Rogue Forces

“They seem to have left the base and retreated to Mosul or Kirkuk,” Guzlev said. “We are on guard in case they pop up suddenly, but we believe they simply took off their uniforms and are hiding in the population.”

“That could be a problem later on, but hopefully they’ll stay hidden for a while. And General Ozek’s forces?”

“The two Jandarma divisions operating in the east have encountered heavier resistance than the other two divisions, mostly facing peshmerga guerrillas,” Guzlev replied, “but they have surrounded Irbil Northwest Airport.”

“We were expecting resistance from the peshmerga—that’s why we decided to send two Jandarma divisions east, with the other three divisions ready to move in if they’re needed,” Hirsiz said. The peshmerga, Kurdish for “those who face death,” began as Kurdish freedom fighters battling Saddam Hussein’s army against his brutal attempts to displace the Kurdish minority from the oil-rich areas of northeastern Iraq, which the Kurds claim as part of a future state of Kurdistan. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the peshmerga fought Saddam’s army side by side with U.S. forces. Thanks to years of American training and assistance, the peshmerga became an effective fighting force and the defenders of the Kurdish Regional Government.

“We are still outnumbered if what our intelligence says is the full strength of the peshmerga,” Guzlev went on. “We should advance two Jandarma divisions south to reinforce the supply lines, and leave the last in reserve. If General Ozek’s forces solidly hold and control Highways Three and Four in and out of Irbil, plus keep the airport approaches clear, we’ll have a solid line of defense from Irbil to Tall Afar, and we can force the peshmerga up into the mountains east of Irbil.”

“Then I will give the order,” Hirsiz said. “Meanwhile, I’ll be negotiating a cease-fire with the Iraqis, Kurds, and Americans. Eventually we’ll come to some sort of agreement for a buffer zone, including multinational patrols and monitoring, and we will eventually withdraw…”

“And as we withdraw, we’ll root out every last stinking PKK training base we find,” Guzlev said.

“Absolutely,” Hirsiz said. “Do you have a casualty report?”

“Casualties have been minimal, sir, except General Ozek reports about two percent losses so far as he moves through the heavily Kurdish areas,” Guzlev said. With Jandarma divisions equaling about twenty thousand men each, losing four hundred men in one day was serious stuff; those three reserve Jandarma divisions were going to be sorely needed. “We are having no difficulties evacuating the dead and wounded back to Turkey. Aircraft losses have been minimal as well. The worst were the loss of a transport plane that was departing Irbil to bring back more supplies—it may have been downed by enemy fire, we’re not sure yet. A heavy transport helicopter was lost due to mechanical problems, and an RF-4E electronic jamming aircraft was shot down by an American reconnaissance aircraft.”

“American reconnaissance aircraft? How can a reconnaissance aircraft shoot down one of ours?”

“Unknown, sir. The reconnaissance systems officer reported that they were under attack by what he described as heavy levels of radiation.”

“Radiation?”

“That’s what he said, moments before he lost communications with the pilot. The pilot and the aircraft were lost.”

“What in hell are the Americans firing radiation weapons at us for?” Hirsiz thundered.

“We have been careful to minimize casualties, military and civilian, on both sides, sir,” Guzlev said. “The division commanders are under strict orders to tell their men that they may fire only when fired upon, except for known or suspected PKK terrorists they discover.”

“What sort of forces are you encountering, General? What units are you engaging?”

“We are encountering light resistance throughout the entire region, sir,” Guzlev reported. “The Americans have not engaged us. They have set up strong defensive positions inside their bases and continue unmanned aerial reconnaissance, but they are not attacking, and we do not expect them to do so.”

“That is correct, General—be sure your divisions remember that,” Hirsiz warned. “We have no indications whatsoever that the Americans will attack us as long as we don’t attack them. Don’t give them a reason to come out and fight.”

“I brief my generals every hour, sir. They know,” Guzlev acknowledged. “The Iraqi army seems to have disappeared, probably fled toward Baghdad or simply took off their uniforms, hid their weapons, and will wait it out, like they did when the Americans invaded in 2003.”

“I don’t expect them to fight either, General; they don’t like the PKK any more than we do. Let them hide.”