Fun with Ottomans

I am tired from racing last night, so I have mercifully little to say (for me).

I would think this to be a major developing storyline:

PKK attacks military outpost; 7 soldiers killed

ANKARA - Associated Press


The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party fired rockets and grenades at a Turkish military outpost, killing 7 soldiers in a bold attack that heightened tension at a time when Ankara has threatened military action against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.

The army sent helicopter gunships and reinforcements to Tunceli province in southeastern Turkey after two PKK members rammed a vehicle into the military post on Monday, throwing hand grenades and opening fire with automatic weapons, the governor's office announced.

Soldiers returned fire, killing one of them - who had explosives strapped to his body, the governor's office said. Local media said the second attacker escaped injured.

Several other PKK members simultaneously opened fire on the outpost from a nearby forest, the governor's office said. The attack left seven soldiers dead and seven others injured. One of the injured was in critical condition, authorities said.

The attack came as Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül told European Union officials visiting Ankara that "we have every right to take measures against terrorist activities directed at us from northern Iraq."

Turkey's political and military leaders have been debating whether to stage an incursion into northern Iraq to try to root out the PKK bases there.

...and this too:

Turkey says no army operation in N.Iraq just now

ANKARA, June 6 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Wednesday it had no plans at present to send troops into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels there, but it indicated this remained an option in the future.

Media speculation is high of a possible cross-border operation against rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which uses mainly Kurdish northern Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks in Turkey.

Parliament, now in recess ahead of July 22 elections, would have to reconvene to authorise any military operation beyond Turkey's borders.

Asked if the Foreign Ministry was readying documents for such a move, spokesman Levent Bilman told a news conference: "At this time there is no work on such an authorisation, but Turkey is ready for anything at any time."

I especially liked this at the end of the Reuters story:

Turkey is furious with U.S. and Iraqi authorities for failing to crack down on the estimated 4,000 PKK rebels in northern Iraq.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people in Turkey since the group launched its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in the impoverished southeast region in 1984.

What a great situation. A NATO ally massing troops near the border of Iraq to pursue terrorists associated with the most supportive group in the country we invaded.

This brings up numerous points. The PKK is a terrorist group, based on the most basic definition. If you believe the insurgents in Iraq are terrorists, then the PKK would be as well. Kurds in Iraq may be harboring these terrorists. If Turkey were to follow the Bushian philosophy, they would be within their rights to just go right in and invade. After all, we did just that on far flimsier premises. I have to assume this would be unacceptable to Bush and gang, which means they will have to go out of their way to defuse the situation peacefully. They couldn't just let Turkey go in guns a'blazin' because this would presumably piss off the one real ally we have in the country. They might strike a deal wherein the Kurds give up PKK terrorists. I see this as unlikely, for much the same reason as above. So, here we are. If Turkey invades and we do nothing, this will be bad. If we oppose such an incursion, militarily or otherwise, we basically shelter terrorists, which would also have to be considered bad. Finding some way to weed out PKK members hiding out with Iraqi Kurds and handing them over to Turkish authorities is less bad, but not that great. The Bushies haven't shown themselves to be particularly willing to engage in tender diplomacy, nor do they show any real aptitude for it. Mostly, we have to hope that the Turks will decide not to get aggressive (they have some good reasons not to) and that Kurds will cooperate with us in the meantime to root out terrorist elements in the meantime (I'm not betting on this).

Not to pretend that this growing situation was one of the reasons I didn't support invading Iraq in the first place-Kurds were hardly on my radar at the time-but this is exactly the kind of unintended consequence that you would hope really smart war-planners who want to transform the military and establish a beyond-challenge hegemony super-ultra-massive-power might want to consider before launching a war.

Or, apparently, not.