Before Büyükanıt even concluded his speech, Reuters had already published the headlines “Turk army chief calls for military operation in northern Iraq” under top stories. The Associated Press had the headlines “Turkish military chief asks approval to launch operation against Kurdish rebels,” and Agence France-Presse had “Turkish army pushes Iraq incursion.” A military operation in northern Iraq has been on the agenda for quite some time now. There have been debates on whether it will be beneficial or harmful to Turkey. The common opinion is that the military operations held in the region to date have not helped to end terrorism. In addition the situation in the region is now different. In the past Kurdish groups welcomed Turkish operations and even cooperated with them to a degree. But now they have a hostile attitude towards Turkey and a military operation could end up leaving Turkey face-to-face with its ally the US, which has de facto control over Iraq.
That’s why Gen. Büyükanıt’s speech was important. His speech revealed that the military had worked on the issue and obtained some results. Apparently the military believes that an operation in northern Iraq is necessary and will be beneficial. The military says it is ready for deployment if the government decides to launch an operation. However it attracted everyone’s attention when in the same speech the chief of General Staff said he had not asked permission from the government to launch such a military operation.
If we put the statements side by side, it seems Büyükanıt’s emphasis on a military operation seems to be part of Ankara’s recent policy to gradually increase pressure on northern Iraq after Massoud Barzani’s unacceptable statements. We all know Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül have made critical statements and have submitted a diplomatic protest note to Iraq, and that similar messages were communicated during the last National Security Council (MGK) meeting.
Hence Büyükanıt’s speech could accelerate Turkey’s decision making process in regard to an operation, and may move Washington and Baghdad, as well as northern Iraq, to act against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists in Iraq before it is too late.
The Turkish army’s call for an operation was immediately echoed in Washington. After Büyükanıt’s speech, the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Dan Fried made contact with Turkish authorities and spokesman Sean McCormack said that the PKK threat needed to be addressed, but that it was a problem that needed to be resolved with cooperation.
Meanwhile I am certain that the chief of General Staff is also aware of the risks of a military operation under the current circumstances and wants to resolve the problem without a military operation.
Another aspect of the chief of General Staff’s speech that attracted notice was the change in Büyükanıt’s stance toward the US. During a visit to Washington in mid-February, Gen. Büyükanıt had said that the US clearly understood Turkey’s concerns. He mentioned that Kurds in Iraq supported the PKK, but did not speak of the US’s role in that relationship. During a press conference on Feb. 17 Büyükanıt said Turkey’s relations with the US were good and on track.
Then on Thursday Büyükanıt said the complete opposite. He called for a military operation knowing that the US did not favor it. Without giving any names he said the US had empowered Barzani. He explained that the second Gulf War had harmed Turkey and said it would be dangerous if the US decided to stay in northern Iraq.
I think it would be good if Turkish-American relation researchers and thinkers questioned why Büyükanıt has changed so much in just two months.
