"Averting a Turkish-Iraqi war
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The United States gets it. Retired Air Force Gen. Joe Ralston gets it. Ralston reportedly rejected the Iraq czar job so he could continue working on something that really matters - heading off a war between Turkey and the Kurds of northern Iraq.
Such a war would shatter hopes for keeping Iraq together and sink Turkish prospects for a secular and European future. Yet it's being propelled by an ongoing political crisis in Turkey that has stirred nationalism and wounded the Turkish army's pride. At the same time, U.S.-Turkish relations are sinking as U.S. troops in Iraq fail to close mountain bases that Turkish Kurdish terrorists have used to mount deadly strikes throughout Turkey, killing 600 last year. "
More:Averting a Turkish-Iraqi war - cleveland.com
