The "rationale" for this is quite interesting: prevention of a probable clash over Mosul. Most recently, Conservative Voice, a leading conservative Internet site in the US, asserted that Turkey should be allowed to annex Mosul to prevent a Sunni-Kurdish conflict and expansion of the PKK through Kirkuk, northern Iraq and Turkey.The article, penned by Scott Sullivan, emphasized that there would be conflict between the Sunnis and the Kurds in northern Iraq over the oil reserves in Mosul. Sullivan further said: "Whoever controls Mosul -- Iraq's third largest city after Baghdad and Basra -- will control Kirkuk's oil along with most of northern Iraq. For this reason, Turkey must take Mosul to deter the Kurds and to boost Iraqi Sunni power as a counterweight to [Massoud] Barzani and his PKK allies."
Sullivan does not hesitate to use arguments that will appeal to some circles in Turkey. Pointing out that the most important oil reserves in Iraq are Basra, Kirkuk and Mosul, he writes: "Thanks to President [George W.] Bush, Iran is taking Basra, while Kurdish president Barzani and the PKK are taking Kirkuk. Who will take Mosul and its oil? The fight for Mosul is between Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds, given the small number of Shiites in Mosul."
Sullivan holds that if Barzani fails to control Mosul, he has to give up on the dream of an independent Kurdistan: "Turkey could greatly boost stability in northern Iraq by taking Mosul. Turkey would thereby prevent a Sunni-Kurdish conflict over Mosul. Turkey would also deter Kurdish/PKK expansion into Kirkuk, northern Iraq, and Turkey itself" (Conservative Voice, Nov. 17, 2007).
As might be remembered, following the war with Iran, Saddam Hussein sought to benefit from the extensive wartime support Europe and the US. He mistakenly thought that the Western states would remain indifferent to any sort of action in the region. Relying on this perception, Hussein felt free to take any move. When he considered invading Kuwait, Hussein discussed the matter with the US ambassador to Baghdad. His goal was to take the pulse of the US administration: How would the US react to his invasion of Kuwait? Hussein even went further, including Saudi Arabia in his future plans, relying on his image in the Western world as a "hero." Sensitive to the region and its oil, the US ambassador implied that the administration viewed the matter as an issue between Iraq and Kuwait. Hussein took this as permission from the US for the invasion of Kuwait. It later became evident that the response was designed to ensure that Hussein took aggressive action against Kuwait, providing justification for a future US intervention.
The current situation in Iraq and what happened to Hussein should be taken as lessons. Of course Turkey will not resort to this sort of action. True, Turkey is a rapidly developing country and its surroundings are oil-rich regions. However, resorting to benefiting from these resources through military invasion would be the stupidest thing to do. At a time when economic, political and social integration is strongly promoted, this sort of action would be extremely costly. Turkey should follow ideas and models that will serve its interests and the interests of the entire region, based on peaceful, reasonable and justifiable considerations.
Benzer Haberler 
