AP reports that the Iranians are once again accusing Big Satan and Little Satan of some devilish behavior, this time supporting Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq. But what really struck me about the report was Turkey’s response to the accusations.
Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday accused the U.S. and Israel of supporting Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, but his Turkish counterpart distanced himself from the claim, saying he didn’t think Washington was behind the Iraq-based rebels but stressed that Ankara would do what was necessary to stop them.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters in Tehran at a news conference with Ali Babacan, Turkey’s foreign minister, that terrorist activities have increased in northern Iraq since foreign forces arrived there.
“From our point of view, efforts by Israel and the U.S. are behind some terrorist activities. Most probably, some secret agreements have caused a lack of confrontation against terrorism,” Mottaki said, referring to Iraq-based Kurdish rebels.
“We hope this part of the U.S. policy would be corrected,” he said.
But Babacan, who was in Iran to lobby for support for the Turkish side in its conflict with the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, expressed gratitude for Iran’s cooperation but did not back Mottaki’s accusations against the U.S. and Israel, which are allies of Ankara.
“I don’t like to think that the U.S. supports a terrorist group,” Babacan said.
Assuming this is a full and exact quote, it does not sound like Babacan is distancing himself from the claim at all. Just being more subtle. Note he doesn’t say “I don’t think that the U.S. supports a terrorist group” but rather “I don’t like to think that the U.S. supports a terrorist group.” Kind of like when you were naughty as a kid, and, after hearing of your latest indiscretion, your father told you “I would like to think no son of mine would do something like that.”
There’s something else telling about the Babacan quote, but I want to first see if you also noticed it..
