Page 2 of 2 Iraq's good terrorists, bad
terrorists By Sami Moubayed
relative depending on where one
stands) but, more alarming, sees a difference
between good terrorists and bad terrorists.
To him, Sunni militias are bad, but the
Badr Organization and the Mehdi Army, because they
are Shi'ite nationalists, are tolerable. He has
done nothing since the Baghdad security plan
started to disarm either militia. Under pressure
from Khalilzad he cracked down on some of their
bases - particularly the Sadrists -
and
issued tough comments to the
press on how he planned to deal with the militias.
A media stunt was staged by Maliki and
Muqtada, who disappeared shortly after the
security plan started, ostensibly showing the
world that he was afraid of Maliki's strict
measures. It has been more than a month since the
security plan began, yet the Mehdi Army is still
there and still all-powerful in the slums of
Baghdad.
Good terrorist, bad
terrorist Khalilzad is a friend of Iraq's
Kurds, who are pro-American Sunnis,
anti-insurgency, anti-Iran and anti-Shi'ite
militias. He has encouraged the activities of
Kurdish militias, particularly the Kurdish
Workers' Party (PKK) operating against Turkey from
Khaftanin and Qanimasi in northern Iraq.
The PKK wants to create a Kurdish state
out of southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq,
northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran. The PKK
rebellion, which has hit Turkey the hardest, has
led to the deaths of 35,000 Turks (including 5,000
soldiers) and cost the Turks billions of dollars.
These militias, because they are
pro-American, are good militias, as far as
Khalilzad is concerned. This patronage, and his
latest farewell tour of Kurdistan, has set of red
sirens in Turkey, which is threatening an all-out
invasion of Iraq if PKK activity against its
territory continues.
Senior US
administrators have come out in recent days to
assure the Turks that they will clamp down on PKK
activity. That's what the Americans said last
summer, to avert a similar showdown with Ankara.
To date, however, the PKK in northern Iraq is
alive and kicking, thanks to Khalilzad. And
according to reports in the US media, the Bush
administration is funding Iranian Kurds as well to
destabilize the Iranian regime, making the threat
to Turkey all the more serious.
Abdullah
Gul, the Turkish minister of foreign affairs, has
said 3,800 PKK guerrillas operate from Iraq, under
the watchful eye of the Americans, against
southeastern Turkey. He said, "We will do what we
have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing
is ruled out. I have said to the Americans many
times: suppose there is a terrorist organization
in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?"
Murat Karayilan, a PKK leader, acknowledged that
the Turkish threat is real, and unless diverted,
could lead to a "mad war".
This would be
disastrous for Iraq and the United States and
would certainly ruin Maliki. To date northern Iraq
has been the most stable region since the US-led
invasion in 2003. Violence in Kurdistan could
spill over into more violence in central and
southern Iraq. Last summer, Turkey mobilized
250,000 troops against the PKK (nearly double the
number of US troops in Iraq), and Iran began
attacking PKK offices in Iraq.
Both
countries cited self-defense, despite loud
objections from Maliki. At the time, the Turkish
message to Iraq was: "They [PKK] are the
infiltrators and we are protecting our border. Do
not allow the terror network to use your
territory. Fight against the terrorists who will
only terrorize you in the future."
Another
communique issued by Turkey addressing the Iraqis
read, "We are not considering ending our activity
there [in Iraq] for as long as the PKK is also
present and active in that area." General Hilmi
Ozkok, commander of the Turkish army, asked
whether Turkey planned to seek US permission
before further invasions of Iraq, confidently
replied, "We cannot take a decision of that kind
based on the US. Every country is sovereign. Every
country makes its own decisions. If the conditions
change, you act by the changing conditions."
Then, US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice visited Ankara to get the Turks to back down.
So did Iranian statesman Ali Larijani, however,
who commented, "If the string breaks, and it is
heading that way currently, it will not be
possible to repair it. We are telling you this
plainly now. Later, do not come and complain that
we didn't warn you." While in Ankara, Larijani
said he had documents proving US meetings with the
PKK and asked: "If the US is fighting terrorism,
why then is it meeting with the PKK?"
Although the US combated the PKK at one
point, it has been very passive - and at times
encouraging - toward its activities in northern
Iraq. This pleases the Kurds, and the Americans
are desperate for continued support within the
Iraqi political community, since so many Shi'ites
and Sunnis are at odds end with the US
administration.
Turkish media claim that
PKK attacks on Turkey have in the past been
authorized by the Americans and the two prominent
Kurdish leaders in Iraq, US-backed President Jalal
Talabani and Masoud al-Barzani, president of Iraqi
Kurdistan.
Continued PKK activity, while
the rest of Iraq is falling apart, raises more
questions about the seriousness of both Khalilzad
and Maliki. The PKK cannot be acting at will,
without an okay from the Americans. Nor can it
operate without approval from Barzani. If it is
getting a green light from the Iraqis and the
Americans, how can Maliki and company claim a
security plan for Baghdad when the rest of Iraq
might erupt into new violence?
All of this
casts serious doubt on Khalilzad, who has been
widely praised in the Western media for his
efforts in stabilizing Iraq. It also further
tarnishes Maliki's credibility. If the Americans
indeed gave him a deadline of June 3 to stabilize
Iraq and meet his benchmarks, he will fail at
achieving it as long as Iraq is governed with the
mentality of "good terrorist, bad terrorist".
Sami Moubayed is a Syrian
political analyst.
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