BY DERYA SAZAK
MILLIYET- The attack this week on a Turkmen district in Kirkuk which killed 30
people is matter of concern. Ankara is also about to be drawn into a trap. The
provocative referendum preparations by the US, the possibility that the de facto
Kurdish state will declare Kirkuk its capital, and the north taking control of
the oil resources in the city and turning a blind eye to PKK activities in the
region are all factors that point to a cross-border operation. National
Intelligence Agency (MIT) Undersecretary Emre Taner said that in light of recent
developments, Turkey’s policy can’t be limited to a defensive one.
Taner’s warning that nation-states who can’t
see global threats may not survive is an important one. But does this policy
require for Turkey to take military measures or to boost its effectiveness
through peaceful means? It’s clear there are disagreements over our Iraq policy
at the state level.
There are important disagreements over northern
Iraq, the terrorist PKK and the Kurdish question among the opposition, political
power and the military. This conflict came to a peak during debate over the
motion on US troops coming to Turke prior to the Iraq invasion on March 1, 2003.
The General Staff and the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) didn’t give clear
advice to the National Security Council (MGK). Four years later, the situation
is no different. Turkey wants to go back to the conditions before 2003, but the
US and the Iraqi government don’t like this idea. The statements of Prime
Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and main opposition leader Deniz
Baykal are aimed at gaining votes in the coming elections.
It’s dangerous for the US, which is already stuck in the Iraqi quagmire, to
create more chaos in Turkey. It’s also interesting that the PKK has declared a
cease-fire, and peaceful solutions to the issue are on the table besides debates
over an intervention in Iraq. The recent statements of former MIT Deputy
Undersecretary Cevat Ones also support a civil solution to the problem. Ones
said that historically, Turkey’s policies on the Kurdish question haven’t been
successful. What happened when Israel bombed Lebanon?
