Turkish-US Relations Could Turn Sour: Report
Report by Tareq Bouhaimad
ANKARA, January 17, -KUNA -
Turkish-US relations are going through a period of instability due to Ankara's
doubts about US plans for the Kurdish people not only in Kurdistan region
(northern Iraq) but also in Kurdish southern Turkey.
Up till now, Turkey has listened to Washington's advices and abided by them. But
The Turks are realizing that the Americans are facing increasing problems in
Iraq and have little or no time to spend on Ankara's concerns with regard to
expansionist or separatist designs by the Kurdish minority in both Turkey and
Iraq.
Now while Turks and Kurds are getting ready for a possible clash, Turkey has
given up hope that the Americans would cut the Kurds to size and hopes instead
to get a green light from Washington to launch a "limited strike against bases
of the Kurdistan Workers Party" (Kurdish: Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan or PKK), in
Iraqi provinces close to the border.
Ankara also hopes that the US administration would convince Iraqi Kurds to sit
on the fence and watch and not interfere with Turkey's action against the PKK.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan had confided to UA President George
W. Bush in July 2006, during telephone calls between the two leaders that the
strikes against the PKK should be launched as soon as possible or he (Erdogan)
could lose control over Turkish generals keen to launch such a strike as soon as
possible.
Erdogan's remarks were prompted by the growing number of victims of PKK attacks
against Turkish targets.
Similarly, a senior Turkish Intelligence officer was quoted as saying that the
wait-and-see policy with the Kurds was no longer tenable and action was needed.
Meanwhile, a Turkish political analyst called Ehan Bashi told KUNA that the
question was, at present, not whether or not the Turkish strike against the
Kurds would take place, but what would be the response to such a strike by the
US army.
"Washington is certainly not be happy about the Kurds helping the PKK, which is
not likely to give up the fight and call it a day," Bashi said. He added that
Turkey was not just any country, but a member of NATO and a major power in this
part of the world. Therefore, it (Turkey) should not be overlooked in a
political and military context, he said.
He stated that the NATO base in Incirlik, in south Turkey, was a non-combat
base. But, just the same, it was a base for military aircraft for NATO in
general, but for US forces in Iraq in particular.
Another analyst, Mehmet Ali Brand Feri, said in his daily column that Washington
was not convinced that the problem (of the PKK) would be resolved by any Turkish
military intrusion in northern Iraq's Kurdish provinces. Therefore, Washington
would dislike such an intrusion for its negative effect on turbulent Iraq.
"Washington cannot afford such adventures that could trigger more ethnic and
sectarian hatred in Iraq," Feri said.
The worst case scenario for Turkey is the setting up of a separate Kurdish state
in Northern Iraq because that would have a devastating effect on Iraq's national
unity.
Kirkuk in particular is a source of concern for Turkey, in case there is a
separate state, because the city is made up of several ethnic minorities and
because of the oil wealth in that city.
