Main focus of Thursday, October 25, 2007

The threat of war in Northern Iraq

For several days now the Turkish army has been attacking positions of the PKK, the Kurdish underground organisation. The conflict threatens to spread to Northern Iraq, which PKK fighters are using as a base to conduct attacks against Turkish targets. The American government has warned its NATO ally Turkey not to invade its neighbouring country. The European press fears an escalation of the conflict.

Die Presse - Austria

According to Christian Ultsch, Turkey shouldn't allow itself to be provoked by the actions of the PKK in Northern Iraq: "When the Turkish army goes after the PKK on Iraqi soil, it falls in the category of self-defence. Nonetheless, the government in Ankara would be well advised to carefully dose its measures and avoid falling into the trap of leading a major offensive, because that would be playing right into the hands of the guerrillas. The PKK, a crude Marxist-nationalist sect, is on the verge of collapse. Abdullah Öcalan, the object of its cult, has been in custody since 1999, and thanks to increased cooperation with the EU, the Kurdish people it claims to represent are being granted more (albeit still inadequate) rights. Consequently, the pitiful remnants of the PKK military need war like a vampire needs blood. It's the only way it can survive. If the goal is to starve out the PKK, it must be completely isolated." (25/10/2007)

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ABC - Spain

"If Turkey launches a large-scale military operation, it will find itself in a situation that will only be of benefit to the terrorists and favour their sinister aim to sink their country into the Iraqi quagmire", says the Spanish daily. "If it intervenes and the attacks against the Turkish troops continue, the Ankara government will be faced with growing popular discontent that could at any time degenerate into a domestic civil war with dangerous consequences. Another conflict in this part of the world would be in nobody's interest ... . Calls for prudence being sounded everywhere, from the US to the EU, NATO and even Baghdad point towards the best path to follow in such a situation. Turkey is right in this struggle against terrorists, but it should always respond with the weapons that the law offers it, applying with intelligence and without succumbing to the provocations of its enemies." (25/10/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Europe, » Turkey

Berliner Zeitung - Germany

Roland Heine writes that the conflict with the PKK in Northern Iraq is highlighting the rift between former allies Turkey and the US. "One asks oneself what will happen when US and Turkish troops come up against each other. ... The new Turkish elites no longer see their country as a NATO outpost, but as a regional power with independent economic and political interests regarding their neighbouring states. Confrontations with Syria or Iran are counterproductive for Ankara: Syria is vital as a transit country for Turkish exports to Arab states and Iran is a large market directly on Turkey's doorstep widely regarded as a partner in the battle against Kurdish separatism. The US is obviously having difficulties accepting the new situation." (25/10/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Turkey, » Iraq
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