American support for Turkey’s anti-terrorism efforts at peak

Over the last two weeks, three separate PKK groups that attempted to infiltrate the border from the Iraqi side were driven back by Turkish security forces following intelligence provided by the US and using Israeli-made Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Turkish military aircraft staged cross-border raids in hot pursuit of the PKK groups that were driven back.

US support for Turkey against the presence of PKK members in northern Iraq recently passed beyond real-time intelligence sharing, a senior Turkish governmental official told Today's Zaman on Tuesday, stressing that the US has been providing assistance to the Turkish side, including clearance to enter Iraqi airspace, the same senior official, who requested anonymity, said.

Remarks by the Turkish official were an apparent confirmation of what a US official had told Today's Zaman earlier.

“We have been opening ‘corridors' -- i.e., air blocks -- for Turks for the past three weeks almost continuously as requested,” the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Today's Zaman over the weekend. “Not ‘carte blanche,' but as requested,” the same US official, nonetheless, highlighted.

Turkey has fought the PKK since 1984, when it took up arms against the state with the goal of establishing an autonomous Kurdish state in the eastern and southeastern parts of Turkey. More than 40,000 soldiers and civilians have been killed in the clashes thus far. The PKK has been declared a terrorist organization by a large majority of the international community, including the US and the European Union.

As a matter of fact, following a landmark White House meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and then-US President George W. Bush in November 2007, the US military began to supply intelligence about the PKK and clearance to enter Iraqi airspace to facilitate Turkish cross-border raids on the terrorist group’s targets in northern Iraq.

The US diplomatic approval for Turkey’s operations against the PKK had also become clear following that meeting, during which Bush declared the PKK a “common enemy” of Turkey, the United States and Iraq.

From what the Turkish official and US official separately told Today’s Zaman, there is a clear difference on the ground in regards to US support, although there is no new element in the current mechanism of cooperation between the two allies.

In the last month, the US side has contributed to all Turkish actions against the PKK, and thanks to this contribution, in last two weeks, Turkish security forces were able to drive back three separate PKK groups -- each of them comprising 200 members. The latest PKK attempt to cross the border was prevented on July 9, when the group was trying to enter Turkey near Hakkari. After stopping the group, Turkish military aircraft staged a cross-border raid in hot pursuit of the group, killing 19.

Gediktepe milestone for new phase in cooperation

The intensification of cooperation between Turkey and the United States followed decisions made at two key meetings of top Turkish leaders in the aftermath of the deaths of 11 soldiers in a terrorist attack on a military outpost in Gediktepe on June 19.

Two days later, on June 21, the military brass and the Cabinet met at the Çankaya presidential palace for a summit on terrorism under the chairmanship of President Abdullah Gül. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the National Security Council (MGK) -- an institution that brings together top civilian and military officials.

According to the Turkish official, the reason behind the US’s more positive approach in lending support to Turkey’s fight against the PKK is the fact that the US officials were eventually convinced that Turkey no longer considers the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq a “threat” to its territorial integrity and national unity.

Turkey has successfully explained to the United States that the PKK presence in northern Iraq has had a “destabilizing impact” within the region. In this regard, Prime Minister Erdoğan, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, who is responsible for the coordination of counterterrorism efforts, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ had talks not only with their US counterparts, but also with their counterparts from Iraq and the European Union and clearly explained their point regarding the PKK as a “destabilizing factor” within the region. During the meetings with their counterparts they also firmly reiterated that such a presence in a neighboring country was “unacceptable” for Turkey.

All of these contacts as well as the content of messages to mobilize the international community against the PKK presence in northern Iraq have been coordinated as part of an “action plan” drafted during the summit at the Çankaya presidential palace and during the MGK meeting last month.

On the European front, Gilles de Kerchove, the EU’s counterterrorism coordinator, recently held talks with Turkish officials in Ankara in order to coordinate efforts against the PKK amidst increasing attacks by the terrorist organization. De Kerchove introduced a detailed report concerning the PKK’s financial resources in European countries, including profits from foundations, advertising, concerts and other sources.