Turkish forces continued to pound Northern Iraq today in a grand show of force against Kurdish forces after yesterday’s scandalous revelations by the Turkish daily Taraf that the army had apparently ignored intelligence reports that the October 3 PKK attacks were imminent. The breaking news supports a commonly held theory that the PKK and Turkish forces are in bed together. “Taraf said the military received intelligence, as early as a month before the attack, that about 80 PKK members were moving toward Hakkari from northern Iraq…A report five days before the attack warned the PKK group were bringing anti-aircraft artillery with them, while intelligence passed on by the United States a few hours before the assault showed the militants setting up their weapons and mining the area just across from the outpost.” (Turkish Daily News, Oct. 16) Yet the army did nothing to foil the deadly incursion that led to the death of 17 Turkish soldiers. Turkish newspapers also circulated a picture of Air Force Commander Gen. Aydogan Babaoglu playing golf while on vacation the day after the bloody attack, inviting a ripple of unprecedented public criticism.

Turkey’s army was tasked by its first president and national hero, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, with keeping the governement secular, and has traditionally been revered by the public, but it has recently felt it is loosing power with recent reforms in the democratization process as well as with the election of Abdullah Gul to the presidency who is seen by some as being too religiously conservative. This is the first time the public is beginning to ask important questions about the role and effectiveness of Turkey’s army.

Turkey’s bid to become a full member of the European Union has consistently been refused due to a number of lingering problems, namely the Turko-Kurdish conflict, the unresolved isle of Cyprus, and the role of the military. Should Turkey be fit to join the EU it would have to reduce the influence of the army, something the latter does not seem prepared to allow. It is believed by most Kurds I have spoken with that the army has secretly helped to perpetuate the conflict with PKK forces in Northern Iraq in order to ensure the necessity of its presence and clout and that’s an opinion the press and public seem to be entertaining openly for the first time only in the last weeks since the October 3 PKK attack.