Financial Times(UK)
The prospect of a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq moved a step closer on Monday after Turkey’s cabinet agreed to seek parliamentary approval for a military response to a resurgence of attacks by PKK separatists operating from mountain hideaways in Iraq.
The move leaves Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, facing the most difficult foreign policy test of his career as he juggles a possible military response to recent terrorist attacks with the need to avoid a complete breakdown in the country’s relations with the US.
Parliament is expected to vote on the issue this week against the backdrop of public and political resentment over a US congressional committee decision last week to acknowledge the massacre of Armenians in the last days of the Ottoman empire as genocide.
Mr Erdogan’s dilemma is further complicated by a mood of distrust between his government and Turkey’s military. The general staff, under the command of General Yashar Buyukanit, clashed with the government this year over Turkey’s political and social trajectory, prompting a snap election that saw Mr Erdogan and his Justice and Development party returned with a huge mandate.
The generals are demanding more freedom of manoeuvre in their battle with Kurdish separatists, in particular the ability to send forces into Iraq. The US opposes such a move, fearing the instability it could cause in Kurdish northern Iraq.......
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