BY SOLI OZEL
SABAH- Most of the US neoconservatives - the designers, architects and implementers of the US invasion of Iraq - never served in uniform. It's not clear if they know the meaning of `war' or `front.' Few have lost relatives to war. Of course it was seen as strange that they argued for war with such enthusiasm and fervor and supported the Iraq war even after being personally reproached for its failure. There's an epithet for people like that, who never saw battle but love sending others - mostly poor people - into arm's way: chicken hawks.
Following the great sorrows of recent weeks, Turkey has seen a boom in the number of its own chicken hawks. Particularly some reporters and columnists exploit people's emotions and send them into a rage. It's hard to figure out if their writing comes from their cynicism, or from their indifference about the consequences of such writing. What's more, they argue that we should fight the Iraqi Kurds, as if the terrorist PKK isn't enough. Turkey is suffering terribly. This sorrow isn't limited to the families of those who died or to certain ethnic groups either. This sorrow and anger felt by the entire nation can't guide those formulate policies. The people responsible for governing us have to avoid choices which are likely to make the nation pay a higher price in the long term. Even if politicians and the state can understand the nation's anger, they are also responsible for preventing shockwaves from them. Yesterday Turkey answered the recent attacks with air power. Under current circumstances, this was an appropriate and measured response. Besides the air operation, there are also other steps which can be taken. Going beyond this and launching an all-out operation with the land forces would play into the political calculations of other and set in motion a process whose end is unforeseeable.
As former National Intelligence Agency (MIT) Undersecretary Sonmez Koksal told Milliyet columnist Devrim Seminay, the Turkish people have been led to think that if a cross-border operation is carried out, terrorism will end. He added that when it becomes clear that terrorism can't be rooted out with only one operation, the people will be disappointed. Koksal also said that an operation was only one possible tool and suggested that Turkey should produce a plan in line with the new truths in Iraq. There are also reasons for thinking that the Iraqi Kurdish leaders saw the limits of their power in the recent incidents. In addition, it's evident that Turkey's friendship with the US is also frayed. This is one reason why the US acted more seriously following the recent PKK attacks. Now is when we need sustained diplomacy and cool-headed politics.