Worse may come

Bugün’s Gültekin Avcı warns that there is no doubt that more strategic and effective terrorist attacks are to come. As for what to do, Avcı strongly suggests that the right strategy, which has still not been adopted, is to fight against terrorists outside the Turkish border and have a front in northern Iraq, and that what is indispensible now is a military operation in Kandil (the mountains in northern Iraq where a PKK base is located). And it would also restore Turkey’s now-tarnished image of a powerful country in the Middle East. He adds that anti-Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) groups in Syria and the Free Syrian Army should be supported so as to break the terrorists’ power in Syria. Parallel to this, operations against the KCK in Turkey should continue no matter what, he argues. All this might lead to more deaths on both sides, yet still this is the only way out, he believes.

Star’s Sedat Laçiner, on the other hand, states that the PKK’s aim in the Şemdinli attack was to claim some territory in the region and declare a “Kurdish Spring” in a peculiar way. But, he asks, who is behind such a plan? Of course we see Syria at the top of the list, but another crucial playmaker is Iran. Tehran sees the survival of the current Syrian regime as a matter of life and death, because it knows that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is overthrown, then it will be Iran’s turn next, and it is doing everything it can to avoid an “Iranian Spring.” And to this end, it is making all its calculations to keep Turkey out of Syria. And to this end, Tehran trusts in the Kurdish issue and the PKK to keep Turkey away from the region. And what is worse, Israel also agrees and backs Iran in its aim. In a surprising combination, both Iran and Israel are relying on Turkey’s Kurdish issue for their own causes.

Radikal’s Avni Özgürel says that considering the destructive power of terrorist acts, it will be no surprise if more attacks come in the following days. Özgürel explains the reason behind this: The PKK is not the wearied PKK of three months ago. It is now an organization that covertly receives support from Assad, Iran and Russia and it will stage its “biggest show” by the end of the summer.