Dreams Into Lightning 2

Erbil Essence

Al-Monitor: Is Erbil the next Dubai?
'Beymen, one of Turkey’s leading apparel producers and retailers, opened its second outlet abroad in the rapidly developing city of Erbil, in northern Iraq. Beymen CEO Elif Capci said that Erbil Beymen was opened through a partnership with a well-known local businessman, owner of Elegan Construction, Sarp Turanligil. ...'
Go read it all. Note that the article, originally published in Turkish at Taraf, refers only to "northern Iraq" and avoids mentioning the Iraqi Kurdistan region by name.

Turkey/Kurdistan/Iraq Update - October 24

Turkish forces bomb suspected Kurdish militant positions in Iraq. 'Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked positions of Kurdish rebels along the rugged Iraqi-Turkish border on Wednesday, the country's official Anatolia news agency reported. Several F-16 warplanes loaded with bombs took off from an air base in southeastern city of Diyarbakir, private Dogan news agency and local reporters said. U.S.-made Cobra and Super Cobra attack helicopters chased Kurdish rebels some 3 miles into Iraqi territory on Sunday but returned to their bases in Turkey after a rebel ambush killed 12 soldiers near the border, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.'

Kurdish authorities call for end to PKK violence. 'Arbil - The president of Kurdish northern Iraq, Massud Barzani, has for the first time called on the PKK to end armed insurgency. Until now, the Iraqi Kurdish authorities have ignored the presence of the PKK on their territory. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said the PKK would no longer be tolerated in his country. It has been confirmed that Turkey has launched numerous small-scale air attacks against PKK bases in northern Iraq in the wake of Sunday's PKK cross-border ambush. Turkish troops have also crossed into Iraq. Turkish military sources have announced that actions against the PKK on Iraqi soil will not end soon.'

Turkish leaders to discuss Iraq action. 'Turkey's military and civilian leaders will discuss on Wednesday the scope and duration of a possible cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq as public support for action grows.'

JINSA: Iraqi Kurds Must Crush PKK - Or Turkey Will

JINSA:

If the Kurds of northern Iraq do not quash the PKK, Turkey will and Turkey will be justified. ...

It is unfortunate that the Kurds didn’t/couldn’t control this when it started instead of minimizing it, justifying it and pretending their terrorists were different from anyone else’s terrorists. But we may be past the point where that is possible, and none of the remaining options look good.

Turkey/Kurdistan/Iraq

Telegraph: Kurdish guerillas parade Turkish hostages.

Kurdish separatists paraded eight Turkish hostages on Tuesday in a move certain to raise pressure on Ankara to launch cross-border military operations against terrorist camps in Iraq.

A website linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) carried video footage of the soldiers captured in an ambush at the weekend in which 12 of their colleagues died. A caption on the website claimed they had not suffered ill-treatment.

But popular pressure on the Turkish government for a retaliatory operation increased as tens of thousands marched at the funerals of the 12 mostly young conscripts who were killed.

The prospect of military action appeared to rise as the government sought to shore up political backing from foreign allies, including Britain.

MSNBC: Iraq says it is cracking down on PKK.

BAGHDAD - Under growing pressure to crack down on Kurdish rebels using northern Iraq as a base for guerrilla attacks in Turkey, the Iraqi government ordered the rebels’ offices closed Tuesday and promised to curb their movements and block their funds.

Turkish troops were massing along the border, with military helicopters airlifting commando units into the area overnight. Earlier Tuesday in London, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that his country cannot wait forever for the Iraqi government to move.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the offices of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known by its Turkish acronym PKK, closed, and said the government will “not allow it to work on Iraqi territory.”

Maliki orders PKK offices closed.

IRAQ: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) offices in Iraq closed, saying the PKK will not be allowed to operate in the country. The order came despite recent statements from officials saying the PKK only exists in remote parts of Iraq that authorities cannot access.

Iraqi Kurdistan: What's actually happening.

Michael Totten:

Here’s what’s actually happening: The Marxist-Leninist Kurdistan Worker’s Party (or PKK) from Eastern Turkey has dug into a remote mountainous area just inside Iraq which they use as a staging ground to launch terrorist and guerilla attacks inside Turkey. The Turkish military is shelling the area from their side of the border and may have chased PKK elements across the border in hot pursuit before returning to Turkey immediately.

The KRG [Kurdish Regional Government] says their Peshmerga aren’t able to flush the PKK out of their positions in the mountains because the area is too remote and rugged for a ground force to penetrate. This is the same location where the Peshmerga successfully hid from Saddam Hussein for decades when they waged their own guerilla war against the Baghdad regime.

It’s possible that the Peshmerga are insufficiently motivated to challenge the PKK – which is not officially supported in any way by the KRG – and that Turkey’s military build-up on the border is an attempt to pressure them to do what needs to be done. ...

Go read the rest here.

I previously wrote that 'There is probably a lot of backstage politics going on here; the Kurds are not a political monolith, and Kurds on the Iraqi side of the border may have different interests from those on the Turkish side - with all due respect to the ideal of a unified Kurdistan.' So I think my guess was not too far off; maybe the calculation by both Ankara and Baghdad is to give the Iraqi Kurds - including the Peshmerga - extra incentive to shun the PKK.