Replies

Look, I have no argument with the need for action by Turkey, and/or equally by the Kurdish authorities in Iraq.

Your analogy is very apt. We would need to take action against the miscreants on our territory, first and foremost, but we would need to move against those in Mexico proper as well.

But, in the process, we ought not shell Tijuana or Nogales.

We would need to work with Mexican authorities to identify and root out the miscreants on their side of the border. And, I am sure that we could ensure their cooperation.

I am equally sure that Kurdish authorities in Iraq do NOT want to see all their gains put to maximum risk by a few die-hard marxists. Working together, the Kurds, the Turks and the United States can put an end to the actions of these few factionalists. And this should be done without the need for the Turks to shell Iraqi Kurd villages.

Your comments were reasonable and I would not have responded except that you included the, IMO the very likely, misconception that Turkey is targeting civilians.

RE: "But, in the process, we ought not shell Tijuana or Nogales."

If you take a look at reply #5 you will see that there seems to be a dispute concerning what is being shelled. There is a link to an expanded version of the posted AP article. There are many other sources, of course.

RE: "Working together, the Kurds, the Turks and the United States can put an end to the actions of these few factionalists. And this should be done without the need for the Turks to shell Iraqi Kurd villages."

If you follow the news items about General Joseph Ralston (retired) and his tasks to coordinate U.S. engagement with Turkey and Iraq against the PKK threat I think you'll discover that Ankara is very much in touch with Baghdad.

In fact, "Turkey and Iraq signed a joint agreement of cooperation in squeezing the PKK’s funding and supply structures, while explicitly ruling out Turkish military action inside Iraq's borders."

Turkish military action inside Iraq's borders is something that Ankara has done numerous times since the PKK began "identifying Turkish 'collaborators' and either ostracizing or killing them."

IMO, if it were us going after Mexican smugglers we should interpret the agreement to mean no military action in Mexico City-controlled territory inside Mexico's borders. Neither Iraq nor the KRG controls the area that Turkey is after to get to the PKK.

This article is NOT pro-Ankara but is fair IMO -- it is my wont to try to avoid advocates for either side. These are footnotes, another plus.

The linked article is disturbing however in that there are accusations against Gen. Ralston suggesting that he somehow benefited from the F-16 deal with Turkey. Hell, what's so surprising that Turkey buys American? Go figure.