2119) Please leave A Comment on "Turkey's Identity Crisis / By Ralph Peters -USA Today"

Please Leave a Comment on Anti-Turkish article published at the USA Today website!
This is one way to correct the record and begin to influence the media ...
Be sure to read Krikor's comments, they're all wonderful comments, but Krikor's are hilarious. .

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Turkey's Identity Crisis / By Ralph Peters -USA Today
October 23, 2007

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/10/turkeys-identit.html
Domestic conflicts are steering the country toward a battle with Iraq’s Kurds. The fallout could hurt not only Ankara and the United States, but the entire region.

The eastern quarter of Turkey isn't Turkish. It's inhabited by Kurds, the descendents of tribesmen whom the Greek soldier and author Xenophon encountered in those mountains 2,500 years ago — more than a thousand years before the first Turk arrived.

If a referendum on independence were held today, Turkey's Kurds, who make up about 20% of its 73 million people, would vote overwhelmingly to secede from the shrunken empire Ankara inherited from the Ottomans. That's part of what Turkish saber-rattling on the border with northern Iraq is about — the fear that even an autonomous Kurdistan-in-Iraq threatens Turkey's territorial integrity because the region's Kurds might view it as the core of a Kurdish state.

For its part, Washington fears a Turkish-Kurdish conflict that would further destabilize the entire region — just when Iraq shows glimmers of hope.

No regional government ruling over a Kurdish minority has ever allowed an honest head count, but estimates give the Kurds a population of 27 million to 36 million, spread across portions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Caucasus. Up to 14 million of these people without a state reside in Turkey.

In addition to its determination to preserve its eastern frontier, Turkey faces internal political challenges that propel the huge Turkish military — with more than 500,000 active-duty troops — toward an intervention in northern Iraq.

The immediate justification for a parliament-authorized move across the border is Turkey's allegation that the PKK (The Kurdistan Workers' Party), a Marxist organization that has employed terror, continues to attack soldiers and civilians inside Turkey. The remnants of the defeated PKK, a few thousand men and their families, have taken refuge in Iraq. Turkey claims it wants them handed over — knowing such a course is politically impossible for any Kurdish leader.

PKK a weak threat

Ankara's allegations suffer under scrutiny. One need have no sympathy for the PKK to recognize that the organization has been shattered by Turkey's anti-terror campaign. Its aging members encamped in Iraq have begged asylum from their fellow Kurds (who find them an embarrassment). With pressure from all sides for Iraq's Kurdish officials to "do something" about the rump PKK, the last thing most of its members intend is to give the Turks an excuse to cross the border.

Why attack now?

Because Turkey's generals are desperate to revitalize their image at home. Humiliated by the repeated electoral successes of Turkey's Islamist party the AKP, the army, which views itself as the defender of the secular state, has seen its stock decline in the political marketplace.

In the past, the Turkish military would have staged a coup. That remains a longer-term possibility, but there's now a sense that popular support for military rule would not be as strong as in the past, when Turkey's economy was moribund and terrorism haunted the streets of Istanbul. The military has been a victim of Turkey's success.

The generals view a foray into Iraq as a double win — a body blow to Kurdish aspirations and a chance to rally Turks around the flag. Though an invasion would anger the United States, Ankara feels it has Washington over a barrel, given the United States' need for access to Incirlik Air Base and the criticality of Turkish supply routes and airspace to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

As for Europe's reaction, the Turks believe it would amount to no more than a few white papers filed away in Brussels.

Over the years, I've personally found Turkish generals and diplomats irrational on two subjects: The Armenian genocide (as we saw again in the recent fuss about the House resolution) and the rights of Kurds anywhere to enjoy independence. These topics invariably ignite fiery lectures from Turkish officialdom: The mouths are open, but the ears are shut.

Turks face embarrassment

Yet, a potential problem that the Turkish military does not appear to have grasped is that a move into northern Iraq might not go as smoothly as the generals intend. Well-armed and determined, Iraq's Kurds would resist any major invasion, and the mountainous region is ideal for defensive fighting. For all the on-paper strength of the Turkish military, it could suffer a significant embarrassment in Iraq.

A military disappointment — it needn't be a debacle — in Iraqi Kurdistan would profoundly alter Turkey's internal balance of power. The army has thrived on the perception of its invincibility. A botched cross-border move would damage its all important image, further empowering the political Islamists, who've already subverted many of the laws and values the military inherited from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the father of modern Turkey).

