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Turkey's
Dangerous Moves in Iraq
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Turkish
intervention in Iraq is driven by sectarian concerns and ambitions.
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In a span of five years Turkey has had serious political and military
tensions with several countries in its vicinity: Israel, Syria, Russia,
Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. Most recently, Iraq has also joined the
club of hostilities surrounding Turkey.
Despite the Iraqi government's vehement requests that Turkey withdraw
its troops in Iraq, Ankara shrugs it off and says it will maintain its
military presence in the neighboring country for "Iraq's
stability." What a nice neighborly gesture! Behind the Turkish
indifference lies sectarian concerns and ambitions.
On October 1, Turkey's parliament extended the mandate of Turkish
troops deployed in Iraqi territory by one more year. The troops are
stationed near Bashiqa in northern Iraq -- as unwanted guests. That
sparked a row with Baghdad and may further complicate the cold sectarian
war between the Sunnis in the region, supported by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and
Qatar, and their Shiite enemies, supported by Iran and the
Shiite-controlled government in Baghdad.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi renewed the call for the
withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from his country and warned that Turkey's
military adventurism could trigger another war in the Middle East. He said: "We do not want to enter into a military
confrontation with Turkey ... The Turkish insistence on [its] presence
inside Iraqi territories has no justification."
The Iraqi parliament said in a statement:
"The Iraqi government must consider Turkish troops as hostile
occupying forces."
Turkey's pretext that its troops
are in Iraq to 'fight ISIS' doesn't convince anyone.
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Baghdad has also requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) to discuss the issue. The UNSC should
"shoulder its responsibility and adopt a resolution to end to the
Turkish troops' violation of Iraq's sovereignty," said Ahmad Jamal, spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign
Ministry.
The Turkish move does not annoy only Iraq, but also its Western
allies. Col. John Dorrian, the spokesman for the US-led coalition of 65
countries that fight the Islamic State (ISIS), said that Turkish troops in Iraq are not acting as
part of the alliance. Dorrian said that Turkey is operating "on its
own" in Iraq. He added that the coalition position is that every
unit "should be here with the coordination or and with the
permission of the government of Iraq."
By October 9, things started to get more annoying. Iraq's Ambassador
to Turkey, Hisham Alawi, said:
"If we do not reach some result, the Iraqi government will be forced
to consider other options, and by doing so, Iraq would be practicing its
right to defend its sovereignty and Iraq's interests."
Turkish
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says his government's use of force in
Iraq is designed "to make sure that no change to the region's
'demographic structure' is imposed by force."
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Ankara remains defiant. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkish troops would remain in Iraq.
Turkey's pretext is that its troops are in Iraq to "fight
ISIS." That does not convince anyone. Turkey's intention is largely
sectarian (read: pro-Sunni) and Yildirim admitted that in a not-so-subtle
way when he said that the Turkish troops were in Iraq also "to make
sure that no change to the region's 'demographic structure' is imposed by
force."
Turkey fears that the aftermath of a planned assault on Mosul, Iraq's
second largest city and ISIS's Iraqi stronghold, could see a heavy Shiite
and Kurdish dominance in the Mosul area. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu said: "Involving Shiite militias in the
operation [against IS] will not bring peace to Mosul. On the contrary, it
will increase problems." Unsurprisingly Turkey's pro-Sunni Islamists
want Sunni dominance in a foreign country. This is not the first time
they passionately do so. The problem is that Turkey's sectarian ambitions
come at a time when the coalition is preparing a heavy offensive on
ISIS-controlled Mosul. Turkey's primary concern is not to drive ISIS out
of Mosul but to make it a "Sunni-controlled city" after ISIS
has been pushed out. And this ambition jeopardizes the planned assault on
ISIS.
Turkey's primary concern is not to
drive ISIS out of Mosul, but to ensure the city remains
Sunni-controlled.
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Iraqis think that the offensive to retake Mosul from ISIS is unlikely
to begin as long as Turkish troops remain in Iraq. "I think that as
long as these Turkish troops remain around Mosul, the operation to
control the city will not start, or there must be a new agreement for the
Turkish force not to take part in the offensive," said
Iraqi lawmaker Abdelaziz Hasan, also a member of the defense and security
committee at the Iraqi parliament.
Turkey's sectarian ambitions in neighboring Syria have ended up in
total failure and bloodshed. Now Ankara wants to try another sectarian
adventure in another neighboring and near-failed state, under the pretext
of "bringing stability." Yildirim said that Turkey "bears responsibility for
stability in Iraq." That is simply funny. You cannot bring stability
to a country that looks more like a battleground of multiple religious
wars than a country with just a few hundred troops.
Burak Bekdil is an Ankara-based
columnist for the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet Daily News and a fellow at the
Middle East Forum.
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