President Bush´s Support and Endorsement of the Turkish Military Invasion of Iraq
Rauf Naqishbendi
February 22, 2008
The armed confrontation between Turkey and the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) is about two decades old, while the Turkish genocide of Kurdish minorities commenced post World War I and heightened in the 1980s. During this period, the United States was cognizant of the Turks´ diabolical malice toward Kurds, yet the US committed its economic, monetary and political support to Turkey without attaching any human rights strings. Thus, Turks have utilized US arms and money in its oppression of the Kurdish minorities that make up one-third of its population. Now, Turkey is showing that it is not satisfied with the oppression of its Kurds alone, but is striving to extend its oppression to encompass Iraqi Kurds. President George W. Bush has approved and endorsed Turkey´s invasion of Iraq while unaware of its devastating consequences, helping to accomplish this violation of human rights, and adding further turmoil to an already tumultuous region.
The fifteen to twenty million Kurds in Turkey have had their identities abnegated by the Turks´ chauvinistic constitution and they have been coerced to consider themselves as Turks against their very natural birthright. They have been made scapegoats and labeled impediments to Turkish superiority in the world; as though if it weren´t for Kurds, the old Ottoman Empire would be alive and thriving and their satanic Sultans would rule the world with their reeking Turkish version of Sunni Islam Sharea. Kurdish men and women have to conceal their identity in a crowd of Turks in the country of their birth, knowing that otherwise they would be affronted and belittled for who they are. The Kurdish language, in speech or publication, has been outlawed in Turkey for more than six decades. Three thousand Kurdish villages in Turkey have been flattened, and millions of Kurds have been relocated elsewhere in Turkey. This has been an ongoing travesty of intolerable tribulation and humiliation that has enjoyed America´s sponsorship. Against this background the PKK was formed to restore the Kurdish right to dignified and respected life. Obviously, the US´ support of Turkey is a conspicuous endorsement of Turkish injustices against the defenseless Kurdish minority in Turkey, just as supporting Turks in their invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan is a violation of Iraqi Kurds´ human rights.
The Turkish government has been able to attain European lip service to list the PKK as a terror organization. Nevertheless, Europe hasn´t made any effort to combat the PKK, and their appeasement of Turkey was due to pressure primarily from the United States. But the US has been fully engaged in fighting the PKK, declaring the PKK a terrorist organization without the PKK ever targeting the American military or personnel. The question is: why does the US have to inherit others´ problems from a world away and make them its own? Or, could the US play the role of peacemaker rather than troublemaker? Why does America have to side with dictators and reactionary regimes around the globe, in particular in the Middle East?
The US has formidable economic and political leverage that it could use to influence Turkey´s treatment of human rights, but instead it has chosen to side with Turkey´s violent ambitions and let aloofness reign in the face of injustice and inhumanity, even though Turkey´s past actions hardly merit this. The Iraq war was a test of America´s friendship with Turkey, and at the time America needed Turkey the most, Turkey stabbed America in the back by refusing America´s twenty-six billion dollar aid package to allow American military personnel and equipment transportation through Turkey. In fact, since the Iraq War, Turkey is becoming the most hostile nation toward America. Even since the Iraq occupation, Turks have been caught in northern Iraq plotting assassination attempts on the lives of Kurdish leaders who are supportive of American troops, and have engaged in a host of other provocative actions aimed at stirring up bloodshed and ethnic cleansing in Iraq. The response from the Bush administration was muted.
On the other hand, Kurds wholeheartedly welcomed American troops and fought side by side with them. Kurdistan, with its mountainous terrain, vast landscape, and more than four million people, bordering the most troublesome countries in the world – Turkey, Syria, and Iran – has been able to protect its region from terrorist infiltrations, and they have done so without a single American combat troop in Kurdistan. While the rest of Iraq is engulfed in bloody violence, commerce, rebuilding and reconstruction have been flourishing in Kurdistan in such a way that it has become the crowning asset of the Iraq War. Unlike any other Islamic nation, Kurds are inspired by American democracy and have a high regard for the American people. Yet President George W. Bush is setting them up for genocide at the hands of the Turks, knowing the Turks´ true intentions and their effective weapon, genocide.
If President Bush aimed for peace in Turkey and if he played a statesman´s role, he could have easily brought the two confronted parties together. But instead he bowed to Turkey and rubberstamped the Turkish military invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan with his order to the CIA to fully cooperate with the Turkish army. This was a grave mistake because stability is the barometer of US success in Iraq. With the Turkish invasion of the most peaceful region of Iraq, Kurdistan will eventually become a battlefield and inevitably cause the instability of Iraq as a whole. This will prolong the American involvement in Iraq, thereby resulting in more American casualties.
The Kurds have been America´s only true friend in the region, and their sincerity and devotion to fighting terrorism is clear to the US government. Also, it is clear that Iraqi Kurds will not condone the suffering of their brethren on the other side of their border, and therefore they have wholeheartedly protested the US-Turkey alliance against the PKK. Unfortunately, this president is a mastermind at alienating our true friends, appeasing unworthy friends, and emboldening our enemies.
