The Coming Kurdish War
WAR IS BORING BLOG
By David Axe on Iraq Sucks
Turkey is massing troops on the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Terrorism Monitor:
"Turkey's struggle with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in southeast Turkey has cost 35,000 lives since 1984. The Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is determined to preempt a spring offensive by the PKK. If the Iraqi government and U.S.-led forces are unwilling to cooperate with each other to counter the PKK, a designated terrorist organization, Turkey has signaled that it is willing to operate unilaterally. Last August, following a number of clashes with PKK guerrillas, Turkey massed tanks, artillery and troops along the Iraqi border. The PKK consistently denies that operations are launched from the Mount Qandil area in northern Iraq, claiming that it maintains only a "political presence" there. Last weekend, however, the Turkish army took its first steps in mounting a full-scale offensive against the Iraqi bases of the PKK. Mine-clearing operations are underway along the border, while Turkish special forces have reportedly penetrated 20 to 40 kilometers inside northern Iraq to prepare the advance and seal off PKK escape routes. As many as 200,000 Turkish soldiers are being brought up to the border this week."
This wouldn't be an issue if the Kurdistan Regional Government (pictured) would crack down on the PKK. Problem is, many in the KRG quietly agree with the PKK's goal of a pan-state Kurdistan that would gobble up parts of Iran, Syria and Turkey. During my visit to Kurdistan in December 2005, everyone — from the man on the street to members of the KRG — sounded the same refrain: independence for Kurdistan; Kurdistan for all Kurds. This is a war in the making. |
