Turkey & U.S. Agree on Joint Strategy Against PKK by Zaman Daily Front News Desk

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, an attorney and counterterrorism consultant, said Turkey and the U.S. have agreed upon a joint strategy against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Ross wrote in his article on www.counterterrorismblog.org that Turkey‘s recent actions are the result of this agreement.

The strategy between the U.S., Turkey and Iraq, claimed Ross, requires Turkey not to launch a unilateral military operation, adding that unilateral Turkish intervention “would have risked accidental Turkish engagement with non-PKK Kurdish forces or even US forces.”

The article said that Turkey, as part of its recent actions, has deployed nearly 50,000 Turkish soldiers to the Iraqi border and it also sent hundreds of tanks and military vehicles to the Yuksekova district of the southeastern city of Hakkari last week.

Mentioning a number of reported Turkish incursions into Iraq, Ross said Turkey bombarded the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq on Aug. 7-8 and the Turkish army fired upon a known PKK camp in Hakurk for several days.

The article lists Turkey's recent actions, which emphasize four key points about the U.S.-Turkish-Iraqi agreement on the PKK:

1) Although the agreement is said to be no more than a handshake deal (without the precise outline delineated in writing), Turkey's recent actions show that it gives Turkish forces considerable latitude to go into northern Iraq to root out the PKK.

2) The agreement will help to prevent accidental fighting, such as clashes between the Turkish military and non-PKK Kurdish forces or U.S. forces. Accidental fighting was one potential concern related to Turkish intervention in Iraq, and thus far it appears that the U.S.-Turkey agreement has diminished that possibility.

3) Local Kurdish forces don't seem to mind the Turkish interventions. As long as Turkey limits its incursions to combating the PKK and doesn't target Iraqi Kurds in general, the Kurdish forces appear supportive of Turkey’s efforts.

4) The agreement helps to prevent Iran from driving a wedge between the U.S. and Turkey.

The article concluded: “Overall, the agreement between the U.S., Turkey and Iraq over the PKK should be seen as a diplomatic victory at this stage.”