Ertugrul Ozkok: Who will sell us out, America or the Kurds?

Anyway, I looked at the machine, and saw before me an 8 page message. Seven of those pages were in English, and 1 in Turkish. The message began with "Dear Mr. Ozkok...." Under it was a name I recognized: Michael Rubin. He one of Washington's well-known neo-cons, heading up the American Enterprise Institute's Turkey program.
I dropped my bag and began to read the fax, and as I read, my amazement grew. I would like you to now read, and understand exactly who we are dealing with on our eastern borders.

 
* * *

The fax began this way:
 
"There was an article carried on November 5, 2006 in the Hurriyet newspaper, posted by correspondent Ihsan Dortkardes, which asserted that I had given an interview to a newspaper in Northern Iraq. According to this article, I had said during this interview that American-Kurdish relations were based on shared interests, and that Kurdistan was a stable and secure region, and that any alliance formed with the Kurds would be in the interest of the US."
 
Yes, there was such an article published last week in the Hurriyet. And I too was surprised when I read Rubin's words at the time.

Because he was talking about the Northern Iraqi Kurds as the US' closest allies in the region, and he seemed to be implying that for the US, the Kurds were more important than Turkey.
 
The article had been published in a newspaper known for its ties to Barzani. And Hurriyet correspondent Ihsan Dortkardes had taken the news from there. Not just this, but the article had actually appeared in Turkish in the web site belonging to this Northern Iraqi newspaper.

* * *

In his fax to me, Rubin explained that he had given this interview by email. He said: "I never said such things. In fact, I said the complete opposite. Here is precisely what I said concerning Turkey and Iraq's other neighboring countries: Whenever I go to Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurds tell me that they are our best allies, and that this friendship needs to be reciprocal. I am sorry, but this is wrong on many levels. First of all, it is great that the Kurds say that they are our allies, but if we think about the fact that Kurdish politicians change their policies along with the direction the wind is blowing, there is no reason to believe American politicians are going to have any more confidence in Kurdish politicians than they have in themselves. There are many political leaders who put trade before principles in terms of importance. There are now documents which have come out which show that some top Kurdish leaders were doing serious business with Saddam's sons, Uday and Kusay. Also, Turkey is an important enough ally for Washington that it is not going to be ignored.

The Iraqi Kurds can believe what they want about Turkey, but the fact remains that for as long as Iraqi Kurdistan is a home to terrorists, Washington will always be on the side of Ankara, and not Erbil or Suleymaniye. My belief is that Turkish-American relations are very important, and despite current administrations in both Washington and Ankara, they will remain so. Most Iraqi Kurdish newspapers print exactly what they think Mesut Barzani and Jelal Talabani want to hear.
 
Talabani and Barzani have spent thousands of dollars getting former US ambassadors to say good things about them. I thought that since the Iraqi Kurds have not been able to learn what Washington really thinks about them, it would be a good idea to say it directly to their newspapers. Iraqi Kurds must understand that Washington will absolutely not forget about Ankara, and that for as long as the PKK exists in Northern Iraq, the region will be seen as a terror supporting one.

In the end, the Northern Iraq leadership is responsible for whatever happens in their region. And if the situation continues, Northern Iraq is not looking at a good future. Turkey has just as much a right as the US, Israel, and other countries to struggle against terror coming from across the border to it.

I hope that my explanation has cleared up the incorrect report carried in your newspaper."

* * *

And so now we begin to see and understand which Kurds we are dealing with at our eastern borders.