Murder in the Middle East - the world watches on.

There's a country that regularly invades its neighbours - to kill "terrorists".

Can you guess which country it IS?

It's called _ _ R _ E _.

The BBC reports that --R-E-'s army has killed more than 150 people:

"According to initial estimates, this operation allowed us to neutralise more than 150 terrorists," the army said in a statement on its website.

_ _ R _ E _ has staged several cross-border raids .....over the past few months in pursuit of the rebels.

_ _ R _ E _'s parliament authorised cross-border operations ...late last year.

And it's not as if this was the first time. This weekend's attacks reflect a pattern of such behaviour - off-screen murder.

The BBC reports incursions and aggression earlier in the year:

In February, _ _ R _ E _ launched a week-long ground offensive .....which, it said, targeted bases used by up to 3,000 rebels as a spring-board for attacks across the border.

_ _ R _ E _'s fighter planes have bombed suspected ... positions......_ _ R _ E _'s military sources said the attacks, which started late on Saturday, targeted........

_ _ R _ E _ has stepped up its cross-border operations in recent months, amid mounting casualties on both sides.


Whom but an American ally could get away with such behaviour?

And how does Bush respond to state-sponsored terror from such a close and crucial ally in the middle east?

The BBC reports the Bush government's response:

Mr Bush told a news conference, he said _ _ R _ E _ needed to "move quickly, achieve their objective and get out."

Mr Bush dismissed suggestions that _ _ R _ E _ should be threatened with the removal of American intelligence co-operation.

Mr Bush's comments followed an earlier statement by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates during a visit to _ _ R _ E _.

_ _ R _ E _'s incursion "should be as short and precisely targeted as possible", he said after talks with his _ _ R _ E _ counterpart in the capital.

So - have you guessed which country it is? _ _ R _ E _ ?

Another clue, perhaps??

It's the American and Western ally that has been bombing suspected "terrorists" this last weekend - through the Christian week of Christmas. And they somehow not only escape American condemnation, but also the attacks are treated as unimportant by the media, seemingly ignored by the UN, the European Union etc etc.

It's a country which proves over and over again that people can turn a blind eye to violence. It's a country that proves so much of western hipocrisy.

Guessed the name yet?

It's T U R K E Y.

What else were you thinking of?