Success would fail

On the other hand, should a Turkish military operation succeed, it could excite a land-grab mentality that could draw in Iran, further destabilizing the region. And a Turkish attack on Iraqi Kurdistan — a remarkably successful experiment in self-government — would incite waves of anti-Turkish terrorism, rather than reduce the terrorist threat.

For their parts, Iraq's Kurdish leaders seek to build good relations with Ankara, by policing the PKK and granting concessionary terms to Turkish businessmen in the hope that shared profits will reveal shared interests. Nobody — not the PKK, other Kurds, the Iraqi government or the United States — wants to see a Turkish military adventure.

In the end, such an invasion wouldn't really be about the future of the PKK — which has none — but the future of Turkey. Ankara's military, pledged to defend the state that Ataturk built from the Ottoman ruins, could thoughtlessly hasten its deterioration and decline.

Ralph Peters is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors and the author of the recent book Wars of Blood and Faith.

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Comments: (30)

marat wrote: 2d 18h ago
Mr. Peters obviously needs to "update" his files on his computer about Turkey. This "cut & paste" article does not mention anything about the killings of 30 Turkish soldiers in the past 2 weeks alone! Bottom line is, U.S. has been protecting pkk since the 1st Gulf War by implementing a "no fly zone" over the Northern Iraq (from the bases located in Turkey!) As a result they are now well armed (with US made weapons!), have many recruits and believe that US will protect them against Turkey no matter what they say or do! It seems to me, we are about to witness yet another major foreign policy flop. Are we ready to take up arms, standing shoulder to shoulder next to the Kurds and fight against the Turks? Lord, have mercy.


My29ekim wrote: 2d 16h ago
It is quite obvious that Mr. Peters needs to learn more about the region and culture of Turkey. I couldn’t understand why he mentioned 2500 years ago. According to this argument, Native Americans came to these lands thousands years before then first British colonies.
I have another question:
What would US do if Cubans in Florida would ask to be separated?
Or, Asians in California?
Mexicans in Texas?


bugradom wrote: 2d 16h ago
Mr .Peters what you are trying to do is justifiying a terorist organization. Your article is an orgy of stultifying cacophonous verbal depravity; an exercise in literary impotence, and an offense to all of good taste and decency.Is 37000 victims from terorist attacks commited by PKK sounds like a week organization to you .To quote Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."


Halide E wrote: 2d 16h ago
Mr. Peters, it may behoove you to know the PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU countries. You should also know that many of the 35,000+ people murdered by PKK terrorists are other unarmed civilian Kurds. Many Turkish Kurds want what all people want, security, economic stability and safety. The PKK offers them none of that and never has.

Like all terrorists, the PKK are morally bankrupt hate mongers seeking to glorify themselves through mindless acts of violence. It makes one wonder whether your article is intended to support the terrorists or to smear the image of Turks.

Your comment about the Turkish military's image is incorrect. If you knew anything about what's going on in Turkey right now, you'd know that the people are 100% behind the military and furious at the government for not allowing the military to go after the PKK sooner.

Your country was attacked by a terrorist group and 3,000+ of your civilians died. In response, your country invaded a sovereign nation that we all now know had nothing to do with that attack. Your criticism of Turkey's desire to protect its people from terrorists who sit on its border and cross into its sovereign territory on an almost daily basis to kill its civilians is the height of hypocrisy and American arrogance--that is unless you serve as the Public Relations officer of the PKK.


g.ersoy wrote: 2d 15h ago
The article needs more than a few corrections some of which will be included in the following and for sure others to be addressed by rational and fair-minded readers without any regard to their origin.

The Republic of Turkey and its people have no interest in "land-grab" excitements but only to protect their borders and peace within and around the country which is a deed inherited by the founders of this country through battles against the "invaders" and political wit. Any cross-border military act or operation against PKK terrorism should as well be recognized to hold the very same objective: to protect its borders and national security against terrorism which was and still is fed and kept alive by those very mentioned Iraq's Kurdish leaders.

As for "a few thousand men and their families", I would only suggest the columnist to carefully analyze especially the recent attacks, how PKK is organized and well-trained like-wise the heavy weapons and fire power PKK had at its disposal.

