The debates have raised many questions: Should Turkey intervene in Iraq; what has brought this problem to such a critical stage; was rejecting the American request to stage the Iraqi invasion from Turkey (the so-called March 1 motion) a mistake; and what are the possible consequences of Turkey's unmet demands in northern Iraq. Vatan's Mehmet Tezkan asserts that a Turkish military intervention in Iraq would bring Turkish soldiers and US soldiers face-to-face so Turkey must not carry out such a plan. Referring to Turkey's chronic problems -- unemployment, poverty, the Armenian issue, the terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), EU membership, etc., -- Tezkan says adding a new problem of the magnitude of Kirkuk to the current ones in Turkey is the last thing the country needs. "A cross-border operation means clashing with US forces," he explains. He thinks the US has not cared about Turkey ever since Turkey failed to pass the March 1 motion in Parliament that would have allowed the deployment of 62,000 US soldiers in Turkey for the invasion of Iraq. "If the March 1 motion had passed in the Turkish Parliament, Turkey would have been the most influential country in the region. Now the Kurds have taken over our role," he says. Tezkan links Turkey's problems over Iraq today with the rejection of the March 1 motion.
Hürriyet's Cüneyt Ülsever shares the same view with Tezkan in that the rejection of the March 1 motion was a big mistake. He severely criticizes Baykal who at the time had said "no" to the motion but is now calling on the AK Party to take action in Iraq. "While rejecting the March 1 motion, the CHP made use of cheap populism. Now it is trying to corner the government and is once again becoming entangled with cheap populism," Ülsever asserts.
Milliyet's Taha Akyol complains that Turkey has failed to develop a stable policy on northern Iraq and Kirkuk ever since the late president Turgut Özal's time. "The problems regarding Iraq have some emotional connotations for Turkey, so they are open to abuse," says Akyol, indirectly referring to Baykal's recent remarks. He explains that this situation results from a lack of agreement. "The policy which was based on Turkmen has changed so much that even the Turkmen do not want Turkey's military interference in Iraq now," notes Akyol. He recalls that it was only the Iraqi border that could not be fixed by the Lausanne Treaty and that it has always posed a problem for the past 80 years. Akyol thinks that Turkey's failure to follow flexible and dynamic policies is what has led Turkey to this deadlock.
Yeni Şafak's Mehmet Ocaktan asserts that if Turkey's demands in Kirkuk are not met and Kurdish groups continue to support the PKK, new conflicts may arise in the region. He explains that the violence and conflict in the region will be shaped according to the course of Turkish-US relations. Ocaktan urges that the US, which has lost all its prestige in Iraq, needs Turkey more than ever now, especially bearing in mind Washington's plans for Syria and Iran.
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