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TechnoratiCreation of a Virtually Independent Kurdish State in Northern Iraq Was Certain to Provoke Turkey
No one should be surprised by the dangerous crisis between Turkey and Iraq-based Kurdish separatists.
Critics long warned the U.S. invasion of Iraq would inevitably release the genii of Kurdish nationalism. Creation of a virtually independent, U.S.-backed Kurdish state in northern Iraq was certain to provoke Turkish fury.
A decade ago, I covered the low intensity war in Eastern Anatolia between Kurdish PKK guerillas and the Turkish army. At the time, the world ignored this ugly conflict in which 35,000 people had died. I came away torn by sympathy for both sides.
In recent weeks, Turkish-Kurdish tensions erupted. Marxist-nationalist PKK guerillas (Turks brand them terrorists) fighting for an independent nation for Turkey's 20 million or so Kurds killed 12 Turkish soldiers and captured eight.
Hundreds of Turkish soldiers have been killed in Turkish Anatolia by Kurdish fighters known as "pesh-merga."
Fiercely nationalist Turks demand their armed forces invade Iraq's autonomous Kurdish mini-state to destroy PKK bases. Turkish attacks are already under way.
Washington urged "restraint" on its key ally, Turkey. By contrast, after two Israeli soldiers were captured last year in a routine border clash with Hezbullah guerillas, the White House gave Israel a green light to bomb and invade Lebanon, killing over 1,100 civilians and causing $4-billion damage.
This crisis is a huge mess for all concerned. Turkey supplies 70% of air-delivered supplies to U.S. forces in Iraq, and is a vital NATO ally.
But Turks are enraged and increasingly anti-American.
DISCREET
Iraq's Kurds, America's only ally in that strife-torn nation, discreetly back the PKK and are working for full independence -- certain to enflame Turkey's Kurds.
Turkey's government must respond to public outrage, but fears major military action in Iraq will foreclose its hopes of getting into the European Union, and put it on a collision course with the U.S.
Israel is secretly backing Iraq's Kurdish mini-state and hopes to build an oil pipeline from Iraqi Kurdistan to Haifa.
But Israel is a close ally of Turkey's right-wing generals, who hate Kurds and their own democratic government led by able PM Recep Erdogan.
In the 1990s, I wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal -- before being banned from its pages for political heresy -- cautioning that if Iraq one day splintered, Turkey would be tempted to seize Iraq's major northern oil regions around Mosul and Kirkuk.
SPLIT IN THREE
That day is near. President Geoge W. Bush's invasion devastated Iraq and split into three pieces -- fulfilling Israel's strategic plan in promoting the invasion.
Iraq's Mosul oil fields, which formerly belonged to the Ottoman Empire, are only 119 kms from Turkey's border.
After the First World War, the British Empire grabbed the oil-rich region, creating the unnatural state of Iraq to safeguard it.
If Iraq slides further into the abyss, Turkey and Iran may partition Iraq. Today, Turkey has no oil. Its fragile economy is hammered by having to earn U.S. dollars to buy oil. But if Turkey repossessed Iraq's northern oil fields, this nation of 70 million with 515,000 men at arms would become an important power that would reassert traditional Turkish influence in the Mideast, Balkans, Caucasus, and Central Asia.
It's a huge temptation Ankara cannot ignore. If the U.S. can invade Iraq for oil, why not neighbouring, ex-owner Turkey?
Meanwhile, Washington mutters about launching attacks on PKK, which it also brands "terrorists."
But with the hypocrisy typical of U.S. Mideast policy, Washington closes its eyes and may be secretly arming Iraqi Kurds.
Turkey insists it is fighting "terrorism" and has every right to strike into Iraq to protect its national security -- Bush's justification for invading Iraq.
This Kurdish fracas comes just as Dr. Strangelove Dick Cheney and star pupil, Bush, are fanning hysteria over Iran and threatening war. Latest reason: Iran "might" have nuclear knowledge -- welcome to "thoughts of mass destruction." Throw in the growing crisis in key U.S. ally Pakistan, and we face one unholy mess.
Copyright © 2007, Canoe Inc.
14 Comments so far
Show AllHow convenient that the most productive lands in Turkey, Iran and Iraq is the land Kurds want. They get oil from Iraq, workable land from Turkey etc. How funny that people forget the mention MILLIONS of TURKS living in the same area as the Kurds wants. What are they suppossed to do?Leave? Get real.
Turkey will not give her land away even if, America gives the country back to American Indians, Australia gives the country back to Aborigines and European countries pay back for centuries of Colonisation etc.
And this mindless talk about Turkey wanting Iraqi oil. What a nonsense.
Turkey up until early 90's had 12% SHARE in earnings of the Iraqi OIL. Turkey in the name of peace and well being of the Iraqi people GAVE UP ON HER 12% SHARE OF THE OIL.
This is how generous the Turkish people are.
Turkey has no interest in Iraq's oil. We only want to protect our people from getting blown up by PKK TERRORISTS.
With 2 Kurdish Presidents,almost two third of the parliment members with Kurdish backgrounds today, Kurdish political party in the parliment today, countles Kurdish TVs, Newspapers etc. The KURDS ARE HARDLY BEING DISCRIMINATED IN TURKEY.