The Republic of Turkey and its people come from vast and various backgrounds and origins who gather under the same flag and oath to protect their borders as "Turkish" citizens. To differ the Turkish citizens and segregate them into ethnic groups with percentages has malevolence intentions if not ignorant and biased. We have been mourning for such PKK terrorist killings for decades, a long space in time during which these Kurdish leaders have sought and unfortunately found shelter in the western hypocrisy labeling terrorists as "rebellions" -a manner only serves to justify violence- as well as legitimizing PKK with their call for talks amongst "parties".

And a very simple question to all: Is it only terrorism when it kills your own?


bugradom wrote: 2d 15h ago
By the way the author of this article Mr.Peters is the one who vehemently supported war on Iraq and in his article in 2006 he said everything is rosy in Baghdad . Mr Peters you should stick on writing fiction stories since that is what you are good at it.
Here is some examples from Mr. Peters pearls.
Peters was a strong supporter of the 2003 invasion and ongoing war in Iraq. Defending the war from critics who claimed that Iraq was descending into civil war, he authored a March 5, 2006 piece in the New York Post entitled Dude, Where's My Civil War?, in which he wrote:

I'm looking for the civil war that The New York Times declared. And I just can't find it...The Iraqi Army has confounded its Western critics, performing extremely well last week. And the people trust their new army to an encouraging degree. [1]

Claims that Iraq was descending into civil war, he wrote, were the politically motivated claims of "irresponsible journalists" who have "staked their reputations on Iraq's failure", though six months later, in an interview with FrontPageMag.com magazine, He stated that:

civil war is closer than it was...The leaders squabble, the death squads rule the neighborhoods. [2]

While it would be "too early to walk away from Iraq", the fate of the country was threatened by the US's failure after the invasion to provide adequate troop levels to maintain order, as well as "the Arab genius for screwing things up."

On November 2, 2006, he wrote in USA Today:

Iraq is failing. No honest observer can conclude otherwise. Even six months ago, there was hope. Now the chances for a democratic, unified Iraq are dwindling fast ... Iraq could have turned out differently. It didn't. And we must be honest about it. We owe that much to our troops. They don't face the mere forfeiture of a few congressional seats but the loss of their lives. Our military is now being employed for political purposes. It's unworthy of our nation.[3]

In this piece he also speculates that "only a military coup — which might come in the next few years — could hold the artificial country together" and that

[i]t appears that the cynics were right: Arab societies can't support democracy as we know it.
Mr Peters reminds me a character from Groucho Marx movie.
-These are my Principles if you don´t like them i have others!


ViennaVA wrote: 2d 15h ago
Just an observation on the responses to the article: None address the points made. As the author said, "Over the years, I've personally found Turkish generals and diplomats irrational on two subjects: The Armenian genocide (as we saw again in the recent fuss about the House resolution) and the rights of Kurds anywhere to enjoy independence. These topics invariably ignite fiery lectures from Turkish officialdom: The mouths are open, but the ears are shut."


UncleSam wrote: 2d 15h ago
Dear Mr.Peter , i ve read your paragraphs carefully and i understood that either you have some wrong resources in hand or some body cheated you in a very funny way ... what you write above is not making any sense , i am surprised that this serious magazine or newspaper dares to publish it...anyway i guess you should read some! or you should not cause you understand things wrong


bugradom wrote: 2d 14h ago
Vienna the problem is Mr.Peters are not making any points he is just throwing wild accusation. Again just to see his wild opinons and scenarios do a wikipedia search on him and you will see why?


ViennaVA wrote: 2d 14h ago
bugradom: 'wild accusation'? I don't believe so, or at least I did not see any. It is true that the very concept of autonomous Kurds is anathema to Turkey. I have not forgotten that it was a MAJOR EVENT when a PM (Ozal I believe) actually uttered the word 'Kurd' about 20 years ago. It was considered incredible progress! The fact also is that Turkey has a very long way to go in treating her minorities. Yes, some progress has been made, but it has been under constant and intense pressure, primarily from the EU.

And yes, the military would have staged one more coup by now, had it not been for the EU; they certainly have staged many.


Karabekir wrote: 2d 14h ago
The author's point of view is so one-sided that I would expect coming across this piece in an openly anti-Turkish forum, rather than in a respectable newspaper.

