Should Turkey invade Northern Iraq?

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Turkey is facing increasing domestic pressure to act after 15 soldiers, police and guards were killed fighting the guerrillas in southeastern Turkey during last week. Seyfi Ta艧han, director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Bilkent University in Ankara said that the government is really in a bind. "On the one hand, Turks don't want things to break down with the United States". But then, the public is crying for action."

Will Turkey profit form such an invasion in the long run? And will any of these or other actions prevent or reinforce Kurds from creating their own state in the long term (sooner or later)?
Will this be a short or a long lasting war and if so how this will affect Turkish economy?

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In my opinion, if Turkey did take on the Iraqi Kurds over the haven they've given to the PKK, the US would most likely be forced to support Turkey, a staunch NATO ally acting against a TERRORIST threat.

While this incursion into Iraq to chase PKK rebels may calm the Turkish public, it may also have repurcussions -- and in my opinion, any success might be more damaging in the long run, as it may irreversibly push Turkey away from its domestic and foreign objectives (economic growth and EU membership)
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I would like to mention that Turkey has no problem with the existence of the Kurds. Exaggerated claims to the contrary have been often said but in reality the status of Kurds in Turkey has substantially improved over the past two decades. Source(s): Wasn't it 35,000 dead in PKK's dirty wars?
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YES...because they failed occupation of Russia in south of Russia,so Russia fucked Osman Empire,thats why Turkey must occupate new land for them and shoot all kurds there,its true things....
They get my vote,

I thought "Kurdistan" was there new homeland or have I got that wrong.
Theres a good lump of oil around there, so if the Kurds keep acting up then give them the full force of the Turks . I don't see why they should tolerate the Kurds theyre just nothing but a nuisance.
Quite the contrary, the republic of kurdistan should be created. Turkey will only be able to join the EU when they loose they kurds.
The Turks do not have a problem with the Kurds but a problem with the PKK there is a big difference, to give you a prespective from a non Turkish Diplomat (this below letter was written by a former Australian Ambassador) have a read of a letter which was published in The Australian Newspaper in reply to another reader's letter and I quote,

"Mr. George Karagiannakis's letter (2/6/94), making all sorts of incredible allegations against Turkey in regard to its domestic and foreign policies, should not be allowed to go unanswered.

It is not possible in the space of a few lines to answer all of his allegations. However, in fairness to the truth, the following points must be made:

The 'facts beyond credible dispute' to which he alludes are in fact based largely on fictions to justify unrealistic ambitions or failures in the past to achieve totally unrealistic goals.

Whilst it is true and sad that many Armenians lost their lives in their own bid for territory, what is not recognized is that the Armenians themselves inflicted as much damage as others in the hostilities of that time, goaded on by some Western powers for their own selfish and geopolitical objectives.

The Turks had no deliberate policy of genocide at any stage, only the removal of Armenians from the front line with Russia, where they were collaborating with the Ottoman Empire's enemies and were thus a threat to its security.

The Kurdish issue is more complex. Two points are relevant:

The PKK, like IRA, is a terrorist organization, SUPPORTED MATERIALLY BY THE GREEKS AND ARMENIANS, with the stated objective of destabilizing Turkey. It has so far assassinated over 10,000 people in Turkey. It has no justifiable claim to represent the Kurdish people.

Most Kurds are integrated into Turkish society. About one-third of the Turkish Parliament is of Kurdish origin. This illustrates the absence of discrimination.

As for Cyprus, if any genocide or ethnic cleansing has taken place, this has always been carried out by the Greeks. The abortive coup of 1974, organized by EOKA and Greek colonels, aimed at elimination of the Turkish Cypriots from the Island. Turkey intervened to protect them and prevent Enosis. Since that date, the island has been peaceful and free of bloodshed.

Turkey has consistently supported a fair and reasonable settlement on Cyprus, but one that gives the Turkish Cypriots a secure future and equal political and social status with the Greek Cypriots.

The real problem between Greece and Turkey is Greece's reluctance to give up its Megali idea, that is, the recovery of the territories occupied by the Byzantine Empire, which finally fell to the Turks in 1453. All the many conflicts between Greece and Turkey over the past two centuries have been initiated by Greece. Your correspondent's reference to bloodied Turkish history is therefore clearly wrong, except in the fact that in the past three Greek-initiated conflicts, the Turks gave the Greeks a severe hiding, which partly accounts for the large fall in numbers of Greeks in present-day Turkey.

Regarding persecution. the Ottomans had one of the most tolerant policies towards non-Turks of any empire of its day. The three communities of Jews, Greeks and Armenians were virtually autonomous within the empire."

P. F. Peters

Former Australian Ambassador to Turkey
(The Australian, June 9th, 1994)

Dear Jo,
Look at the date of the letter 1994. Updated deaths is 35,000 dead the vast majority Kurds not affiliated with the PKK.
You can get a copy of that letter from The Australian Newspaper. the name of the paper is The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/...