Turkey and Iraq

By Scott Horton

One potential flashpoint that has been consistently ignored by the American media relates to the de facto autonomous Kurdish republic in the north of Iraq and Turkey. Senior Turkish officials are convinced that the Kurdish republic of northern Iraq can be linked directly to a surge in terrorism across the country – not just in the largely Kurdish southeast, but even in the vacation resort belt on the Mediterranean coast and in Istanbul. Pressure is mounting for a Turkish military sweep into Kurdistan. The Financial Times reports:

Turkey's top general called yesterday for military intervention in northern Iraq in comments that will increase regional tensions - already high after a series of verbal exchanges between Turkish and Kurdish leaders.

General Yasar Buyukanit, Turkey's chief of staff, said he believed that Turkish troops had to move across the border to combat rebels from the Kurdish Workers party (PKK).

. . .

Gen Buyukanit's statement followed a threat by Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region, to “interfere” in Turkey's south-east if Turkey “interfered” in his Kurdish area. The Turkish armed forces also sent a note of protest to the national government in Baghdad this week, requesting action against the Kurdish rebels.

The US is pressing Mr Barzani to deal with the threat posed by the PKK. A US official in Washington told the Financial Times yesterday that recent comments by Mr Barzani were “dangerous, provocative and unhelpful.”

My own sense formed during recent visits to Turkey is that these concerns are sincere and that it would be foolish to underestimate them.