Turkish state and the military are no angels, especially when it comes to dealing with Turkey's Kurdish issue. One could argue that what led to the creation of the PKK, and the adoption of terrorism as a tool of resistance among Turkish Kurds, was the heavy handed military coup of 1980, the authoritative constitution it put in place, and the subsequent closure of all political channels to Kurdish moderates.

However, this subject deserves an objective and academic assesment; not a black and white tale of legendary heroes suppressed by ruthless tyrants, reminiscent of the movie '300', which is the tone of this article.

If the author thinks that all of Turkey's Kurds are (or should be) motivated by ancient history, and if he believes this alone justifies the dissolution of a modern nation-state, then his logic seems to me no different than that of far-right nationalists the world over that are inspired by imaginations of a long gone era to wreak havoc in modern societies. He should be duly reminded of the universal dangers of condoning such thinking.

His subsequent claim that all Kurds would readily choose independence in a referendum today is an unjustifiable speculation at best.

There is reason to suggest that, while a considerable number of Kurds are motivated today by full independence, there is a greater majority, who simply and rightfully demands health care, roads, schools, hospitals, jobs, and an opportunity to live without the constant fear of being crushed between a state apparatus with arbitrary powers and rogue members, and a radical organisation that uses thuggery, extortion and other criminal means to sustain popular and financial support in the region.

That in the last general elections, the party that has provided the most tangible service to Turkey's impoverished southeast and expanded the Kurds' democratic liberties (AKP) received more votes than the Kurdish nationalist party (DTP) demonstrates that service is still in higher demand than ideology among Kurds, even at a period where nationalisms of all kinds is on the rise in Turkey.

More importantly, the authors's suggestion that the PKK is a weak organisation, whose 'aging members' and 'their families' seek asylum in neighbouring mountains, seems to be a conscious effort in bad faith to influence the reader. Let's put the facts straight: it was not a small group of old men and their wives that ambushed Turkish soldiers in Hakkari on 21 October, killing 12 and capturing 8. It was large group of over at least a hundred young and able men, armed to the teeth with automatic rifles.

One could arguably suggest that the Turkish military may indirectly benefit from a general state of emergency in the country, to keep its power and influence from waning in Turkish politics. But to claim that the current situation on the ground is a direct machination of the the military, alone, is a far fetched conspiracy theory. That Turkey intends to go into northern Iraq and grab a chunk the land is another one.

The truth is in the recent wave of violence, the PKK has been the main aggressor. Although the organisation lacks the military and financial strength as well as the popular backing, which it enjoyed at the height of its power in the 1990s, it does benefit from a tremendous safe haven in the mountains of northern Iraq, a comfort that they lacked, at least to this degree, when they had a foe (Saddam) not an ally (the US) in charge of Baghdad who pressured down from the south and passed an occasional blind eye on Turkish cross border incursions.

The author should be reminded that the PKK flourishes in environments of violence, instability and social polarisation - and is threatened by a Turkey that is more democratic and stable, where the Kurds have a democratic channel to have their voice heard in politics and thus have a realistic hope of living in peace at last.

That for the first time in 15 years a subsantial contingent of Kurdish MPs joined Turkey's parliament brings this hopeful scenario closer to reality should be a nightmare for the PKK, who is divided in factions from within and tries desperately to remain relevant for the Kurdish people of Turkey.

Overall, the author has produced a tasteless and skewed argument written from a primordial perspective that does more to provoke than explain and suggest solutions.


melike wrote: 2d 13h ago
Todays Republic of Turkey's borders are drawn by the treaty of Lausanne. Mr Peters. There can be no purpose served by going back 2500 years unless you are trying to justify the map you had drawn for the "Armed Forces" magazine in which you had redrawn Turkish eastern borders by dividing it between the ARMENIANs and the KURDs!!! obviously you had no qualms about it!
For someone looking for reasons to make his column sensational there are plenty of scenarios to come up with in that region... especially after the vacuum that has been created by your so called "Operation Iraqi Freedom"....the after ill effects are rippling through the region everyday and the recent brazen ambushes of the PKK is one them. When US strenghtened the threats towards IRAN, PKK felt that there was even more of a free hand given to them.
Turkish Military's reason is downright simple: to protect its own citizens, not to invade N.Iraq as you insinuate .40 Turks got killed in the last month due to inside border attacks from PKK. As you choose to call PKK " the weak threat" yet it managed to kill a brigade of Turkish soldiers/ citizens in the last 23 years.
Does this sound to you that PKK is aging, weak, no threat at all ? Does this happen without any backing or support and without any future plans? C'mon Mr Peters you are a military man, ok you were in peaceful Germany not in the IRaqi border, but Israil went and turned Lebanon into rubble for 2 kidnapped soldiers... ...here are 40 dead and 8 soldiers are missing; do you still blame Turkish military of grandiose complex? or finally you are emerging to see it is the Turkish PUBLIC Psyche which bears its soul out in the media and out in the streets, burying young men day after day with their babies crying ....left to mourn for a month demands that "Enough is enough"...