President Bush´s legacy will be designated by the Iraq war which he initiated. The US´ success in Iraq will be determined by Iraq´s stability, yet so far everything that could help towards the pacification of Iraq has been undermined by this President. Does he realize what endorsing the Turkish invasion of Iraq with the CIA´s support will mean? Surely not; history shows that Bush´s policies have not been based on an awareness of the situation.
The fifteen to twenty million Kurds in Turkey have had their identities abnegated by the Turks´ chauvinistic constitution and they have been coerced to consider themselves as Turks against their very natural birthright. They have been made scapegoats and labeled impediments to Turkish superiority in the world; as though if it weren´t for Kurds, the old Ottoman Empire would be alive and thriving and their satanic Sultans would rule the world with their reeking Turkish version of Sunni Islam Sharea. Kurdish men and women have to conceal their identity in a crowd of Turks in the country of their birth, knowing that otherwise they would be affronted and belittled for who they are. The Kurdish language, in speech or publication, has been outlawed in Turkey for more than six decades. Three thousand Kurdish villages in Turkey have been flattened, and millions of Kurds have been relocated elsewhere in Turkey. This has been an ongoing travesty of intolerable tribulation and humiliation that has enjoyed America´s sponsorship. Against this background the PKK was formed to restore the Kurdish right to dignified and respected life. Obviously, the US´ support of Turkey is a conspicuous endorsement of Turkish injustices against the defenseless Kurdish minority in Turkey, just as supporting Turks in their invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan is a violation of Iraqi Kurds´ human rights.
The Turkish government has been able to attain European lip service to list the PKK as a terror organization. Nevertheless, Europe hasn´t made any effort to combat the PKK, and their appeasement of Turkey was due to pressure primarily from the United States. But the US has been fully engaged in fighting the PKK, declaring the PKK a terrorist organization without the PKK ever targeting the American military or personnel. The question is: why does the US have to inherit others´ problems from a world away and make them its own? Or, could the US play the role of peacemaker rather than troublemaker? Why does America have to side with dictators and reactionary regimes around the globe, in particular in the Middle East?
The US has formidable economic and political leverage that it could use to influence Turkey´s treatment of human rights, but instead it has chosen to side with Turkey´s violent ambitions and let aloofness reign in the face of injustice and inhumanity, even though Turkey´s past actions hardly merit this. The Iraq war was a test of America´s friendship with Turkey, and at the time America needed Turkey the most, Turkey stabbed America in the back by refusing America´s twenty-six billion dollar aid package to allow American military personnel and equipment transportation through Turkey. In fact, since the Iraq War, Turkey is becoming the most hostile nation toward America. Even since the Iraq occupation, Turks have been caught in northern Iraq plotting assassination attempts on the lives of Kurdish leaders who are supportive of American troops, and have engaged in a host of other provocative actions aimed at stirring up bloodshed and ethnic cleansing in Iraq. The response from the Bush administration was muted.
On the other hand, Kurds wholeheartedly welcomed American troops and fought side by side with them. Kurdistan, with its mountainous terrain, vast landscape, and more than four million people, bordering the most troublesome countries in the world – Turkey, Syria, and Iran – has been able to protect its region from terrorist infiltrations, and they have done so without a single American combat troop in Kurdistan. While the rest of Iraq is engulfed in bloody violence, commerce, rebuilding and reconstruction have been flourishing in Kurdistan in such a way that it has become the crowning asset of the Iraq War. Unlike any other Islamic nation, Kurds are inspired by American democracy and have a high regard for the American people. Yet President George W. Bush is setting them up for genocide at the hands of the Turks, knowing the Turks´ true intentions and their effective weapon, genocide.
If President Bush aimed for peace in Turkey and if he played a statesman´s role, he could have easily brought the two confronted parties together. But instead he bowed to Turkey and rubberstamped the Turkish military invasion of Iraqi Kurdistan with his order to the CIA to fully cooperate with the Turkish army. This was a grave mistake because stability is the barometer of US success in Iraq. With the Turkish invasion of the most peaceful region of Iraq, Kurdistan will eventually become a battlefield and inevitably cause the instability of Iraq as a whole. This will prolong the American involvement in Iraq, thereby resulting in more American casualties.
The Kurds have been America´s only true friend in the region, and their sincerity and devotion to fighting terrorism is clear to the US government. Also, it is clear that Iraqi Kurds will not condone the suffering of their brethren on the other side of their border, and therefore they have wholeheartedly protested the US-Turkey alliance against the PKK. Unfortunately, this president is a mastermind at alienating our true friends, appeasing unworthy friends, and emboldening our enemies.
President Bush´s legacy will be designated by the Iraq war which he initiated. The US´ success in Iraq will be determined by Iraq´s stability, yet so far everything that could help towards the pacification of Iraq has been undermined by this President. Does he realize what endorsing the Turkish invasion of Iraq with the CIA´s support will mean? Surely not; history shows that Bush´s policies have not been based on an awareness of the situation.
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