Akbel added that there were no camps in Turkey for the refugees. Adding a new page to the Iraqi 'threat assessment', the State department on Tuesday claimed that Saddam Hussein was a threat to Turkey as well. In explaining the logic of the 'no-fly zone' in the north, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that it barred Saddam's 'maneuverability in an offensive against Turkey or against Iran, or against any other state in the region. We're primarily concerned with Turkey, which is our NATO ally. When an irresponsible autocrat like Saddam is in possession of all sorts of missiles and of offensive military hardware, we act to protect our allies where they are.
Turkey can take care of itself.
It is a strong, vital country with a sense of its own national interests. Turkey will defend itself. Greek police shut down a PKK training camp in February on Euboe island, located north of Athens, according to the Washington Times. A PKK safe house was also raided in March near Athens. A United Nations envoy met separately with leaders of the two communities in Cyprus on Wednesday and called for an end to the latest flare-up of tension on the island.