BY the way i come from a Kurdish background as well.
the fallout from a significant turkish incursion into northern iraq might look something like this: turkey sees a chance for a symbolic future-territorial-oil-field foothold, while hitting the PKK and saving face, and waiting for their chance, when iraq disintegrates further, perhaps even hoping to provoke further disintegration for territorial ambition. iraq-kurds respond openly to turk presence on iraq soil, with iraq-kurd forces. this is old hat for them, they have reason to save face too, and iraq-kurds offer underlying support for kurds in turkey. iran, feeling vulnerable and also seeing potential regional collapse and territorial changes, poses itself even more significantly both militarily and covertly about northern iraq. the usa sits the whole fkn thing out except for going after iran. why? because politically and strategically we have to. war with turkey is OUT, right? UNLESS...it goes powder-keg, with turkey, iraq-kurds, iran, isreal, syria and usa all being plAyas in this TEENY-TINY region, the potential for WW3 does realistically exist if we accept that powder-kegs can explode across historical landscapes over the course of years as well as days. turkeys incursion may liht that fuse. usa would be in a very poor strategic situation if that war were to unfold with turkey as an enemy. maybe thats a worse case scenerio, but we've all seen this administrations talent for creating worst, even impossibly-bad outcomes. im worried.
It is not only the Turks who fear a Kurdish state. They live in six nations. Kurds are the the largest ethnic group on earth which does not have a nation to call its own.
miroware: nothing's wrong with it, from the kurdish perspective. from the turkish perspective, it's bad news. hence the conflict.
What's wrong with an independent Kurdistan? They should get the parts of Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Syria... it's their land.
The current map of the Middle East is an artifact of British, French and American manipulation. The Sikes-Picot, Versailles and Sevres agreements drew the lines creating improbable, ungovernable countries, so we should not be surprised at the irredentism that always follows the collapse of such strong, repressive governments. Many of us foresaw this in 2001, although Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld and the majority of Congress did not. The Turks will never accept a Kurdistan on their border, nor will the Kurds accept living under domination in Iraq. We've opened a Pandora's box here. The best policy, as I see it, is to negotiate for partial autonomy for the Kurds within Iraq and concentrate on economic development, infrastructure, education and health services to coopt the masses by improving their lives in ways that the PKK never could. Doing the right thing is the right thing to do.
My fellow progressives, I appeal to your good conscience to understand that the PKK is a TERRORIST outfit that in the tradition of all terrorist organizations is up to no good at all. People are entitled to disagree with the policies of government XYZ but their can be no excuse for the PKK's senseless attacks against Turkish soldiers, it's bomb blasts in Turkey's beach resorts, cities, attacks on villages etc etc.
That being said, people need to recognize that the Turks have a right to protect their country against terrorism, even if it is debatable if a Turkish invasion of Northern Iraq will help matters.
Hey Eric !!!!!
The PKK is also labeled as TERRORIST by other countries including the U.S. Probably because it is a terrorist group.
It has been only recently the 'framing' has changed and terms such as 'rebels', 'guerrillas', and 'separatists' have become the new paradigm media term for the PKK.
Framing probably changed about the time it became public we were arming and training the PJAK, the Iranian Kurdish terrorists...er, I mean the Iranian Kurdish freedom fighters.
On April 13, 2003, when we had "won" the war, I sent an e-mail to my friends and family that included this question:
"What will happen to the Iraqi Kurds? Kurdish independence is one just result that could flow from this unjust war, but the Turks are breathing down our necks to prevent it. They have even hinted at invading Iraq on their own if the Kurds try it. If the Kurds raise their own flag, will we defend them and risk actual combat with our own NATO ally or will we pull out and let the Turks "pacify" the Kurds?"
The wonder is that it has taken so long for this confrontation to come up. The Kurds deserve a nation of their own, but the geography is terrible. If if we supported their independence we couldn't fight a perpetual war against Turkey, Arab Iraq and Iran to keep them on the map.
I was surprised that Eric did not mention the PJAK (Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê - Party of Free Life of Kurdistan) terrorists who are funded outright by the USA and Israel and attack Turks at will (Dennis Kucinich, letter to President Bush 4/18/06, Seymor Hersch, NYT 11/20/06).
Yeah, but the US only calls bad people terrorists if they are not fighting for US interests.
Best advice to anyone living on extractable oil. Take the money and get out of there, for every heavily armed nation around, thanks to the great arms industries, is gearing up to fight for it. As so many different groups are all hating each other, and becoming desperate for oil, everyone will get a chance to test their killing products. The wisest thing would be to go for alternative energy sources, and stay out of the conflict, and out of the region, if possible. Once the little pipsqueak players have thrashed themselves to death, the bigger players will start the main event.
Greedy conservative's religious and resource wars for ever growing populations are their moronic legacy for future generations. Maybe that's why Jesus was a liberal.
America is a fraud.
Quite a stew is brewing as the US Empire dissolves. I look for natural National Interest to prevail, with Turkey and Russia becoming allies given the strategic dispersion of absolutely necessary energy supplies, a fact Margolis is keen to point-out. It would be evry interesting to know the discussion between Iran and Russia on the Turkish/Kurd issue during Putin's visit. While it's natural to side with the Kurdish desire to have their own country, they are going about it totally wrong, and have painted themselves into a corner. Likewise, BushCo finds itself in the same corner and will lose no matter which side it backs--the smart move to back neither, which BushCo is incapable of making.
Like the Sebian statelet provided the impetus to unravel the European and Eurasian Empires a century ago, the Kurdish statelet can potentially do the same to the US Empire and its most important imperial asset NATO.