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Turkey's Concerns Over Kurds Complicate U.S. War Plans
October 16, 2002
Summary
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned Washington Oct. 13 that its actions are supporting the Kurdish independence movement in Iraq, reminding Washington that such developments are deeply troubling to its vital ally. In wooing the Kurds as part of planning for war with Iraq, the United States may be undermining those very preparations by risking a falling out with Ankara.
Analysis
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Oct. 13 that recent actions by Iraqi Kurds appear to be fostering the formation of an independent Kurdish state and may force Turkey into a war to prevent such a move. Ecevit also said that the United States was directing the Iraqi Kurds and that Turkey plans to issue a strongly worded diplomatic protest to Washington against supporting a Kurdish state.
Turkey, a longtime NATO ally, is intrinsic to U.S. war plans for Iraq. In a U.S.-led ground war, American troops would need Turkey for logistical support and would need to launch air strikes from its Incirlik Air Base. Coalition forces also would need Turkey to act as a rear guard to cover their northern flank. For political and strategic reasons, Washington will not abandon its time-tested regional ally, but Ankara believes the United States is playing with fire by negotiating with the Kurds, and Turkey does not want to get burned.
The Turkish military fought Kurdish guerrillas in southern Turkey for 15 years, and an estimated 37,000 people were killed in the conflict. Turkey fears that if Iraqi Kurds were to form a independent state after a U.S.-led war on Iraq, it could inspire a renewed uprising by Turkish Kurds.
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Dan
Turkey's Concerns Over Kurds Complicate U.S. War Plans . . .