Talafar in north western Iraq is primarily inhabited by Turkmen, an ethnic minority in Iraq.

The city of some 155,000 was under the Northern No-Fly Zone US and British forces set up after the first Gulf War to protect Northern Iraq from Saddam´s Air Force. From May 2000 on, after receiving some anti-aircraft artillery fire from around Talafar coalition forces started to drop bombs.

On 16 June 2001 a missile hit a soccer field in the town while a game was under way killing 23 people. Iraqis blamed the coalition forces, US military sources said the explosion was not due to a US-British airstrike, but an errant surface-to-air missile.

The US forces around Talafar are allied with the Iraqi Security Forces, which in the north are nearly exclusively Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. As Juan Cole reports :

The US wanted the Türkmen security forces of Telafer [obviously they are governing themselves] to make searches in some houses. The Türkmen security forces rejected this since they knew the people, who were also Türkmen. Upon US insistance on the operation, the security chief of Telafar stepped back and the US appointed a Kurd, Hurshit Hasso as security chief, who immediatley started the operation using support of Kurdish troops from Zaho and Erbil. These troops participated as Iraqi Security forces. Now much of the civilian population is in the Kamber valley and are afraid that the Kurds will bring their families along, settle for good and thus change the balance for the national census in Iraq, which is to be held on Oct 12.

From the Turkmen and Turkish perspective this is a power and land grab scheme of the Kurds, supported by US forces. In the last two weeks the US forces put Tall`Afar under siege and bombed parts of the city. Some 100 people are reported to have died and some 50,000 have fleed from the city to the country side. The US troops than barred the refugees from returning to the city.

The Washington Post describes how an obviously Kurdish informer is leading US troops to harass the Turkmen population.

The Iraqi known as “The Source” slipped the borrowed U.S. military fatigues over his clothes in the back of the armored personnel carrier. He donned a black ski mask that covered everything but his eyes.

He stepped out of the back of the vehicle and addressed the interpreter who would in turn address the company commander who would lead the search for terrorists this day.

“The village. He wants you to arrest all the men in the village,” the interpreter told Army Capt. Eric Beaty, commander of Company C, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment.

“They’re all bad?” Beaty asked.

The interpreter consulted The Source. “Yes, all bad,” he said.
…
“You have the right to remain silent,” one soldier told an uncomprehending detainee in English. “Anything you say will result in a punch in the face.”
…
“All of the village, they are terrorists,” The Source told two journalists after he finished.

Asked how he knew, he said: “I have one guy here, and he passed along the information to me.”

Asked how he could be sure, he said: “Yes, they are terrorists. They all have the long beard. They had the beard, but some of them they shaved.”

The Source declined to give his name. He then asked: “Is the commander going to pay me any money? If you are an informant, they are supposed to give you money.”

The Turkish government has send a strict ultimatum to the US saying if operations continue in Talafar “Turkey’s cooperation on issues regarding Iraq will come to a total stop” and “Of course we won’t limit ourselves to words. We never shy away from carrying out whatever is necessary.”. Such a step would deny the US the important use of the airbase of Incirlic in Turkey and stop any supply coming through Turkey to US troops in northern Iraq. The Turkish opposition parties have taken an even harder stance. The US now caved in to this and Turkmen people are allowed back to Talafar.

The complete lack of knowledge of the US commanders to the obvious power schemes and ethnic sensitivities is incredible. Aside from that, the dependency on Turkish support is a sine qua non to their further operations in northern Iraq. To endanger this support is as stupid as is gets. The atmosphere in the command ranks of course trickles down the ranks leading to the maddening behaviour of the troops on the ground and the loss of any support in the population.

Lord, please let it rain brain.