October 23, 2007: Turkish threats to invade have
produced a new round of diplomatic activity. Iraq's government stated that it
will work with Turkey to prevent PKK guerrillas from using base areas in Iraq
and from using Iraqi territory to attack Turkey. The US government promised
Turkey that it would "urge" Iraq to carry thorough on promises made in August
and September to "act" against the PKK. The new diplomatic buzz phrase is an
attempt to "prevent wider action" in northern Iraq. Turkish special forces
and a small contingent of conventional troops routinely operate in northern
Iraq. In response to Iraqi and American diplomatic statements, the Turkish
government said that it would continue to pursue a political solution, and
would only launch a major attack into northern Iraq if "diplomacy is
exhausted."
A PKK website claimed that the PKK has offered the
Turkish government "a conditional ceasefire." The conditions include no Turkish
invasion of northern Iraq and an end to Turkish attacks on the PKK.
October 22, 2007: Turkey deployed additional
artillery units to the Turkey-Iraq border, and brought a reinforced armored
brigade to the area near the village of Daglica (in Turkey, near the Iraq
border). The move was in response to attacks by the PKK in the border area,
especially an ambush that killed 12 Turkish soldiers. The Turkish military
reported that 34 PKK fighters died in various clashes in the same border
region. One Turkish source estimated that the PKK had a total of 200 fighters
participating in firefights. If true, that is a very large PKK contingent and
one that indicates the PKK leadership is looking for a fight.
October 18, 2007: PKK supporters are once again
claiming that "an Iraqi break-up" will create a new, independent Kurd state,
which will ultimately incorporate Kurdish areas of Turkey. At the moment. these
claims don't include predominantly-Kurd areas of Syria or Iran, but
including those communities is no doubt viewed by PKK supporters as inevitable
once a Kurd state is established. An Iraqi partition is something the PKK has
always wanted. At the moment the PKK is in position to try to achieve that goal
by goading Turkey into a full-scale invasion of northern Iraq. In the PKK dream
scenario all Kurds would be united in one state.
October 17, 2007: The Turkish parliament voted to
permit the Turkish government to conduct a major military offensive into Iraq
"if so required." The measure had strong backing among Turkey's major political
parties.
