3 ms·

Just a minor correction: The Turkish state seems to have only a problem with the militant Kurds in Turkey and Syria but not the ones in Iraq as it seems that t

Just a minor correction: The Turkish state seems to have only a problem with the militant Kurds in Turkey and Syria but not the ones in Iraq as it seems that they get along very well and the Kurds in Iraq even allow Turkish forces to launch airstrikes in the region of Iraqi Kurdistan and for their troops to hunt down PKK members over there with the help of Peshmerga, the de facto Kurdish armed forces in Northern Iraq. So, saying that the Turks are at complete odds with Kurdish militias all over the region is not entirely correct.

jessaustin 11y ago
I would have sworn that I've heard reports of Iraqi Kurds complaining about those airstrikes and vowing to shoot down the next Turkish plane? Especially now that the Turks have more to worry about from Syria, why would Kurds in Iraq accommodate the Turks in any way?
- gotchange 11y ago
  It's becoming a ritual with Erdogan's govt recently to launch airstrikes against PKK positions in Qandil, Northern Iraq following every terrorist attack in Turkey that's blamed on militant Kurdish nationalists and they even sent troops to Iraqi Kurdistan last December with the tacit approval of the Kurdish authorities to neutralize PKK militants there. There's always been tension between Kurdish nationalist factions and they even had a brief civil war[1] between Iraqi Kurds in the 90s (Talabani vs Barzani) and there's rivalry between the Peshmerga and the PKK esp. in the area where the Peshmerga deems its territories in Iraq where some PKK members challenge their authority there but despite all of this, some Kurdish nationalist love to portray the conflict between Turkey and the Kurds as an ethnic and not a political one as it garners more support and sympathy for their cause and make Turkey look like the bad guy in this conflict. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Kurdish_Civil_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Kurdish_Civil_War
  - nl 11y ago
    Is there any evidence either regarding whether the recent attacks for by Kurds or ISIS? That's one aspect I find very confusing - Turkish attitudes towards ISIS aren't exactly hardline (eg frequent reports of ISIS supply routes over the Turkish border), and so it isn't clear to me what terror attacks by ISIS in Turkey would gain. Except terror of course - that's always a thing. And I also understand that ISIS command and control isn't exactly centralised, so it could be random people somewhat aligned. Another alternative is that they are more tactical in nature - maybe Turkey closes a border route, so ISIS bombs Ankara? I don't know enough to know if this makes sense. Either way.. confusing.
nl 11y ago
Indeed! At one point the Iraqi Kurds and Turkey were sharing the profits from an oil pipeline. The are multiple Kurdish factions on all sides of all borders. The don't always get along, either with each other or with Turkey. I also believe that there is a multitude of views towards the Assad regime. AFAIK they all fight ISIS though.
0xFFC 11y ago
Henri Barkey , in Woodrow Wilson (which is expert in these area's) says the reason is Iraqi Kurds realized PKK is danger to them also , because of their control by only one person. He claim PKK is organization controlled by one person which don't like to be outside of the game (abdullah Ocalan) and do what ever he can to stay in conflict and therefore because of this reason basically iraqi kurds tend to ignore PKK because they realized this is dangerous actor to be involved with (or in some cases fight against them). The talk was in NPR, you can search "Henry Barky NPR Kurds".

jessaustin 11y ago

I would have sworn that I've heard reports of Iraqi Kurds complaining about those airstrikes and vowing to shoot down the next Turkish plane? Especially now that the Turks have more to worry about from Syria, why would Kurds in Iraq accommodate the Turks in any way?

gotchange 11y ago
It's becoming a ritual with Erdogan's govt recently to launch airstrikes against PKK positions in Qandil, Northern Iraq following every terrorist attack in Turkey that's blamed on militant Kurdish nationalists and they even sent troops to Iraqi Kurdistan last December with the tacit approval of the Kurdish authorities to neutralize PKK militants there. There's always been tension between Kurdish nationalist factions and they even had a brief civil war[1] between Iraqi Kurds in the 90s (Talabani vs Barzani) and there's rivalry between the Peshmerga and the PKK esp. in the area where the Peshmerga deems its territories in Iraq where some PKK members challenge their authority there but despite all of this, some Kurdish nationalist love to portray the conflict between Turkey and the Kurds as an ethnic and not a political one as it garners more support and sympathy for their cause and make Turkey look like the bad guy in this conflict. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Kurdish_Civil_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Kurdish_Civil_War
- nl 11y ago
  Is there any evidence either regarding whether the recent attacks for by Kurds or ISIS? That's one aspect I find very confusing - Turkish attitudes towards ISIS aren't exactly hardline (eg frequent reports of ISIS supply routes over the Turkish border), and so it isn't clear to me what terror attacks by ISIS in Turkey would gain. Except terror of course - that's always a thing. And I also understand that ISIS command and control isn't exactly centralised, so it could be random people somewhat aligned. Another alternative is that they are more tactical in nature - maybe Turkey closes a border route, so ISIS bombs Ankara? I don't know enough to know if this makes sense. Either way.. confusing.

nl 11y ago

Indeed! At one point the Iraqi Kurds and Turkey were sharing the profits from an oil pipeline. The are multiple Kurdish factions on all sides of all borders. The don't always get along, either with each other or with Turkey. I also believe that there is a multitude of views towards the Assad regime. AFAIK they all fight ISIS though.

0xFFC 11y ago

Henri Barkey , in Woodrow Wilson (which is expert in these area's) says the reason is Iraqi Kurds realized PKK is danger to them also , because of their control by only one person. He claim PKK is organization controlled by one person which don't like to be outside of the game (abdullah Ocalan) and do what ever he can to stay in conflict and therefore because of this reason basically iraqi kurds tend to ignore PKK because they realized this is dangerous actor to be involved with (or in some cases fight against them). The talk was in NPR, you can search "Henry Barky NPR Kurds".