Iraq and Turkey See Tensions Rise After Ambush

Kurdish rebels have launched a brazen ambush which has resulted in the deaths of at least twelve Turkish soldiers, increasing the pressure on the Turkish government to invade Northern Iraq.

It is being said that the Turkish government only held off invading after the personal intervention of Condoleezza Rice.

The ambush by a large group of Kurdish militants about three miles from the border with Iraq early on Sunday was seen as a direct provocation on the part of the militants, who have increasingly staged raids into Turkey from hide-outs in the mountains of northern Iraq.

It was the most serious attack in recent memory by the militants, separatist fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or P.K.K., and came only four days after the Turkish Parliament formally approved contingency plans for military retaliation across the border.

The Turkish military struck back inside Turkey, killing as many as 32 Kurdish militants, a government spokesman said. But the Kurdish ambush still drew strong public outrage here, and its brazenness could effectively force the government to make good on its warning to send forces into northern Iraq.

One has to wonder how long Rice and Bush can hold off the Turkish government from invading Northern Iraq if attacks of this kind continue.

It is understood that Rice asked that the Turkish government "allow us a few days" to sort things out in Northern Iraq.

There is an incredible irony here, where Bush finds himself in a similar position to the one Arafat was always caught in in the Occupied Territories. Thankfully for Bush, most of us understand that he is not responsible for the actions of the Kurdish rebels, even though he is technically in charge of the area from which the attacks are emanating. This was not an allowance that Bush ever made for Arafat.

Turkey have held off from invading and have merely asked that militant leaders be captured and handed over to Turkey, however, the Iraqis are adamant that they will not accede to this request:

“We are looking for peace, not war, and to solve problems peacefully,” said Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s president. But Mr. Talabani, who is himself a Kurd, added tartly, “We will not hand any Kurdish man to Turkey, even a Kurdish cat.”

This attitude does not bode well for the resolving of a situation which has resulted in the worst relationship between the US and Turkey for years.

Turkey will obviously be reluctant to invade Northern Iraq because they do not want to further damage US-Turkey relations and because any form of invasion would hurt Turkey's bid to join the EU. However, if the rebels continue to attack with such brazenness, then one has to wonder at what point an attack becomes a necessity for the survival of the Turkish government.

“We don’t want to go into northern Iraq — it’s a mess,” said Suat Kinikli, a lawmaker from Mr. Erdogan’s party and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. “We are a country negotiating with the European Union.”

But the Sunday ambush on Turkish troops was carried out by a much larger force than the P.K.K. typically uses, the Western official said, and appeared aimed at drawing Turkey into conflict.

“I think we’ve passed the threshold,” Mr. Kinikli said. “It looks like for two days or three days there will be a holding off and a waiting period. Unless the U.S. comes up with something magic in the next few days, which is highly unlikely, we’ll probably go in.”

We are fast approaching the point where, despite making it clear that the last thing they want is to get involved in the nightmare that is Iraq, the Turkish government may find that they have no choice but to intervene.

At which point Bush's Iraqi nightmare gets even worse with the only part of Iraq that could ever have been deemed a success becoming embroiled in bloody warfare.

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Tags: Iraq, Turkey, Northern Iraq, Kurdistan Workers Party, P.K.K