Did the United States approve the latest Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq?
A1: The Turkish offensive has been a long time coming in the eyes of the Turkish public, who were outraged by an uptick this autumn in violence by the terrorist group, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), based in northern Iraq. Despite claims by U.S. officials on and off the record, the United States almost certainly approved the December 16 Turkish airstrikes into northern Iraq against PKK targets. Three-hundred Turkish troops were also moved across the border this week, mainly as a show of force, and have since been recalled. The United States may deny authorization of any strikes to avoid further inflaming anti-U.S. sentiment in Iraq’s government and population, but the reality is that the U.S. military is in the awkward position of guaranteeing and controlling Iraq’s territorial sovereignty. Turkey has, since July 2003, demonstrated that it will not enter Iraq without U.S. approval, unless in hot pursuit of terrorists who have carried out an attack on Turkish territory. Following the