melike wrote: 2d 13h ago
Some other known facts also

1) Today in the Turkish parliement there are (around 13) PKK's representatives DTP. (5% of the Parliament)
2) Today in Turkey it is free to speak Kurdish. Any Kurd living in Turkey as its citizen has the same rights and freedom like any other Turkish citizen.
3) Today any Kurd can became President of Turkey and actually this happened
4) Todays P.M ERDOGAN's wife is a Kurd. A lot of big businesses are owned by the Kurdish ethnic groups.
5) PKK is recognised as terrorist by USA, EU, UN.
6) Today PKK has couple of bases in N. Iraq.
7) Today N. Iraq is the biggest DRUG TRADE CENTER in the world. and it is under the control of KURDS.


m.a.b. wrote: 2d 10h ago
you must read history... not much but a little is enough for an uneducated like you.



Brian999 wrote: 2d 9h ago
Since the 1980s, the Turkish government has struggled and battled with PKK terrorists all over Turkey and Northern Iraq. Over 37,000 Turkish civilians and Turkish military and PKK have been killed throughout the conflict. The damage done by the PKK still goes on today. Every week there is another news report in Turkey that a PKK squad has invaded a Turkish police station or a Turkish village, or Turkish civilians or Soldiers that stepped on PKK landmines.

Since the cease-fire in the late 1990s, the PKK has had the peace and rest it needs to recruit more people in Northern Iraq, gather weapons, and create stronger camps. Right now the PKK is at it's strongest since the 1980s because of the turmoil in Iraq and because of recruitment at its height. The PKK is a communist organization that is trying to secede land from Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. People like Ralph Peters encourages them to do so and believes that they should establish a Kurdistan in those 4 countries. Thus his opinion is biased
and in complete favor of the terrorist organization.

If you look up Ralph Peters you can see that he is completely in favor of re-dividing up the territories of the Middle East which he labels as a final solution. However, the reality is, this will simply cause more wars than before. During Ottoman Rule of the Middle East no one suffered war and life was not as bad as it is now in the Middle East. It was imperialism of oil that caused the chaos in the Middle East and separating states will only cause more wars.

Lastly, I'd like to add a message to Ralph Peters' imperialist ideology. Ralph Peters, the Middle East is none of your business, and since you lack any historical knowledge and a general idea of politics of the Middle East other than your extensive knowledge of war and destruction, I recommend you sit down and learn pottery or a more productive hobby that doesn't involve attacking, insulting, disrespecting, and dividing the Middle East and its people.

Next time get your facts straight instead of relying on PKK propaganda, and learn to research. I recommend www.google.com as a start, but books are a better resource, but I'm sure you never thought of that.


ozlem wrote: 2d 8h ago
Dear Sir,
As i read your article ,i found very offensive allegations towards Turkey and Turkish People.For someone in your position(A published Author)I would have expected to see an article with correct information on the subject . Either you have not done your homework on the matter and wanted to get a quick rise and respond from people ,or your resources has failed you embarrassingly.
Is Turkey in identity crisis? For someone with your resources i can see how you would see what you do see, but if you ask any Professional Historian they could provide you with better understanding of Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic. Better yet maybe a visit to Turkey and meeting few Turkish People could prevent you from future embarrassments.
Before i sign off ,i leave you with a suggestion to open up your horizons and find the book written by Turgut Ozakman Titled "su cilgin turkler" Maybe this will help you understand the love ,pride and honor we carry in our bloods for our people and our country.


