Some civilians seem to be wanting more military action...
Main opposition parties, MHP and CHP, immediately questioned the troop withdrawals from Northern Iraq. With a blend of anti-americanism and AKP, the opposition declared that this withdrawal happened because of US orders. While Turkish political sphere has turned to be a haven for free floating conspiracies and speculations, opposition received an unexpected rebuke. Their discourse implies that the Turkish army is in fact not independent. I don't believe the opposition intended to mean that. Their obvious target was the ruling party, AKP. But this led an unlikely confrontation: the army vs. MHP and CHP. The latters were not supposed to be seen against military and ironically the army and AKP are seen to be on the same side, at least for a short moment of political exchanges....
Troop withdrawal drives a wedge between opposition and military
Opposition party leaders yesterday unequivocally slammed the military and the government over the unexpected withdrawal of troops from northern Iraq last Friday. They slammed the military'sTop Turk general says Iraq withdrawal on schedule | Reuters
By Selcuk GokolukANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's top general said on Saturday the Turkish armed forces withdrew its troops from northern Iraq on schedule and dismissed speculation that it had acted under pressure from its NATO ally the United States."
Baykal blames US for withdrawal
The United States deliberately pressured Turkey to withdraw early from northern Iraq in order to keep using the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as leverage, said the leader of theCalls increase for non-military solution to Kurdish problem
Following a ground offensive into northern Iraq to root out the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which launches attacks in Turkey from its bases there, calls have increased for a non-military solution that will introduce radical steps for the settlement of the Kurdish issue.Kurds Celebrate Women Day With Chinese Posters
Cafebabel Istanbul
Diyarbakir, mostly Kurdish populated city in the South East region of Turkey, celebrates International Women Day in a different and interesting style. Kurdish district Yenisehir Municipality prepared posters in Chinese language for 8 March International Women Day.Bullets and Ballot Slips: Turkey Takes Two-Pronged Approach to Fighting PKK - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
Turkey’s “Islamic reform”: roots and reality by Mustafa Akyol
Turkey made international headlines in the past week over its military's land operation in northern Iraq and its never-ending tug-of-war over the headscarf. But a less familiar issue provoked more surprised comment outside the country: the scholarly and low-key work carried out by a group of theologians in Ankara, supported by the Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (the Turkish republic's official religious body, the presidency of religious affairs), to revise the "hadith" - the words and deeds of the Prophet Mohammed.
Ertugrul Ozkok: Is the reason the U.S. pressure?
BBC NEWS | Europe | Iraq troop withdrawal baffles Turks
ISN Security Watch - Turkey in Iraq: Not over but out
Ertugrul Ozkok: Bulent Ersoy's comments and the Turkish troops
Israel Hasbara Committee: Sarkozy's Policy on Turkey's E.U. Accession: Bad for France? - by Soner Cagaptay
An AK Party-DTP war on the Kurdish axis
We are seeing these days some very tough struggles going on between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Turkey’s east and southeast regions.From war to a solution
If the administration were to emerge from the inertia it has shown over the previous period on the topic of the EU, it would see that some of the simple and required reforms for EU accession are in fact also democratic principles; and thus the embrace of these reforms by Ankara would no doubt lead to the natural transcending of not just the Kurdish problem, but many other problems also on the agenda.Yaşar Pasha is right, but...
Seeing as the decision to withdraw Turkish troops from northern Iraq had already been made by the time US Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Ankara for meetings, then why wasn’t a more careful policy embraced in preparing the Turkish public for this fact?What do defense ministers actually do?
Both defense ministers and the bureaucracy of ministries in general come at the top of the list of people and institutions whose work I do not really understand within Turkish politics and the bureaucratic structure of this country.Raising expectations and eventual disappointment
The latest ground offensive into northern Iraq, which came as a surprise to many as it was expected to take place later in the spring, brought another surprise when it ended earlier than expected, leading to much speculation.Was it a timely withdrawal?
The conclusion of a Turkish cross-border operation into northern Iraq to hit the hideouts of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) -- only a day after US and Iraqi officials urged Turkey wrap up its operation quickly last Thursday -- raised suspicions about whether the withdrawal decision was based solely on an assessment of military needs or if it resulted from international pressure.Facts and fiction about the 'Turkish exit'
Burak BEKDİLTime to question the role of the military!
Orhan Kemal CengizLet's look forward and stop the rhetoric violence
Cengiz ÇANDARBecause the US said so?
The claim that Turkish troops left Iraq last Friday just because the US asked them to do so has created an important debate in the country.The imagined conspiracy behind the withdrawal
İlter TÜRKMENUniversity leaders and YÖK’s president
In democracies, power is given to the majority. But in order to fend off a dictatorship by the majority, a mechanism of checks and balances is installed.Why so hasty?
The General Staff has announced that no pressure was applied on it to withdraw from northern Iraq and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the start and end dates of the operation were solely the military’s decision.Defiant rectors appear intent on maintaining resistance
Signs of tension and confrontation were visible over the past week after President Abdullah Gül approved a constitutional package that lifts a ban on Muslim headscarves on university campuses, with some rectors still resisting implementation of the changes and barring covered girls from entering universities.N. Iraq and Turkey
Since we say “the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a sociological phenomenon,” then we should at least try to understand what this phenomenon entails.US seeks to balance Turkish, Iraqi Kurdish interests
The Turkish military's limited ground offensive targeting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in neighboring northern Iraq in late February apparently took place with some degree of U.S.The military operation and the political scandal
Cengiz ÇANDARA happy surprise
A Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) ground operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq ended unexpectedly only eight days after it began as troops began returning home in the early hours of Feb. 29.Northern Iraq viewed from Brussels
Barricades topped with barbed wire were at the ready this week on the corner of Brussels' Avenue des Arts and Rue Montoyer and they were maneuvered into place on Wednesday to prevent a pro-Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) demonstration from getting too close to the Turkish diplomatic missions in Brussels.A success or a mess?
What happened on Friday -- when Turkish ground troops, seemingly hastily and in a surprise move, pulled out of Iraqi Kurdish territory -- might have deeper political consequences than initially imagined and on several levels.Implications of ending the ground offensive by EMRE USLU & ÖNDER AYTAÇ
The decision to withdraw Turkish troops from the cross-border operation into northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) sparked a controversy over the issues of territorial sovereignty, political dignity and the operational ability of Turkish troops. Terrorism: Turkey at the crossroads by FARUK LOĞOĞLU
Turkey has been fighting terrorists of various stripes for the past quarter of a century. Until now, the strategy has been to defeat the terrorists by military means.Conservative secularism by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE
Turkey has been providing us with a very good illustration of the fact that there is a huge gap between political ideals and principles and political realities and needs.A valuable lesson from the infamous Feb. 28 by Sevgi Akarçeşme
Thursday was the 11th anniversary of the last full-scale intervention of the Turkish military in domestic politics. In terms of its impact, Feb. 28, 1997, was huge; yet because of its unconventional methods, it took time for people to realize its scope and background.Turkish society
