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The Turkish Army is laying the groundwork for a move into Kurdistan:
Turkey took a step toward cross-border military action in Iraq today, as a council of the country’s top political and military leaders issued a statement today allowing troops to cross to eliminate separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the mountainous northern region. Turkey’s move toward military action comes in the face of strong opposition by the United States, which is anxious to maintain peace in that area, one of the rare regions of stability in conflict-torn Iraq.For now, it looks as if any moves will be limited to "hot pursuit" of PKK guerrillas moving across the border. The Turks had an arrangement with the Hussein regime that allowed such activity, and have been trying to reach a similar understanding with the current Iraqi government. The difference between now and then, however, is that the Kurds now have what amounts to an independent state. While Iraqi Kurds have been careful not to overtly support the PKK or antagonize Turkey, the possibility for Turkish escalation (through creation of an exclusion zone within Kurdish Iraq, or through air strikes) remains quite real. --Robert Farley
