Quote:
Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
This is happening a looooong way from the green zone.
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LOL! True, but still, there must be a few roving reporters out there, especially in Kirkuk and such.
Anyway the latest reports now confirm that Turkey is up to stuff (bombing) inside Iraq, with more almost certain to follow, and probably ground troops too.
TW, I think it is more significant than you allow, in two ways.
Firstly, it deals considerable damage to the prestige of the central Iraqi government, emphasizing that not only can they not control the Kurds within their borders, they cannot prevent foreign nations from encroaching over their borders.
Ok, I preemptively agree that the prestige of the central Iraqi government is already deathly low, when it comes to being able to control internal affairs. But when it comes to maintaining its borders, so far it has kept up appearances of being able to do that. This appearance is now being damaged.
This matters because it will affect international perceptions of Iraq as a viable country. I'm not arguing (here) whether Iraq is or isn't a viable country, just talking about the affect on international perceptions. For example, it makes it harder for the White House to insist that every thing is going well and troop reductions will soon be possible, when the north has become so disordered that Turkey had to invade to sort things out.
The second point is that it sets a precedent for an increased level of meddling in Iraq by regional powers - Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, as well as Turkey. This will destabilize the country and make the eventual US departure harder and further away (or else much quicker and more awkward).
While I agree that none of this is particularly surprising, I still think it is important development.
I have seen a funnier side to this: imagine a US diplomat trying to explain to Turkey why they shouldn't invade:
Turkey: That country is a safe haven for terrorists who are using it as a base to attack us! We must invade!
US: Ummmmmmmmmmmm .......
Kind of hard for the US to counter
that argument.
