Diplomacy

The Bush administration does not know what that word means:

The Turkish government briefed the Bush administration about its plans to strike northern Iraq well in advance of launching the controversial operation and the U.S. raised no objections, according to American and Turkish officials.

Turkish representatives told U.S. diplomatic and military officials that Ankara was planning to send ground troops into Iraq to strike targets belonging to the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, an anti-Turkish guerilla group, according to officials from both countries. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan personally told President Bush about the plans, the officials said. The White House confirmed the conversation occurred.

Hearts and minds, hearts and minds.

Turkish Troops Enter Iraq

Nobody could have predicted:

Turkish troops have launched a ground incursion across the border into northern Iraq in pursuit of separatist Kurdish rebels, the military said Friday, an action that dramatically escalates Turkey's conflict with the militants.

"The Turkish Armed Forces, which values Iraq's territorial integrity and its stability, will return as soon as planned goals are achieved," the military said. "The executed operation will prevent the region from being a permanent and safe base for the terrorists and will contribute to Iraq's stability and internal peace."

That quote is pretty sweet. Right out of the Bush playbook.

No One Could Have Anticipated...

This week's edition:

Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked positions of Kurdish rebels along its rugged border with Iraq Wednesday, as Turkey's military stepped up its antirebel operations.

The warplanes and helicopter gunships bombed mountain paths in Turkey used by rebels to infiltrate from neighboring Iraq, Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

It's just a comma.