Friday, October 31, 2008

Destruction of Turkish Outpost by PKK Leads to Counterterrorism Reforms

"Destruction of Turkish Outpost by PKK Leads to Counterterrorism Reforms

10/30/2008 - By Emrullah Uslu (from Terrorism Focus, October 30) - The PKK’s October 3 attack on the Aktutun military outpost sparked a controversy over whether Turkish counterterrorism strategy is on the right track. In its three decades old battle against the PKK, the Aktutun attack marked the first time the Turkish Armed Forces (Turk Silahli Kuvvetleri - TSK) was strongly criticized by mainstream media outlets. Two major factors played a role in the surprisingly harsh criticism. First, despite the fact that the PKK has organized four attacks on Aktutun outposts in the last year, the military failed to successfully defend its outpost, with 17 soldiers losing their lives. Second, the TSK failed to manage the sequence of events after the attack."

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