The Kurds' bad timing? says who?
Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 2:06 pm(Original publication: May 25, 2005)
The resumption of attacks in Turkey and Iran by Kurdish separatists is the epitome of bad timing. It could destabilize the region even further.
Fighters of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party have infiltrated Turkey from bases in northern Iraq, according to Turkish intelligence sources. Ten police officers and soldiers have been killed in clashes, and Turkish security was heightened during last week's National Day celebration as a five-year lull in the two-decade-old insurgency ended. Kurdish fighters moved into Iran and clashed with Iranian troops.
U.S. relationship with Iraq's northern Kurds has been strong. The Kurdish area has been the country's most stable. A resumption of the insurgency in Turkey strains U.S.-Turkish relations. Turkey is a partner in the war on terrorism.
Turkey has stationed troops along the border to prevent Kurdish fighters from crossing, much as U.S. forces along the Syrian border attempt to block insurgents from entering Iraq to join anti-U.S. fighters there. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has rightly expressed concern over a lack of U.S. action to curtail Kurdish fighters from Iraq. He didn't portray the United States as Syria, but the uncomfortable analogy is there.
Resumed fighting in Iran is dangerous on several fronts, including damaging Iraq's new government, in which Iraqi Kurds are in partnership with some Shiite parties. U.S.-Iran relations are already poor.
The Kurds do have a case. At the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, they were promised an autonomous Kurdistan, but the world reneged. Rebellion has been periodic ever since. The Kurds have heard it before, but it was never more true than now: This is not the time.
The resumption of attacks in Turkey and Iran by Kurdish separatists is the epitome of bad timing. It could destabilize the region even further.
Fighters of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party have infiltrated Turkey from bases in northern Iraq, according to Turkish intelligence sources. Ten police officers and soldiers have been killed in clashes, and Turkish security was heightened during last week's National Day celebration as a five-year lull in the two-decade-old insurgency ended. Kurdish fighters moved into Iran and clashed with Iranian troops.
U.S. relationship with Iraq's northern Kurds has been strong. The Kurdish area has been the country's most stable. A resumption of the insurgency in Turkey strains U.S.-Turkish relations. Turkey is a partner in the war on terrorism.
Turkey has stationed troops along the border to prevent Kurdish fighters from crossing, much as U.S. forces along the Syrian border attempt to block insurgents from entering Iraq to join anti-U.S. fighters there. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has rightly expressed concern over a lack of U.S. action to curtail Kurdish fighters from Iraq. He didn't portray the United States as Syria, but the uncomfortable analogy is there.
Resumed fighting in Iran is dangerous on several fronts, including damaging Iraq's new government, in which Iraqi Kurds are in partnership with some Shiite parties. U.S.-Iran relations are already poor.
The Kurds do have a case. At the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, they were promised an autonomous Kurdistan, but the world reneged. Rebellion has been periodic ever since. The Kurds have heard it before, but it was never more true than now: This is not the time.
