Reasons To Intervene In Northern Iraq

MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen writes on Turkey’s stance on the Iraq issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
It’s no secret that Turkey already has troops inside northern Iraq. We all know that our country sends troops to the region whenever it deems it necessary.
Since a possible US-led Iraq war is looming, the Turkish Army is preparing to deploy many more troops in the region. There are several reasons behind our coming intervention in northern Iraq: 1) To prevent a rush of refugees fleeing Iraq to Turkey’s borders, and to instead house these people in refugee camps to be established in northern Iraq. Our government is anxious to avoid a repeat of the events of 1991 Gulf War when half a million Kurdish refugees fled to the border region. 2) To protect Iraq’s ethnic Turkmen groups. 3) To prevent a possible uprising of terrorist PKK militants in the region. 4) To block possible efforts of Kurdish groups towards such unpleasant developments as the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. Turkey is especially concerned that if Iraq falls apart, Iraqi Kurds could move to seize the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk. Mosul is a key regional center, and Kirkuk is home to major oil fields. These are the reasons which Ankara regards as a basis for its interventionist northern Iraq policy.
As far as the first three reasons are concerned, I believe that Turkey will not need large numbers of troops. However, our country will have to deploy a great many soldiers in the region to stop Kurdish groups which want to establish their own state. Official sources believe that this is a matter of national security. The Turkish government fears the end of Saddam's regime may lead to a political meltdown, in which Kurdish groups take advantage of the chaos to pursue what they really desire, namely, independence.
However, some analysts don’t consider these arguments as convincing as the government does. For example, according to Baskin Oran, a political science professor at Ankara University, Turkey’s official northern Iraq policy lacks legitimacy: ‘If Turkey sends troops into northern Iraq to prevent a undesired future developments, it would be making a mistake like Bush is now. Bush’s war doctrine based on unilateral action is facing strong criticism and opposition.’ Professor Oran thinks that under these circumstances, Turkey’s intervention into northern Iraq might be considered an ‘occupation’ or an ‘imperialist action,’ which might cause irreparable harm along with clashes between Turkish and Kurdish groups. According to him, Turkey should develop diplomatic strategies to stop such Kurdish efforts instead of joining war efforts.
The Iraqi Kurds are very likely to demand more freedom from the US in return for the major role they will play in a war in the region. Turkey should try to find new ways to cooperate with the Bush administration in order to head off such untoward developments. Therefore, our government should work on new long-term strategies in line with our national interests.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION