20o/Turkey%20and%20the%20%20Israeli%20interference%20in%20Northern%20Iraq%20By%20K.%20Gajendra%20Singh.htm