KrikorZohrab wrote: 2d 7h ago
Mr Peters,

Your article is so surreal, it should be compared to Picasso. I will not elaborate on each and every sentence of this article, however, I do want to point out one or two inconsistencies:

"Well-armed and determined, Iraq's Kurds would resist any major invasion, and the mountainous region is ideal for defensive fighting."

Apparently you have a scenario in your head, similar to the following:

May 2008: The TR forces, 1M men and 430 jet fighters in total, are defeated and the 3k PKK "Freedom Fighters" are closing in on Diyarbakir for a final assault that will bring utter humiliation and shame to the TAF. At this point, the generals are thinking "where did we go wrong?!?" All of a sudden, one of the generals looks at the map: "Oh my god, it is a *mountainous* region! And all this time we thought it was flatlands!"

It is enlightening for me, and I believe I speak for the large majority of your readers when I say this, that you assume the generals of the Turkish Army not just to be stupid, but also never to have looked at a Turkish map.

Just to clarify, Turkish Armed Forces has attacked and defeated PKK when it had 6-7 times more men. The success of the attack is not a matter of dispute on Turkish papers, it is what needs to be done during and after the attack, politically and diplomatically.

Your article has a wonderful title, "id crises of Turkey" and I was under the impression that it would include a lot of revelations and interesting sociological observations. I have to admit that it does indeed include a lot of revelations about a parallel universe, here in the twilight, twilight zone.

Mr Peters, Turkey stands united with Turkish flags (it is white on red with crescent and star) hanging all over the country, and Kurdish mothers sing laments in Kurdish to their sons killed by the PKK. There is no identity crises there, and the nature of PKK is obvious to everyone.

It is your government that has declared over and over again that PKK is a "terrorist organization". In three years, they will be declaring PKK a "non-existent terrorist organization", along with all the romantic people of the world that fail to call it what it is.

"thoughtlessly hasten its deterioration and decline."

"hasten"?!?! What decline?!? Mr Peters, Turkey is going to stabilize the region that US Army has failed to stabilize - or should I say - succeeded to destabilize. It has done so with Cyprus in the past, and it will do so again.

Dear ViennaVA,

The rights related to a Kurdish identity have increased tremendously in the last decade when the PKK was passive, almost finished. (See the HRW page to check.) These democratic advancements will continue as Turkey progresses to join the EU. The Armenian Genocide issue can easily be cleared up once the Armenian organizations over the world publicly and convincingly announce that they have no interest in claiming the Turkish soil as their own.


Marieann wrote: 2d 6h ago
GREAT Article, very well put. I would go a step further and say that the Turks are looking for any excuse to kill off the Kurds just like they did the Armenians. Are 30 soldiers worth the stability of Iraq? I don't think so. These are issues best dealt with by diplomacy not by force. THANK YOU for writing this truthful article, great job!


Casey in Chicago wrote: 2d 4h ago
Peters needs no apologists, but have any of the 18 bloggers who precede this actually read what he said. Even the one at the end who applauds seems to miss the essential points, none of which should be viewed as so provocative. I see no encouragement toward aggressive partitioning even suggested in THIS article.

The U.S. needs to be clearly against the PKK and for Turkey's right to defend itself against terrorists. In doing so, we reinforce our own justification for supporting Iraq as an undivided nation. Maybe Peters advocated redrawn maps in the past, maybe not, but he certainly is not pushing partitioning here. The unified message here should be that Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, and the rest of Western Asia and the Middle East and Africa, had better learn to settle age-old differences through democratically elected representatives, and not through terrorism. The degree to which Turkey is already proving this to be true is the degree to which all of its nationalities will live within its current borders in relative peace, and are therefore a model for the rest of those interconnected regions of the world.


ozlem wrote: 2d 3h ago
Marieann
Its not 30 soldier ,try 30.000 + innocent lives lost because of PKK you had your twin towers down and did not even wait to get U.N's approval to go in to Iraq. How is your country any different than Turkey? If you want to talk about genocide please, lets do. Where are the American Indians and what what was promised to them?And what is their population now? during the Armenian war there were great casualties from both sides.If parliament wants to bring few people to point fingers and say what happened during the war i am most certain Turkish Government can provide few victims to tell their story as well. My point is at this point it is nothing more then "he said she said".And if you are this disgust with Turkey why are you using our airbases to help you in Iraq? Your soldiers and civilians life"s are no more valuable than ours.To bad you are not able to see it as it is.


