The Turkish army has begun a ground offensive mission into northern Iraq. Their aim is to hunt down Kurdish rebels, and it has already drawn an angry response from Iraqi leaders and a call for restraint from Washington.
The Turkish government won parliamentary approval to enter Iraq for the purpose of attacking Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants based there.
Turkey charges that an estimated 4,000 PKK rebels are hiding in northern Iraq and using the region as a springboard for attacks on Turkish territory. It's part of the PKK separatist campaign they launched in 1984.
The United States supplies Turkey with intelligence on PKK movements, and said it had been notified of the incursion beforehand and urged its NATO ally to exercise restraint.
Though I know it's rampant, it always surprises me to hear all the different ways we're involved in intelligence in other countries. Was Turkey within its rights to invade?
Cheap Monday
Alexander McQueen
Minnetonka
In a more ideal world, I'd think highly enhanced border control would be better than an all-out incursion. It's a complicated situation, though.
1Go Turks!!
2Sigh. This makes me sad.
3The problem in Kurdistan is very complicated. Kurds have been persecuted for years and their culture is prohibited in Turkey, on pain of imprisonment. I don't think Turkey has any right to invade, but unfortunately, it looks like anything can be done with a powerful army.
4Turkey has every right to invade. The PKK is a terrorist group that does not represent what the average Kurd wants. The PKK goes into Turkish cities and kills innocent civilians. Over the past six months these terrorists acts have become stronger and have taken more innocent lives. The Turkish army looking for these terrorist has nothing to do with the rights of the Kurds, it has to do with the illegal actions of a terrorist group.
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