“From the military point of view, a [military] operation in northern Iraq must be made,” Gen Buyukanit said.
But he added that he had not yet submitted a request to parliament and that “no political decision has been made yet”.
[…]
The Bush administration has repeatedly told Ankara that such a move would not be productive. While Washington believes some of the rhetoric from the Turkish military is tied up with internal Turkish politics ahead of the presidential election, US officials also assess there is a chance that Turkey will move into northern Iraq, but not imminently.
The EU, which has reduced clout over Ankara because of the troubles of Turkey’s membership negotiations, has also made clear it does not want a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq.
But tensions have recently mounted, partly because of the PKK’s continued operations in Turkey and partly because of the debate in Iraq over the division of power between the country’s regional governments.
The general’s statement followed a warning by Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region, to “interfere” in Turkey’s south-east if Turkey “interfered” in his Kurdish area. The Turkish armed forces also sent a note of protest to the national government in Baghdad this week requesting action against the Kurdish rebels.
A US official in Washington on Thursday told the Financial Times that recent comments by Mr Barzani were “dangerous, provocative and unhelpful”.
Turkish officials complain that their main concern, the establishment of an independent Kurdish state, was coming closer day by day despite the US’s public commitment to preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq.
The general made veiled references to the US as the party that had let the Kurds in northern Iraq become “spoiled” to such an extent that their leader could threaten Turkey.
When asked by a local reporter about Mr Barzani and Turkey’s alliance with the US, the general said: “He [Mr Barzani] is at a very low level and I look to the one who enables him to speak so, who enables the division of Iraq, which is the greatest threat to the region.”
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