gloriousfall wrote: 2d 2h ago
Turkey has a reason to get in to Northern Iraq, the same reason the US used to attack Afghanistan and Iraq, to eliminate terrorists. In this case, Kurdish terrorists (not rebels, terrorists) are crossing the Turkish border and killing some random innocent people and going back to where they came from, Northern Iraq . And if Iraqi government is not willing to do anything about it, Turkey is probably going to do. Plus, whoever tells Turkey to not invade Iraq should explain Turkey what they are doing in Afghanistan and Iraq. (By the way, what happened to Saddam`s mass destruction weapons? Maybe we should blame Turkey for that too :))

gloriousfall wrote: 2d 2h ago
I totally agree with Ozlem (Afferim kiz :)
We`re talking about Turkey and Northern Iraq.
What`s this has to do anything with Armenians


fcuku4ever wrote: 2d ago
this columnist, co called military expert is actually one of the master mind behind the "New Middle East" which basically follows two steps. Step 1: introduce violence and conflict to a region, and let people kill each other. Step2: Show to "wealthy west" that region needs to be cleaned up and peace must be restored with new borders..

Check this website out, and see the map prepared by this so called columnist, PETERS...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=v iewArticle&code=NAZ20061116&articleId=38 82

Why Kurds seem to be majority in the eastern Turkey? Because PKK (Kurdish Terrorists) are burning down everything that the government tries to built. Schools, hospitals, bridges, infrastructures. They kill anybody they can find. They kill students, teachers, doctors, policemen, government workers they even kill Kurdish rooted Turkish citicens, just because they dont want to help PKK.

PETERS boy, I do not know how much money you are earning from your so called expert-view books, but I suggest you extend your historical knowledge and keep yourself updated with reality.


melike wrote: 1d 18h ago
To Marieann and Casey in Chicago;
"Stability of IRAQ", are you actually aware what's going on in the MIddle East? IRAQ is actually worse than ever before, stability in IRAQ is utopia atm. That is why every1 who supported this war in the beginning now talking about BALKANIZATION of IRAQ. PLease get a reality check , this generation of IRAQI kids will have no education.. If they survive they will be among the unhealtiest especially after those chemicals like USA forces used in Falluja.. SYRIA is the only country ( the WESTERN world dislikes so much) which took 1 million Iraqi refugees, at least Iraqi kids are able to go to school there. Why US only took a few hundred Iraqi refugees , cos they dont come with the Iraqi oil? More than %50 of Iraqi women are widows or lost their man of the household. When there is stability in Iraq , there wont be any Iraq or Iraqi left, that will be the legacy of ppl like Mr Peters and ppl thinking like you. For you lot ....30 dead is not worth the stability of IRAQ!
Coming back to partioning of Iraq, Mr Peters exactly suggesting that! !!if Turkey succeeds this operation; Iran will come in and Turkey will also get into N. IRAQ .Cos KIRKUK has got oil, US wants to control there, therefore US needs to control N. Iraq +the Kurds..OIL is the reason why this war started in the first place.

When you ppl talk with this no end self righteous attitude as if you are the only "MIGHT" who could bring GOOD to this world, it goes like the water behind a ducks back.especially in the Middle East. We all heard it before, when STABILIZATION comes to IRAQ, PIGS MAY START FLYING TOO!!!!


foutsc wrote: 1d 14h ago
George Washington was right about foreign entanglements. I don't care what it costs, I would rather we fully develop domestic oil than to give one more dime to that hideous cauldron of ignorance, suspicion and petty bigotry. If they want to go on killing and subjecting one another to all manner of medieveal depredations, why stand in their way?

Hemin wrote: 1d 13h ago
What Mr.Peters has objectively put forward, may not be satisfactory for those who opt to ignore the reality of Kurdish
nation and its demands in Turkey.
What is going on in Turkey has nothing to do with "terrorism" .
The existance and struggle of PKK and Kurdish political movement in Northern Kurdistan is after a legitimate right, which is the formal recognition of Kurdish political. cultural identity.
The Name KURD and KURDISTAN have been prohabited in
old-fashioined dominant mentality in Turkey. where as the old
ideaology in Turkey tries to forcefully make any one into a Turk,
PKK and Kurdish movement in the North asks for brotherhood
and peacefull co-existance there.
The present authorities should come to their senses and
understand that they are not able to annihilate Kurds under
the pretext of "terrorism".
They should accept the concept of " Kurdistan Regional Government" which is part of would be Federated Iraq, and forget
to call part of Greater Kurdistan as "Kuzey Irak".
History can not let down the Kurd once again!
Hemin


melike wrote: 1d 11h ago
“There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community.”


