Hiwa Osman in the Daily Star declares that the best solution to moderating the PKK is not an offensive one, citing the recent incursion by Turkish military as a failure. He also notes problems the PKK, the militant Kurdish population in Turkey, poses for their Iraqi brethren politically. "The Kurds appreciate the importance of long-term strategic ties with Turkey," and believe that "PKK issue is an irritating factor ...

An editorial in The International Herald Tribune analyzes the current attempts to ban the AKP, arguing that "a high court decision to nullify the popular will by dissolving a legitimately elected party would cast a pall over Turkish democracy and make it harder than it already is for Turkey to gain membership in the European Union." In a discussion on the interplay between Turkey, Iraq, and the PKK, Bitterlemons International presents ...

At Bitterlemmons, Mustafa Kibaroglu discusses the US relationship both with Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds, writing that "US policy in Iraq appears much more sensitive to meeting the demands of the Kurdish authority than those of its long-time NATO ally." He notes that this has deteriorated American-Turkish relations. According to Kibaroglu, Turks are increasingly concerned over the border threat of the PKK while Kurds remain a critical ally of the United ...

The larger meaning of a terrorist car bombing that killed five people and wounded 68 last Thursday in southeastern Turkey is discussed in an editorial in the International Herald Tribune today. The article implores the lethal blast to be seen against "the backdrop of a domestic struggle over the political and cultural identity of Turkey." It also indicates that a reprisal of the dirty war that the Turkish military conducted against the PKK in ...

After Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq chasing the PKK, Juan Cole discusses the implications for Iraqi stability of the US giving intelligence aid for the strike. He guesses that that this provision of intel from Iraq went by way of Baghdad and may destabilize the shaky parliamentary balance if the Kurdish PMs turn against al-Maliki. Michael Rubin, in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only), argues that the current US strategy--urging ...

Many articles discuss the possibility of a Turkish invasion into northern Iraq and the possible ramifications. An opinion article in the New York Times argues that Washington needs to walk Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds back from the brink to avoid a disastrous regional war. An article by Ralph Peters, in USA Today, argues that the PKK threat is weak and both success and failure of the Turkish ...