Iraq serves Turkey a rare treat

Iraq serves Turkey a rare treat
By Sami Moubayed

http://www.atimes.com

DAMASCUS - A historical run-through of non-state players in the Middle East concludes that they were never intended to win, just achieve the short- and long-term objectives of their patrons.

In 1974, former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger encouraged Iraqi Kurds to rebel, for example, to drain the energy of the Iraqi army and divert Baghdad's attention from supporting Syria's "steadfastness front” against Israel.

Kissinger fanned the flames of conflict in Iraq and was generous with the Kurds, prompting Kurdish leader Mustapha Barazni to send him expensive rugs as a token of appreciation, and a gold necklace for his bride on the occasion of Kissinger's marriage in March 1974.

This incident, among Kissinger's numerous endeavors, was revealed during the Watergate investigations in 1976, in what became known as the Pike Report. The testimony said that Kissinger had armed and financed the Kurds to dissuade Iraq from "adventurism", such as coming to the aid of Syria. The report added, "Our clients, who were encouraged to fight, were not told of this policy."

From where Kissinger saw things, the Kurds were never intended to win, only weaken Iraq.

This week, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) suffered a similar trade-off, when Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Baghdad and met with Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani (the grandson of Mustapha). The latter promised that the Kurdistan-based PKK would lay down its arms completely - thereby ending a state of war with Turkey that has lasted for 30 years - in exchange for a full pardon for all Kurds who had fought the Turkish government.

Clearly, Barzani had not consulted with the PKK before making Gul his offer. The PKK immediately snapped back, saying that Barzani's offer was "wrong, because it benefits nobody but enemies of the Kurdish people”. Barzani - whose meeting with Gul was a remarkable event in its own right - added that he would not allow non-state players, like the PKK, to use the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan as a base to launch war against Turkey.

Gul said, "I told him [Barzani] explicitly that the PKK terrorist organization and their camps are ... in your region [and] you need to take a clear position against them. Once the PKK is eliminated, there are no bounds to what is possible: you are our neighbors and kinsmen."

For his part, Barzani said, "We are determined, and we confirm again our territory will not be used to attack Turkey." Falling in line with the "new mood" in relations between Turkey, Iraq and the Kurds, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, recently said that creating an independent Kurdish state - his dream for over five decades - was "impossible", describing it as a "dream in poems".
His comments were carried in the Turkish daily Sabah. "I tell this to my Turkish brothers: don't be afraid of Kurdish independence. To stay within Iraq is in the interest of the Kurdish people in an economic, cultural and political sense."

Coming from Talabani, the Kurdish version of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, this was a bold statement, reflecting wisdom that comes with age, and a strong understanding of what can be achieved in real life and what has to remain nothing but an inspiring dream.

Twenty years ago, it would have been impossible for Talabani to make such a thundering statement. Barzani grabbed the cue from the veteran Kurdish leader, who is on the verge of political retirement, and offered the PKK on a gold platter to Gul. Had it not been for Talabani's blessing, the PKK would not currently be based in Iraqi Kurdistan.

This is the first time that a Turkish president has visited Iraq in 33 years, and the first time ever that one has met with an official from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which has had de facto autonomy in northern Iraq since 1991.

Not only has the KRG ignited the ambitions of Turkish Kurds, who want to carve 50% of their aspired state out of Turkey, but also it has harbored warriors of the PKK, under the watchful eye of the Barzani clan, since 2003.

The PKK was worried - with due right - by the Barzani initiative and Talabani's words, believing that some kind of deal was being hatched between big players in the Middle East at their expense.

A PKK commander, Haval Roze, barked out, "No one has the right to tell the PKK fighters to lay down their weapons or leave the territory of Kurdistan.” Roze seemed to forget that the only reason the PKK was there in the first place was because Barzani, and his uncle, President Maasoud Barzani, had given them sanctuary after 2003. If it desires, the KRG can also get them to leave.

Although the US labels the PKK a terrorist organization, it refuses to crack down on their cells in northern Iraq, knowing from the al-Qaeda experience how difficult it is to trace and combat a non-state player. It had too much on its hands already, combating al-Qaeda and ex-Ba'athists in different parts of Iraq, to worry about the PKK.

When the militia's terrorist acts continued, becoming unbearable to the Turkish government, Ankara responded with force in 2007-2008, authorizing attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan and forcing the Americans to cooperate with their long-time North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally in what the Turks describe is part of the global "war on terror".

Blamed for the death of no less than 40,000 Turks since 1984, Ankara insists that the PKK is no different from al-Qaeda. In January, Turkey, Iraq and the US agreed to set up a command center in north Iraq to coordinate efforts against the PKK. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who initially humored the Kurds to keep his shaky coalition cabinet floating in Baghdad, was forced to follow suit, also supporting the Turkish effort.

Three things are new:
• Gul's willingness to walk that extra mile to defuse long-lasting Turkish problems with the Kurds.
• Talabani's statements on Kurdish nationhood.
• The KRG's willingness to abandon the PKK in exchange for a peaceful relationship with Turkey.

Gul's opponents grabbed at the opportunity to criticize him after the Iraq visit for using the word “Kurdistan”, which is taboo in official Turkish discourse. Talabani's allies criticized him for putting dampers on a dream he had dedicated his life to achieving. Both presidents gave reasonable answers.

Talabani said that real politics are one thing, and dreams are another. Gul reasonably argued that this was the region's official name, as stated by the Iraqi constitution, adding, "What shall I say? We do not refuse to say Macedonia because Greece refuses to do so.”

Gul had made headlines in September 2008 by paying a landmark visit to Armenia, again, trying to mend broken fences between Turkey and the Armenians. His visit was at the invitation of his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisyan to watch an Armenia-Turkey football match in the European Cup, although the countries do not have diplomatic relations.

On March 24, Turkey announced that it was planning to launch Armenian-language radio programming, for two to three hours a day, similar to a Kurdish program that started in 2008 and a Kurdish TV channel, which launched this January. More friends for Turkey, and fewer enemies, seemed to be the motto of the Turkish president.

US President Barack Obama arrives in Turkey on April 5 to acknowledge the importance of Turkey as America's ally in the region, an economic and political heavyweight that follows a moderate Islam, which needs to be copied throughout the Muslim world.

That might explain why Talabani and Barzani are both over-anxious to be on the good side of Turkey. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already made the trip to Ankara, and so has Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell. Gone are the days of US anger at Turkey's refusal to allow the US to use its territories to launch war against Iraq in 2003.

Also gone is America's fury at Ankara for hosting Hamas leaders like Khaled Meshaal, or its loud words criticizing Israel at Davos last January. Turkey has already announced that it is willing to mediate between Iran and the US, after having mediated indirect talks in 2008 between Syria and Israel.

All parties reason that Turkey cannot be sidelined from any solutions to the region, and it will be Obama's strategic partner in 2009-2013. It would be madness to maintain sour relations with Ankara, and if the price is the PKK, then so be it.

Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria.