Why Turkey's Army Will Stay Home
Despite the Turkish parliament's authorization of cross-border military strikes in northern Iraq, a full-scale invasion is highly unlikely. Turkish Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is well aware that the only winner would be the militant Kurdish separatists that Turkey is trying to defeat.
Just when the smoke from Turkey’s domestic political conflicts of the past year had begun to clear, another deadly attack by Kurdish separatists on Turkish soldiers has the government threatening military attacks inside northern Iraq. That prospect raises risks for Turkey, Iraq, and the United States. But there are reasons to doubt that the situation is as dangerous as recent headlines suggest.
Just when the smoke from Turkey’s domestic political conflicts of the past year had begun to clear, another deadly attack by Kurdish separatists on Turkish soldiers has the government threatening military attacks inside northern Iraq. That prospect raises risks for Turkey, Iraq, and the United States. But there are reasons to doubt that the situation is as dangerous as recent headlines suggest.