Should Turkey attack the PKK in Iraq?

No

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by David Furritus

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I love questions like this! I was tempted to answer 'Yes' just so that I could be the only article on that side. Why don't we just ask if North Korea should attack South Korea (throw in Japan and China while we're at it) or whether asking if Pakistan should try to invade India.

This is a silly question that barely warrants an answer - but, that never stopped me before, so why should I stop now?

Turkey has been trying to claim most of Kurdistan for almost a century now. The Kurds have had to put up with one kind of genocide or another for decades and they'd probably expect Turkey to try and pull something like this. But, that's not the real reasons why Turkey wouldn't even think about doing something as stupid as trying to invade northern Iraq. There are lots of factors:

1. Enemy of My Friend is Now My Enemy. Currently, the US is on good relations with both Turkey and the Kurds of Iraq. We're doing our best to train the Kurds on how to maintain the peace in their portions of Iraq and they're actually proving to be a lot more receptive than their Shiite and Sunni brethren down south. Meanwhile, the Turks are considered a political ally. If the Turks were to turn south and invade Iraq it would be an invasion of a people that are currently under US protection. The US would be forced to retaliate in both the military and diplomatic arena and it neither would be that good for the former Ottomans.

2. The European Union. Currently Turkey is trying to obtain membership in the European Union. The EU is currently dominated by a lot of countries that aren't too hip on coalition forces still being in Iraq. As a matter of fact, they're all a bit tired of war in general. If you look at the history of the continent you'll find more wars than most other places. If one of their members decides to get imperialistic on them they're probably not going to look too kindly on it.

3. Don't sell the Kurds short. As was mentioned above, the Kurds can be an impressive fighting force when pushed. Despite the fact that countless groups have tried to eradicate them over the years they're still around. They know how to fight. Now, that they have extra training coming from the US and no more fears of being gassed to death by sadistic dictators. They're allowed to stand up for themselves. Of all of the Iraqi people I've met while I was there I found the Kurds to be some of the proudest and bravest. They care about their small corner of the world and have amazing courage when their backs are against the wall.

So, it would not only be foolish for the Turks to try and invade Iraq, but it would be almost suicidal. But, at least CNN would have something else to report than random car bombs in Baghdad.

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