Ted Galen Carpenter
Tensions have existed for years between Washington and Ankara
over the Kurdish population in both Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials
regard the Kurds as able fighters and democratic secular allies in
the struggle against Islamic extremism. Turkish leaders view them
and their agenda for an independent Kurdish homeland as a menace to
Turkey’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity—especially since a majority of Kurds reside in
southeastern Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
government deems the highly autonomous Kurdish entities across the
border in Iraq and Syria as dangerous models and a magnet for their
secessionist-minded ethnic brethren inside Turkey. U.S.-Turkish
policy disagreements regarding the Kurds have gained new intensity
in recent …read more
Source: Cato Institute