For some reason, the PKK attacks which are making us all uncomfortable don't seem to make it to the top of any lists for the US!
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The latest developments have struck deeply at Turkey.
As a result of the new armed struggle by the PKK:
1)Turkish public opinion against the US is now known.
2) The groundwork for serious damage to the relationship between the administration and the Turkish Armed Forces is currently being laid.
3) The administration is not just dealing with inner and outer opposition forces, but with serious opposition from the people of the country.
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Following the rejection of the March 1 bill in the Turkish Parliament, the US Middle East policy does take primary importance in Turkey, in fact, if it is held as important in Turkey, it is maybe in second place.
What does this mean?
As I have written before, the US does not perceive Turkey as being one of the more trustable powers in the Middle East, and for that reason, does not figure in how its policies in the area will affect Turkey. It truthfully feels no need to confer with Turkey before developing new policy for the area.
Up until now, the US has tried to get by with summing up its stance towards the Turkish-PKK struggle with two rhetorical diplomatic statements:
1) The PKK is a terrorist organization.
2) The place to address your protests and concerns is to the Iraqi government.
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Yesterday's Hurriyet noted that Ankara had responded sharply to the handing of PKK "Kurdistan" banners in the group's northern Iraq Kirkuk offices.
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This is a situation which has the potential to foment a major response from Turkey and Turkish people!
I am afraid that the AKP administration will be stuck between the US authorities and the Turkish Armed Forces.
On the other hand, the US's main interest right now is the upcoming vote on the Iraqi Constitution, as well as the general elections which will follow it.
The US sees the Kurdish forces in northern Iraq as some of their closest allies, and does not want to take them on in any way as they deal with Shiite and Sunni forces in Iraq.
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I am looking for an answer to this question:
By not going after the PKK in Iraq, is the US trying to put the AKP administration in Turkey in a tough position, or is it just a symptom of the incompetent policy in Iraq?
