The Corner

re: Turkey, Kurds & PKK

Michael, it may be obvious to you, but it’s not so obvious to me that the Turks have crossed the border since 2003, when there was the July 4 “hooding” incident in Sulaymani. The Iraqi Kurds–who will protest harshly any Turkish incursion–did not complain in any of my recent visits. Nor, for that matter, has the Turkish press picked up on it. Recent operations that have intercepted Iranian Qods Force personnel in Iraq certainly suggest that such incursions will not be tolerated. Perhaps too little, too late, and we would should be more consistent in enforcement of diplomatic red-lines.

Regarding your other points: I am also unaware of any Syrian troops that have entered Iraq. If you’re referring to Syrian provision of safe-haven for terrorism, that’s another matter that should be dealt with directly. As to your broader question: There is a huge difference between a democracy striking at terrorist safe-havens and a terror-sponsoring state trying to undermine another by supporting terrorist groups within. I don’t believe the moral equivalency you draw between Turkey on one hand, and Iran or Syria on the other, is either valid or fair.

Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, senior lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Civil-Military Relations, and a senior editor of the Middle East Quarterly.
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