Kissinger on intervention to Southern
Kurdistan
June 2, 2007
Turkish Daily News
Kissinger sees that Turkey’s concerns about PKK
are just and legitimate. However, he believes, a military intervention in
northern Iraq is not the ‘formula’ of prevention; that even will result in
Turkey being trapped in Iraq and this does not suit for interests of not only
the U.S. but also Turkey
Cengiz Çandar
I approached Henry Kissinger before he started his speech and I said, “I heard
in the news just minutes ago; you told CNN-Türk that a military operation in
northern Iraq by Turkey is wrong.” He replied, “I understand Turkey's concerns
but I am a friend of Turkey and I expressed my opinion sincerely.”
Retired Ambassador Cem Duna took the turn and expressed his view: “Your words
will be noted by administrator elites of Turkey.” He meant the military, and a
small group of people around us and Kissinger got it.
After that, in a way to emphasize that his opinion is not so exceptional,
Kissinger replied, “But our government (the U.S. administration) made a similar
statement anyway”. And it was my turn to say, “In Ankara, your words might weigh
more than that of the U.S. administration”.
My words to Dr. Henry Kissinger, the “biggest living strategic brain” in the
world, were flattering, but I told them because I believe that this reflects a
certain truth. In a speech he delivered as the guest of Akbank in İstanbul
yesterday, Kissinger made similar emphasis on what he told us in the above
dialogue, but this time it was before the public. To the question, “How will the
U.S. react if Turkey conducts a military operation in northern Iraq,” Kissenger
answered as follows:
“America will understand why Turkey did this, but at this stage it will not be
pleased by that. At the moment, America adopts the immunity principle for the
Iraqi border from the direction of Iran and Syria.”
The Iraq-Syria border:
Meaning of his statement is clear enough; Turkish military entry in northern
Iraq will automatically legitimize Iran's sending troops to Iraq openly. We
should not forget that the camps of Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization, i.e., “Holy
Warriors of the People,” are situated in the province of Diyala, between Bakuba
city and the Iranian border. This “Warriors of the People” in Iran is perceived
as what the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) is perceived in Turkey.
The Iraq-Syria border is riddled anyway. The U.S. shows reaction against
infiltrations from both long borders in the East and the West. Turkish military
intervention in northern Iraq will mean the blowing up of America's Iraq policy
through Turkey.
This is what Kissinger tried to explain from the “American point of view”.
But, is not Kissinger aware of the tremendous rage in Turkey against “terrorist
actions” of the PKK infiltrating Turkey from northern Iraq?
Of course, he is. He sees that Turkey's concerns are just and legitimate.
However, Kissinger believes, a military intervention in northern Iraq is not the
“formula” of prevention; that even will result in Turkey being trapped in Iraq
and this does not suit for interests of not only the U.S. but also Turkey.
At the Akbank conference, he exactly said, “Infiltration (PKK) should be
resisted not at the national level, but with international policies level.”
What he means is that the “Iraq issue” will mainly find its way to a solution
via an international accord set by a mechanism to be formulated in the
“International and Countries Neighboring Iraq Conference”.
Turkey would play a big decisive role in such a “mechanism”, he said. If the
U.S.-Iran negotiations are held under the umbrella of the İstanbul Conference,
Kissinger thinks, it would be satisfactory and effective for both parties. Plus,
the security of Turkey would soundly be provided by international guarantees
against terrorist infiltrations from northern Iraq. Since we met with Kissinger
three times in the past few days, at two dinners and a breakfast, with a small
group of people, we were able to read the “background” information about his
speech at the Akbank conference.
Kissinger's interpretation of Buyukanit:
An important sidelight detail: Mr. Kissinger
made his statements, both to us and to the public at the Akbank conference,
after he learned what Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Buyukanit said
during his speech at the War Academies yesterday.
It has already been known that Kissinger interpreted Büyükanıt's remarks
yesterday as a “break” to “Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq”, to
the contrary of possible erroneous general “mediatic perception”. Even more so,
he “approved” the statement made by the Chief of General Staff and one of our
counterparts took a notice of this.
Richard Holbrooke, who was featured in the 1990's as the most important
strategic brain of the U.S. since Kissinger, also attended the small private
breakfast yesterday. When the issue is Turkey and northern Iraq, the Democrat
Holbrooke who once said for the first time that the significance of Turkey in
the new world is equal to that of Germany during the Cold War period is of the
same opinion with the Republican Kissinger. Holbrooke even has more detailed
views.
We will talk about what Holbrooke thinks after this Kissinger episode, because
probably Holbrooke will be in charge of the U.S. foreign politics if the
Democrats win 2008 U.S. elections.
