The qualification of an incident as a terrorist action or its perpetrators as terrorists determines friendly or antagonistic relations at the international level. In other words, two countries can become friends or foes on the basis of such qualifications. It is possible to observe this fact in Turkey-US relations. The main terrorist actor for Turkey is the PKK. In order to stop its activities and existence within Turkey, the dissipation of its international connections and support is indispensable. Turkey suggests that the PKK’s logistical and human capacities lie in northern Iraq and its political and financial support lie in the “West.” For Turkey, the PKK is a local organization with international connections, and the target is not only limited to Turkey but comprises a much larger territory.
For the US, the principal actor of the war against terrorism is al-Qaeda, which is not seen as a local organization but a totally international one. The US perceives that al-Qaeda’s main purpose is to annihilate values represented by the US and its allies. Al-Qaeda is a global network with its organization, activities, logistics and human support, and its political objective is oriented against the whole system. That’s why the struggle with al-Qaeda must be run on the global level.
Turkey and the US agree that these organizations are both terrorist ones. But they do not agree on how to proceed in fighting against them. The main reason for this is the differing priorities, al-Qaeda for the US but the PKK for Turkey. The US wants to destroy al-Qaeda’s infrastructure in Iraq while Turkey prioritizes the eradication of the PKK’s capacities in northern Iraq. The US is focusing on putting pressure on countries and mechanisms supporting al-Qaeda while Turkey wants above all the tackling of international support to the PKK. The US is asking Turkey to cooperate in preventing al-Qaeda activities while Turkey solicits the US in obstructing international backing for the PKK.
The US has designated northern Iraq as a political and technical base of operations and is mainly concerned with radical Shiite and Sunni groups. Thus, the US has no opportunity to engage in a battle in northern Iraq. The US would not want to antagonize Kurdish groups in northern Iraq while fighting against the PKK. Also, the US does not need additional trouble from Turkey if it wants to establish “order” in Iraq or elsewhere. On the contrary, the US needs all the help it can get from Turkey. Similarly, Turkey has to take the US as an interlocutor on issues such as northern Iraq, the whole of Iraq and the PKK.
Some precursor signs appeared when the US declared that PKK elements in northern Iraqi camps have been eradicated and when many al-Qaeda militants were arrested during an important operation in Turkey. With the mutual and gradual beginning of a joint struggle with each other’s terrorists, it wouldn’t be surprising to shortly see these two countries agreeing on other subjects as well.
