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Invasion is the wrong answer to Turkey's
problems
16.11.2007
By Wesley Clark
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November 16, 2007
Just over a week after US president George W. Bush
and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister,
met in Washington, Turkish troops remained poised to
move across the border into Iraqi Kurdistan in an
attempt to destroy elements of the Turkey's
Kurdistan Workers party (PKK). We can only hope that
a solution based on the idea of joint co-operation
against the PKK that seemed to be forged in the Oval
Office meeting, focusing on diplomatic engagement
between the US, Turkey, Iraq and the Kurdistan
Regional Government, will trump the still-looming
military assault.
The Turks are understandably angry and ready for
war. Accumulated frustrations over recent attacks by
the PKK erupted in public demands for a decisive
military solution. Turkish popular opinion strongly
supported attacks on rebel base camps inside Iraqi
Kurdistan, and the Turkish armed forces have
mobilised more than 100,000 troops on the Iraqi
Kurdistan border, setting the stage for a massive
Turkish invasion of Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' that
would have disastrous consequences.
On paper all wars seem simple. Turkish military
planners may hope that one bold thrust into Iraqi
Kurdistan will, once and for all, eradicate the PKK.
A glance at what soldiers call the "troop-to-task"
ratio might suggest that the job could be done
quickly. Turkey has a very good army and it would
seem feasible that 100,000 well-trained and fully
equipped Turkish troops could quickly capture or
kill 3,000 PKK rebels hiding in an area somewhat
larger than Maryland. www.ekurd.net
But war is never simple. The friction and fog of war
always conspire to make the actual combat far more
complex, time consuming and bloodier than the
sterile and optimistic plans written in the comfort
of remote headquarters. Even a military genius like
Alexander the Great was stalled by the inhospitable
terrain of southern Turkey and northern Iraq.
Despite popular longing for a quick military
solution, a Turkish invasion of Iraq would bring
only stalemate, frustration and - more ominously -
destabilise the region, undermine US-Turkish
relations for decades, and jeopardise the stability
and prosperity of Iraq's Kurdistan region.
Turkey will certainly benefit by continuing on the
more creative and diplomatic path now being pursued
by Mr Erdogan. He has secured a US promise to share
intelligence and to co-operate in neutralising PKK
elements in Iraq and preventing their movement
across the border. He should open a dialogue with
the Kurdistan regional government-KRG to formulate
joint measures to prevent the PKK from striking
Turkey from Iraqi territory. To that end, he needs
to embrace the establishment of four-party talks
between Turkey, Iraq, the US and the KRG. This must
be the way forward.
War is not the answer, especially given the creative
alternatives available. First, strike the PKK where
they are vulnerable, not in the mountain base camps
where they are strongest. Divide the enemy by
crafting an amnesty that permits civilians and lower
level PKK members to lay down their arms and rejoin
society. This worked in Northern Ireland to isolate
radical fringes of the Irish Republican Army and it
will work here, where the PKK's popular support at
best is tepid.
Second, the US and others could cripple PKK
operations by cutting off its financial support.
PKK's centre of power is not, and never has been, in
Iraqi Kurdistan; its popular base lies in
south-eastern Turkey. Its financial base is in the
cities of continental Europe, where the money is
raised. Its leaders travel freely in European
capitals. A co-ordinated international effort is
needed to interdict the flow of money and supplies
to the PKK.
Decades of military action against the PKK have
failed to produce a lasting solution and it would
fail again. Albert Einstein was not a military
strategist but he did know something about how to
solve problems. He also recognised the folly of
substituting haste for thoughtful, reasoned decision
making when he said: "We can't solve problems by
using the same kind of thinking we used when we
created them." www.ekurd.net
Dealing with the PKK is an essential element of
resolving the larger conflict in Iraq and improving
the peace in the region.
This challenge requires a creative strategy, one
rooted in diplomacy and dialogue. Most of all it
requires leaders with vision who rise above raw
emotion - courageous leaders who are willing to
forego short-term violent actions in order to wisely
serve their nation's long term interests.
General Clark is a former supreme commander of
Nato, led the alliance of military forces in the
Kosovo war (1999) and is a senior fellow at the Ron
Burkle Center at UCLA
FT com
**
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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