19.01.2007

Since they can't find their own topics to write on, they love the laziness of being able to base their columns on past topics that I have written on before.

But now I have a proposal for them:

They should pull out my old columns on the March 1, 2003 bill (the bill debated in Turkish Parliament on whether to allow the US military the right to launch a land invasion of Iraq from Turkish soil.....the bill was defeated by 3 votes).

I am calling for this in particular now that certain CHP members have been crying "Let's send soldiers to nothern Iraq." Let them look and see what it was that I said those days. And then look and see where we've arrived these days.

* * *

In the time of debates over the March 1 bill, I had written a warning "If the Turkish Parliament doesn't pass this bill, we will be forced to fight the US in the future." And now it looks like my prediction was correct. Those who told me then "You will be responsible for every Turkish coffin that returns from there" are now completely silent.

Because still, throughout the way, hundreds of Turkish coffins have returned from Iraq. And now those same peace-loving friends are saying that the Turkish military should enter Northern Iraq.

And I say "No way."

Turkey needs to solve the Northern Iraq problem not by warring, but with diplomacy and intelligence. And while doing this, it needs to transcend the whole "line in the sand" mentality and start coming up with new scenarios.

I will go a step further: Turkey should be working on some radical scenarios.

And among these should be one scenario that includes the reality of a Kurdish state being set up in Northern Iraq. It is now time to ask ourselves the following question:

"Is having a Sunni Kurdish state lie between us and the Iraqi Arabs a good thing or a bad thing?"

* * *

Yes, I know, that question makes us all uncomfortable. But if no one has the courage to ask it, someone has to step forward and take the initiative.

I think we need to psychologically prepare ourselves for the day when these realities might just be pressing up against us. And that is why I am "tucking a red carnation onto my lapel" to announce formally that I am against Turkey sending troops into Northern Iraq.