"Heading for the Exits
Diplomacy and disengagement: the buzz is 'out now'
by Justin Raimondo
Forget the 'good news' from Iraq that Glenn Reynolds, Arthur Chrenkoff, and the Pollyanna Brigade keep pushing, because this is the real news:
........Turkey would also want to be in on the deal. The Turks have been stirring up the Turkmen minority (who aren't really Turks, as Luttwak notes, but Azeris) in an effort to forestall the emergence of an independent Kurdish state – which, they believe, would greatly exacerbate their own long-standing problem with a combative Kurdish minority in Turkey. Luttwak also points out that the Turks, in supporting an "anti-Kurdish coalition" in Kirkuk with violently anti-American Sunnis, are indirectly aiding the insurgency. As long as the U.S. military remains in Iraq, the Turks can afford to aid their Turkmen protégés in Kurdistan without facing any unpredictable and possibly unpleasant consequences. If and when the U.S. sets a timetable for withdrawal, however, the Turks have an interest in making sure that the outcome benefits their own national interests – which means a unitary Iraqi state and no independent Kurdistan. The Turks have a natural interest in ensuring Iraqi unity and stability – but the presence of U.S. troops has given them an incentive to pursue another policy."
More:Heading for the Exits- by Justin Raimondo
