September 28, 2011 By Robin Shepherd Reports that the United States has agreed to deploy predator drones in Turkey to aid Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his battle against Kurdish separatists will provoke wry smiles among those used to both hypocrisy over counter-terrorism strategy in the Middle East and the blatant double standards of an increasingly anti-Israeli Turkey. The decision, if it goes ahead, forms part of a deal in which the United States secured agreement for placing a NATO early warning system on Turkish soil, while Turkey seeks to bolster its position in the battle against the Kurds in northern Iraq ahead of the planned American withdrawal. Turkey does, of course, have a terrorism problem - three people were killed and almost three dozen injured in a car bomb attack in Ankara on September 20. Five others also died a few days later in an attack on a police station in south-east Turkey, with the strong likelihood that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), or sympathizers such as the The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), were responsible. Robin Shepherd, Director, International Affairs at the Henry Jackson Society in London. Photo: Reuters But Erdogan's credibility in seeking Western support (and the West's credibility in offering it) against Kurdish militants is hardly helped by his support for Palestinian statehood, regardless of Israel's obvious security concerns, and his aggressive posturing (including the threat to send warships to protect "aid" flotillas") against Israel's containment policies over Hamas in Gaza. If the Palestinians are so deserving of a state, why aren't the Kurds? And if Erdogan wants moral, political and military support against Kurdish terrorism why should he get it while playing fast and loose with the likes of Hamas? Questions also arise over the Western response to Turkey's oppressive policies, notwithstanding legitimate concerns over PKK terrorism. More than 4,000 Kurdish villages have been destroyed since the uprising began in 1984. Estimates vary on casualties but widely quoted figures assume the deaths of 35,000 Kurds plus 17,000-20,000 "disappeared", and 5,000 casualties on the Turkish side. A "disproportionate response", anybody? In August, attacks from Turkish war planes saw thousands fleeing villages in northern Iraq. In one such attack, human rights groups reported that a family of seven, including two women and four children (one aged six months) were killed by a Turkish attack in Iraqi Kurdistan. Saturation coverage from the BBC? Commentators in the Guardian calling for an academic boycott? A Goldstone report at the UN? Don't hold your breath. thejc.com
The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own state. The largest portion of the new state of Kurdistan lies in Turkey. It's time to partition Turkey between Turks and Kurds. Let the Kurds go.
yes indeed guys indeed , well its up to US and its allies to allow this fair state to be established , we deserve it , its our lands occupied by 3 other nations who refuse to give it back through dialogue or armed struggle. if north kurdistan (in turkey) is free then the creation of a greater kurdistan will come about very easily as there are 20 million kurds alone in turkey's Kurdish region who form 90% of the region . South kurdistan(in iraq) has been a semi-state since 1991 and doesn't need anything , west part (in Syria) will be free soon as well when Assad Falls. eastern part (in iran) will be free once US-France attacks the nuclear stations and PJAK will take over the region.
The Turks of Turkey and the Persians of Iran are both undergoing demographic decline. Meanwhile Kurdish birth rates remain unchanged. Time is on the side of the Kurds. The Persians only constitute slightly more than 50% of the population of Iran. Turkish women are only having 1.5 babies on average. Not enough to sustain the population.
Kurdish statehood would be the most positive political development in the Middle East in over fifty years. Kurdistan could serve as a light unto all of the Middle Eastern peoples.
as far as i am concerned US did not occupy it and the people rather be with US than mexico , and they are not living under military dictatorship and on the verge of cultural extermination, political, and economic genocide for the last 90 years. 2 different situations and they dont compare . or maybe one could say why not give land to Palestinians in Saudia Libya Egypt since they have vast unpopulated lands !!!! . stop been ignorant and face the music . or maybe you should listen to your iraqi arab college Iraqi leader persists on a Kurdish state despite opposition
