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The book, “The General Staff Diary of a cross-border War” is full of interesting witnesses. The events during the 1992-1997 military operations are told through reports from the general staff's archives. One is faced with striking scenes.
One sees how lives of people hang by a thread during an operation, just as in a game of Russian roulette. It also shows how the PKK used northern Iraq. The book draws attention with its timing as well, coming at a time that the probability of a northern Iraq operation is being discussed. When I finished the book, I was convinced we could not stop the PKK with this mentality. We seek a short-cut solution. We look at the situation as only a question of security and leave it all for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The lack of coordination between state institutions adds to this. It is clear that the commanders that have been quoted in Öztürk's book share my view mentioned above. Moreover, a while back, during a briefing at the Eğridir Commando Training Center, Land Forces Commander Gen. İlker Başbuğ also brought up this important point. I can summarize the common viewpoints as follows: The TSK cannot single-handedly win the battle against PKK terror. All bodies inside the state should partake in this effort. However, the TSK is alone today. Neither the political government, nor the state establishments can or would make the necessary contribution. There is a lack of coordination at the top of the state. The political government thinks differently, while the TSK - the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) - the Presidency trio think differently. It cannot be helped that this difference in thought has negative reflections on the effectiveness of the battle against terror. Therefore, a new “coordination committee to battle against terror” is needed. PKK terror cannot be stopped solely by a military operation into northern Iraq. The source of terror is within the country. The PKK's training and camping facilities are located in northern Iraq. A result can be obtained only if attempts are made in both places. It is wrong to unnecessarily condition the public. Nowhere in the world can such a major operation be made unannounced. The discussions over an operation should be stopped at once. For the last six years, Turkey decided that terror has finished and took no measures regarding either the Kurdish issue or the PKK. It let everything go. New adaptations should be made to increase the effectiveness of security forces to replace OHAL, the emergency rule. Now that elections are nearing, there is much mention of an operation into northern Iraq. We are in fact facing a situation as if everything is done to impress others. No one goes to the bottom of the issue. No one looks into the whole big picture. Our only hope is that the Turkish state sheds this shallowness and follows a conjoint policy against PKK terror in the post elections period. Four northern Iraq operations and 237 dead According to the information in Saygı Öztürk's book, Turkey organized four major operations into northern Iraq with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, hundreds of tanks, and heavy munitions between 1992 and 1997.The northern Iraq Operation was conducted between Oct. 5, 1992 and Nov. 5 1992. There were 28 dead and 125 wounded in the TSK, with 2,783 PKK members killed. Operation Steel 1 took place between Mar. 20 and May 2, 1994. 568 PKK members died, with 64 dead and 185 wounded in the TSK. Operation Hammer was conducted between May 12 and July 7, 1997. 3,145 PKK members were eliminated, while the TSK suffered 114 dead and 338 wounded. Operation Daybreak took place between Sept. 25 and Oct. 15, 1997. The PKK lost 902, while there were 31 dead and 91 wounded in the TSK. The result: The result of the four major operations is as follows: The PKK's loss: 5,701 dead, 1,697 wounded. The TSK's loss: 237 dead, 739 wounded Today, the PKK has brought up its number of members to the same levels. The PKK would like a fight in Parliament The PKK directors act insensitively. When one looks at their actions and general approach, it is clear that they do everything in their power to cause a fight inside the country. Murder attempts before the elections are indicators of what awaits the Democratic Society Party (DTP) after the elections. Clearly the PKK tries to fuel nationalist sentiments in Parliament, causing them to attack the DTP. With these murders, it wishes to entice the Turkish public to react, even surround Parliament, not letting DTP members in. It sees DTP members as a guinea pig. As the PKK never wanted them to be effective and shadow the organization, it acts carelessly. I can see what will happen in the post election period. The PKK will keep striking, the conflicts in the streets will escalate, the collisions will be carried into Parliament, and all hell will break lose when a DTP member takes the floor. This is exactly what the PKK wants. The truth is, it seems we will fall for this trap quite easily. |
