Turkey Prepares Invasion of Iraq?

Those familiar with the ethnic makeup of Iraq will remember that he northern part of the country is occupied by the Kurds. This ethnic group has been the most stable of the Iraqi factions yet there are problems. Kurds not only live in Iraq, but in Turkey. They make up a pretty big portion of the parts of Turkey that border Iraq, and additionally they have been pushing for independence from Turkey for some time.

The end of Saddam made the Turks nervous. They see a free and possibly autonomous Kurdish state inside the Iraqi federation as a threat. They fear a Kurdish uprising in Turkey similar to the one that took place in Iraq even before the end of Saddam’s rule.

Now Turkey is massing military might on the border of Iraq in what appears to be a precursor to an invasion. Both the US and Iraq are urging restraint, but Turkey has already said that there is a battle plan in place for the invasion.

Yet again more conflict in Iraq. This one might have happened anyway, but I suspect the new found freedoms in the Kurdish north have triggered Turkey’s concerns. Another example of “democracy on the march”? How will Bush handle this one? Maybe another surge? So many questions and no answers.