The worse the caos in Iraq grows, the worse problem..

Meanwhile, Ankara is satisfied with the outcome of the recent two-day Damascus summit of the foreign ministers of Iraq’s neighbors, namely, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey itself. The summit’s final declaration included a significant sentence calling on Iraq’s Governing Council to fight against the terrorist groups in Iraq, including the PKK/KADEK. Ankara is counting this as a victory over the terrorist group even though the council has failed to recognize the final declaration. Ankara still believes that Turkey’s contribution to peacekeeping duties would change things a great deal in the war-torn country, while at the same time, boosting Turkey’s status on the international stage. Certain circles think that Turkey could play a major role in establishing peace and stability in our neighbor.

To give you an idea how confused people are on this issue, I’d like to share some quotes from my conversations with some Turkish and foreign diplomats at a dinner last week. Western diplomats believe that a democratic regime might be established in Iraq. But how exactly should this happen? Should it be a union of federations based on ethnic and religious identities? Or is it possible to create an awareness of common citizenship in Iraq?

Onur Oymen, a former foreign ministry undersecretary, stated that he believes ethnic or religious-based formations in Iraq are doomed to fail. ‘We believe that the Turkish model, which brings together different identities under one common sense of citizenship, would be the best,’ he argued. But Hikmet Cetin, a former foreign minister and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader, disputed this, contending that an up-to-down democracy imposed by foreign powers in Iraq carried a high risk of failure. Then I asked these ex-diplomats a question: ‘Which Turkey will be a model to Iraq? The Turkey of the 1930s, the Turkey of the ‘70s or today’s Turkey?’ Furthermore, the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) former Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis highlighted another important point: ‘Although we’re talking about a Muslim democracy, there is a significant problem that while a significant number of countries don’t see Turkey as a sufficiently developed democracy, yet another significant group thinks we’re not Muslim enough.’

Ankara stopping efforts on the troop deployment issue is the right move for now. The ball is Washington’s court. Ankara should be very careful since recent reports show every-increasing chaos across the border. As a matter of fact, the risks we’re very likely to face in Iraq if we send our troops there are beyond our imagination and darker than ever. It’s now high time for Ankara to revise both its Iraq policy and its objectives in the region.”