Casey in Chicago wrote: 1d 11h ago
Stability IS coming to Iraq, despite what melike claims, because Iraqis are turning against terrorists. While there is something to be said for what foutsc says about letting barbarians have their way with each other, there is scant evidence, current or historical, that their aggression will remain confined within narrow boundaries. Like it or not, the civilized world is again forced to unite against barbarians. Peters is not the provocoteur here just because he envisions more consequences than meet the eye if a Turkish adventure into Iraq turned out to be the only strategy remaining to take out terrorists. Terrorism is, was, and will be the problem, and those who perpetuate it, sponsor it, or turn a blind eye toward it need to be killed, stopped, and/or deciseively discouraged. We all have blood on our hands for having tolerated terrorism in the past. It's time to move on.


melike wrote: 1d 10h ago
you may find a bit more enlightment for Kurdish kins in this site

Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on the link in the email. Alternatively, you may have to open a web browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer, and copy the link over into the address bar.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xm l=/opinion/2007/10/24/do2408.xml
For the best content online, visit www.telegraph.co.uk


Fatih wrote: 1d 2h ago
Dear Ralph Peters,

There is no idendity crisis or whatsoever in Turkey. Because Turkey is a democratic country, free people and no discirimination.

In actual case, there is no word in Turkish language for "discrimination" We learnt this concept from western languages and adopted as "ayirimcilik" which does not really reflect the terrible meaning of discrimination.

The population of Kurd origin Turkish citizens are around 8 millions. In the last elections kurdish separatist political party received around %4 which is around 1.5 millions votes.

The Kurds Today are spread around the country and more population even live in the west. There are more Kurds in ?stanbul than any town in the east. and There are more Turks in the east actually than Kurds.

Kurdish origin Turkish citizens can select any job and can earn money and live happy as the other citizens.

One of the Foreign ministers was Kurdish origin.
Several generals were Kurdihs origin in Turkish Army.
At least one president was half Kurd.
Famous singers and artists are Kurds.
Turks and Kurds were together when this country was established.

There is no bann for Kurdish language today. (In the past there was some pressure over the language)

Kurdsih origin Turkish citizens are mixed throughout the country, with Turkish origins by marriages, and it is not possible to separate those people from each other. There is no such a place that you can denote a Kurdish region. Please do not believe the fake maps on some media.

republic of Turkey was founded in 1923. Whatever the past history is, today's reality is there is a democratic, secular, and modern country here in Turkey.

In Turkey the death penalty is stopped legally like in many European countries. Free elections are jeld every few years. Legal situation is as exactly the similar any european country, maybe it needs a little more progress for the infratruscture.

You seem to not know anything about Turkey but unfortunately writing too many issues.

I strongly suggest don't rely on your knowledge based on popular news channels, because they receive the news from each other and keep repeating the same phrases without knowing the facts. They do not have time to fact proof.

Read history books look at the map, read social books, different books ... not only from one side or one source.

As you can see, even there is a vry strong terrorist actions by separatist organizaitons and even supported by some political parties in different counteris; Turks and Kurds will never be enemies in This country. Kurds and Turks are brothers, because they are the citizens of an honorable country who won the independence war against western countries after the fall of Ottoman Empire.

Turks are an honorable nation.

Please be ethical when you write articles like yours above here, get to know better what you are commenting on. Learn. Thenw write.

here we have an expression: "You cannot have idea without knowledge"

You will see Turks and Kurds will not be enemies as opposed to the hatress feeding parties in the world.

In Germany we can see "Turken Raus"
In the USA Blacks were discriminated.

But against all poverty the citizens of Turkey have never been enemies to each other. I have not seen anybody around me speaking bad denoting Kurds, but everbdoy hates PKK Terrorist organization here.

I wish you all the success in your carrier and in your private life...

Regards