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902. Northern Iraq and its Neighbors: The regional dimension of the Kurdish question
- Author:
- Ole Frahm
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Northern Iraq has seen ethnic mobilization and violent political conflict since the creation of the current state system in the interwar period. Throughout this period, Iraq's Kurds have rejected attempts of various governments to assimilate and absorb them into their pan-Arab ideologies. The underlying fear on behalf of Turkey's government is that an independent Kurdistan would have an osmotic effect and automatically strengthen irredentist and pan-Kurdish segments and sentiments among Turkish Kurds and in a worst case scenario lead to a renewed intra-state conflict between separatists and the state on the scale of the early 1990s.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Turkey
903. Syria's Relations with Iraq
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Syrian diplomacy, crowned last November by the re-establishment of bilateral relations and in January by the first state visit of an Iraqi president to Syria in nearly 30 years, seeks to promote Damascus's strategic interests amidst Iraq's continuing violence. Syria initially favored the "managed chaos" that characterized Iraq in the several months following the U.S. invasion because it kept U.S. troops "pinned down" and therefore unlikely to invade Syria. However, the past year's dramatic escalation in sectarian violence, coupled with fears of Iraq's potential disintegration, has impelled Syria to seek greater stability in Iraq. In particular, Damascus has signaled its displeasure with Iraqi Kurdish autonomy, which has emboldened Syria's Kurdish population, estimated at 1.7 million.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Syria
904. China and Russia: Common Interests, Contrasting Perceptions
- Author:
- Bobo Lo
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- President Vladimir Putin's visit to China in March 2006 was in many respects a spectacular success. The Russian delegation was the largest and most diverse in post-Soviet times. The number of agreements, 29, represented a record in the history of the relationship. And the atmosphere was the most positive of any of Putin's overseas trips. Surveying the landscape of the relationship, there seems nothing not to like. The 4,300 km common border has finally been demarcated in its entirety; Moscow and Beijing agree on practically every regional and international issue of consequence – Chechnya, Taiwan, Iraq, Iran. Official trade has multiplied nearly six-fold during Putin's presidency; and the first ever Sino-Russian joint military exercises took place in August 2005.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Iraq, Iran, Taiwan, Beijing, Soviet Union, Chechnya, and Moscow
905. Iraqi Partition and Turkey's War on Terror: A Wider Perspective
- Author:
- Bülent Aras
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- In an age of war on terror, Turkey pursues its own war against the escalating PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) terror. The dynamics that led to a parliamentary motion for a cross border operation into Northern Iraq will have implications for Turkey's relations with Washington, Baghdad and other capitals in the region. The Expanded Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Iraq held in Istanbul on 2-3 November 2007 coincided with Turkey's intensive regional diplomacy. There are serious challenges to ending PKK terrorism and finding a lasting solution to the Kurdish problem. The Erdogan Government must fight terrorism in a way that will not jeopardize the process of democratization and political reforms in Turkey.
- Topic:
- Terrorism and War
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Turkey
906. Turkey – Syria: A Belated Friendship?
- Author:
- Gökhan Bacik
- Publication Date:
- 07-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- The recent rapprochement between Turkey and Syria is an important development in the regional politics. An analysis might give a clue to systemic and domestic dynamics interacting to lead to lasting amicable relations between the two states. Naturally both countries are motivated by changing regional and international forces. The article looks at the dynamics of rapprochement between two states. Major issues, such as the role of new international environment, the role of Iraqi crisis are also analyzed in the same vein.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Turkey, and Syria
907. Future War: The War on Terror after Iraq
- Author:
- Adam Elkus
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Athena Intelligence Journal
- Institution:
- Athena Intelligence
- Abstract:
- The Bush administration's attempts to portray the War in Iraq as the main front in the War on Terror have become self-fulfilling prophecy. Iraq--like 1980s Afghanistan--has drawn foreign fighters eager to bleed an overextended superpower and acquire valuable combat experience. Because of the global media's fixation on Iraq, it has become the defining symbol of America's violent encounter with Islam. Because of this, it is difficult to predict what form the War on Terror will take when America leaves Iraq.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, and America
908. Improvised Explosive Devices
- Author:
- Javier Jordán and Fernando M. Mañas
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Athena Intelligence Journal
- Institution:
- Athena Intelligence
- Abstract:
- Las fuerzas de Estados Unidos se encuentran empeñadas en dos teatros bélicos que son escenario de insurgencia y contrainsurgencia: Afganistán e Irak. En ellos los insurgentes combaten, en la mayor parte de los casos, mediante tácticas que evitan el enfrentamiento directo y que, además de asegurar un goteo continuo de bajas norteamericanas y europeas, prolongan el conflicto y les permiten vislumbrar un horizonte de victoria a través de la obstinación. En semejante contexto los artefactos explosivos improvisados VEDs, acrónimo de Improvised Explosive Device) se han convertido en una de las principales armas de los insurgentes. Prueba de ello es que los ataques con IEDs son responsables de gran parte de las muertes sufridas por las fuerzas internacionales desplegadas en Afganistán e Irak. Este paper ofrece un análisis introductorio sobre las características básicas de los IEDs, las principales contramedidas, y las consecuencias estratégicas y políticas de su empleo.
- Topic:
- Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East, and Asia
909. Turkey's War on Terror
- Author:
- Bülent Aras
- Publication Date:
- 11-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- In an age of war on terror, Turkey pursues its own war against the escalating PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) terror. The dynamics that led to a parliamentary motion for a cross border operation into Northern Iraq will have implications for Turkey's relations with Washington, Baghdad and other capitals in the region. The Expanded Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Iraq held in Istanbul on 2-3 November 2007 coincided with Turkey's intensive regional diplomacy. There are serious challenges to ending PKK terrorism and finding a lasting solution to the Kurdish problem. The Erdogan Government must fight terrorism in a way that will not jeopardize the process of democratization and political reforms in Turkey.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Democratization, Terrorism, and War
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Washington, Turkey, Middle East, and Baghdad
910. NATO and 21st Century War
- Author:
- Samuel Grier
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- NATO Defense College
- Abstract:
- There is an expectation that the West, and the United States in particular, faces catastrophe in Iraq and Afghanistan. Confronted with significant casualties arising from the employment of asymmetric warfare by determined adversaries, the United States and its NATO and Coalition partners have found decisive solutions to both conflicts elusive. Similarly, the challenges confronting Iraqis are daunting, and according to the recently released declassified Key Findings of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, dependence on Coalition forces as an essential stabilizing element in Iraq will continue.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Cooperation, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Middle East