Turkish threat echoes across Iraq

[bemildred]

As an aside, I think that too little attention is paid to the Syrian and Iranian dimensions of the Kurdish issue, it isn't just Turkey that has Kurdish "unrest", and all three countries have a commonality of interest in suppressing Kurdish nationalist tendencies.

DAMASCUS - Beleaguered Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who could be days away from losing US support and with it his job, is seeking renewed Kurdish support, even expressing his full backing for the Kurds in a potentially disastrous confrontation with Turkey.

This move could strengthen his position in internal Iraqi politics, but it looks like political suicide on the regional level, as in addition to Turkey, Iran and Syria, key players in resolving Iraq's problems, have Kurdish concerns.

The situation on the border has become so tense that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates this weekend cautioned Turkey against a military operation inside northern Iraq to attack outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases there.

Turkey is concerned at the emergence of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq and the presence there of the PKK, from where it launches attacks on Turkey. The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by not only Ankara but also Washington and the European Union.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IF05Ak03.html

[cliss]

1. Another powder keg, ready to blow....

it's truly surprising how many volatile regions are inching ever closer to the "blow" stage. And this is one of them.

Sec. Gates issued a warning over the weekend for Turkey "not to cross into Iraq". I'd say that's a damn serious situation.

I also believe within a couple of weeks, Turkey will roll into Iraq. And there's not much the U.S. can do about it, because they're a little bit preoccupied in Baghdad.