Piç!

Oh a map can tell you a lot. The lighter area represents the furthest extent of Kurdish territorial claims. Hence the following story should be no surprise.

According to a Turkish language website I found this post's title translates as "son of a bitch". I was afraid this was going to happen back before we invaded Iraq. The Turks are pissed with the de-facto independence of "Kurdistan" and really peeved with the aforementioned pseudo-country's harboring of Turkish-Kurd separatists.

This could get really nasty really quick. The first problem is Turkey is a NATO member, an ally, so we cannot hit them. Then you have the Iraqi Kurds, who are the only ally we have in Iraq, we can't hit them. However, a lack of action on our part, or any perceived favoritism could blow the Iraqi kettle straight past bubbling over into "Old Faithful" territory.

Lose the Kurds and ANY real or perceived control that we have over events in Iraq are over, done, and finished.

Turkish Army Seeks OK for Iraq Raids
Thursday April 12, 2007 7:01 PM
By SELCAN HACAOGLU
Associated Press Writer

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's military asked the government Thursday to approve attacks on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, signaling growing frustration over a lack of action against the guerrillas by Iraqi and U.S. forces.

Such action could put an overstretched U.S. military in the middle of a fight between two crucial partners, the Turks and the Iraqi Kurds. A recent surge in Kurdish attacks in southeastern Turkey has increased the pressure on Turkey's military to act. ``

An operation into Iraq is necessary,'' Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told reporters. Buyukanit said the military already has launched operations against separatists in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeastern region bordering Iraq.

Understanding Turkish politics means understanding the constitutional and historical power it has wielded in the modern state. The countries first president, after the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal "Attaturk", established these mechanisms in the Turkish constitution. Since then the military has toppled civilian governments by either supplanting them as they did in 1980. More recently they have exerted more subtle power by driving PM's from office, through the army's influence in Parliament.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a chameleon in Turkish politics, he has extended the dove of peace to traditional enemy Greece, by becoming the first Turkish PM to make an official state visit. In the process he helped remove the largest barrier to Turkey's admission into the EU, Greece's opposition. However, he has shown that he will not tolerate the Kurdish separatists within or outside of the Turkish Republic.

As recently as April 9, 2007 MSNBC via the Financial Time Reported:

Turkey warned Iraqi Kurdish leaders on Monday they would be "crushed" if they carried out a threat to stir up trouble among Turkish Kurds, as clashes with separatists in south-eastern Turkey claimed at least 20 lives.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, reacted angrily to weekend comments by Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. Mr Barzani has set off a political and media storm in Ankara with his threat to "interfere" in Turkey's restive Kurdish provinces if Ankara did not stop "interfering" in his region.

Further complicating the plot is the upcoming Turkish election and NO Turkish politician wants to be perceived as weak on an issue that has cost so much blood and treasure.