I agree with Tully for the most part (except his/her last paragraph). It is especially true that most PKK victims have been Turkish Kurds. (Total numbers may be close to 40K.) Those “non-cooperating, traitors of the cause” you know. One has to hear or read some extreme PKK propagandists; their mouths foam with unashamed racism when, for example, they talk about Kurdish girls’ falling for Turkish boys, marrying them, etc… which of course has never been a problem in Turkey (I mean, no mainstream hold-ups against inter-ethnic marriages. One couldn’t even seriously point to a heightened ethnic consciousness prior to the advent of PKK.)

Well, you’re doing a heckuva job brownie!

You don’t have to wait for the PKK to “turn against” the US. They’ve never been even remotely on our side, and most of the Kurdish leadership in Iraq would be quite pleased if they were stomped on. They’d likely be willing to help–the PKK is NOT a buddy to the KDP and PUK, which parties control most of Iraqi Kurdistan. MOST of the victims of PKK violence have been Turkish Kurds. MOST of the political support is splinter political factions in Turkey who oppose the current government.

The four major state sponsors of the PKK are/were Iran, Syria, Russia, and Greece. State support for them has declined radically since 2004. The PKK has taken to unilaterally declaring “ceasefires” to explain their decline in attacks, but it’s more likely that the decline in both foreign and domestic (Iraqi and Iranian) support is more responsible–support in northern Iraq has declined considerably since the invasion, as the economy in the Kurdish north has taken off. They’re hiding up in the hills, just as the Taliban does on the Afghan/Paki border.

Erdogan is asking for the US and Iraqi military to help Turkey squash the remaining strongholds just inside the Iraqi border sooner rather than later, up in that difficult terrain, while we have the forces in place to make it easier and take some (most) of the military/financial burden off of the Turks. He’s trying to prioritize the “surge” plans in his direction for maximum immediate benefit. Understandable.

We act as if our providing weapons for the Afghan rebels was justified but the whole world should condemn Iran for financial support of those aligned with their interests in Iraq. And in our case, we were truly supporting an insurgency (in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention El Salvador and Nicaragua), while Iran’s support is for the majority party in Iraq. Even more weirdly ironic, we want to kill the same Sunni elements that Iran does. How long have we been railing against the “Baathists” and “Saddam loyalists”?

What a tangled web…

Key Elements Of The New Approach: Regional

Iraqi:

* Vigorously engage Arab states.
* Take the lead in establishing a regional forum to give support and help from the neighborhood.
* Counter negative foreign activity in Iraq.
* Increase efforts to counter PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party).

Coalition:

* Intensify efforts to counter Iranian and Syrian influence inside Iraq.
* Increase military presence in the region.
* Strengthen defense ties with partner states in the region.
* Encourage Arab state support to Government of Iraq.
* Continue efforts to help manage relations between Iraq and Turkey.
* Continue to seek the region’s full support in the War on Terror.

Perhaps we can get a group discount on walls for sealing borders?

Maybe by including Turkey in the EU, the EU will take more interest in promoting moderation in the near and middle east, and containing radicalism.

I know nothing about the PKK conflict so I’m in no position to opine on the subject. It would be terrible to turn the one (relatively) peaceful part of Iraq into a war-zone. Then again, if the PKK is anything like Spain’s ETA, then I think crushing them is necessary and would understand the Turkish people feeling that they don’t have to ask permission to go after murderers of their own.