Ertugrul Ozkok: Some advice for Barzani: Heed Washington's suggestions...
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 02, 2007 14:37
I want to call out to civilized, serious people out there. My eyes are on Barzani when I am saying what I will say. Because the killer gang (the PKK) are coming from his territories. And as we read foreign newsreports, we understand that Barzani's "peshmerges" are providing shelter and logistical support for the PKK. Meanwhile, the PKK is not giving up its weapons. But with this as the situation, how will the blood ever stop?
If there is a reasonable, constructive, level-headed solution to PKK terror, let it come forward and be explained. My column is always open to such suggestions. Myself, I turn around in circles, always coming back to the same place: Barzani. This man needs to finally make his decision. He will be either our neighbor, or our enemy. There is no grey area in this relationship. The situation is way past any attempts at pretense. Which is why, understanding this, both President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan have turned their arrows in the direction of Barzani. The Turkish people now expect not calls for prudence and a panoply of suggestions, but action.
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We expect the same action from US Secretary of State Rice, who arrives in Ankara today. The news coming out of Washington this week was not so positive though, though yesterday, our Hurriyet rep there had some good things to report. I am hoping that the US administration now has a sense of the seriousness in Ankara. Because the point that we are at now is enough to finish off the half a century of alliance Turkey has had with the US. While there is no doubt Turkey would not gain from such a break in alliance, it is also sure that the US would lose too. In fact, the interests of both of these nations do not actually collide, but intersect.
No one believes the legend, coming from Washington, that "our words hold no water with Barzani." Barzani knows well that without strong US support backing him, he wouldn't be able to stand for three days in the region. Which is why, rather than making public statements of advice to Ankara, he would do much better to follow suggestions coming out of Washington.
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*
We expect the same action from US Secretary of State Rice, who arrives in Ankara today. The news coming out of Washington this week was not so positive though, though yesterday, our Hurriyet rep there had some good things to report. I am hoping that the US administration now has a sense of the seriousness in Ankara. Because the point that we are at now is enough to finish off the half a century of alliance Turkey has had with the US. While there is no doubt Turkey would not gain from such a break in alliance, it is also sure that the US would lose too. In fact, the interests of both of these nations do not actually collide, but intersect.
No one believes the legend, coming from Washington, that "our words hold no water with Barzani." Barzani knows well that without strong US support backing him, he wouldn't be able to stand for three days in the region. Which is why, rather than making public statements of advice to Ankara, he would do much better to follow suggestions coming out of Washington.
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