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Turks, Green Zone Government Work Together against PKK
The Kurdish Workers’ Party [PKK by its Turkish Acronym] is either a terrorist organization or a noble band of freedom fighters depending on where one stands on the issue of an independent Kurdistan. The US and the government of Turkey take the former view. The Green Zone government of Iraq-Nam largely agrees. After an attack by the PKK on Turkey that left 12 Turkish troops dead, Ankara has been massing troops on the border with Iraq-Nam, threatening to go in and get the PKK militants. Cooler heads have prevailed, and Ankara, Baghdad and Washington have agreed to try something other than brute force for now.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan was in Baghdad and met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Monday. The pressure on Mr. Zebari was, no doubt, substantial. “We have worked with the Iraqi and American governments, but we have not achieved practical results. The problem has only become bigger,” Mr. Babacan said. “The reaction among the Turkish people is one of strong anger.” In response, the wire services have Mr. Zebari promising, “I assured the minister that the Iraqi government will actively help Turkey. We agreed that the position we should take is a common one to fight terrorism. We will not allow any party, including the PKK, to poison our bilateral relations.”
The Bush administration has been something of a go between in this, but it is pretty clear that the Americans back the Turks. That is not surprising as much of America’s materiel shipped into Iraq-Nam comes by way of Turkey. The Washington Post reported,
“It’s not just telling the Turks ‘restraint, restraint, restraint.’ Urging restraint at this stage will fall on deaf ears,” said a senior US official familiar with the diplomacy. “Our message has been that we share completely your outrage at the attacks, but be smart about what you do.”
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, “From our perspective this is a diplomatic full-court press. We want to see an outcome where you have the Turks and the Iraqis working together, and we will do what we can to resolve the issue without a Turkish cross-border incursion.” If only they had had that attitude about the Saddamite regime in March 2003.
The trouble is that the PKK operates out of Iraq-Nam’s Kurdish provinces where it enjoys some genuine popularity and where the local politicians have little desire to work against the organization. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, a Kurd, warned, “Turkish military intervention in Iraq will be a precedent for others to do so. And that is the last thing we need.” The question is whether the Kurdish politicians will listen to the Shi’ite-led regime in the Green Zone or whether they are prepared to have the Turks cross the border and further weaken that government – which would probably result in greater Kurdish autonomy in the long run. It’s a most dangerous wager either way.
© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.
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