Novak: Compounding Errors in Iraq?

Bob Novak warns that the Administration, facing yet more unintended consequences of the invasion of Iraq, may embark on a high-risk, low return venture in the Middle East by helping Turkey to suppress leftist Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq: http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/489380,CST-EDT-novak30.article

"…significant cross-border operations surely would bring to the PKK’s side the military forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the best U.S. ally in Iraq. What is Washington to do in the dilemma of two friends battling each other on an unwanted new front in Iraq?"

"…in secret briefings on Capitol Hill last week by Eric S. Edelman, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney and now undersecretary of defense for policy… who once was U.S. ambassador to Turkey, he revealed to lawmakers plans for a covert operation of U.S. Special Forces helping the Turks neutralize the PKK. They would behead the guerrilla organization by helping Turkey get rid of PKK leaders that they have targeted for years. Edelman’s listeners were stunned. Wasn’t this risky? He responded he was sure of success, adding that the U.S. role could be concealed and always would be denied. Even if all this is true, some of the briefed lawmakers left wondering whether this was a wise policy for handling the beleaguered Kurds who had been betrayed so often by U.S. governments in years past."

We’re not convinced that the KRG would come to the aid of the PKK, especially in a scenario like the one (allegedly) being floated by Edelman. But we agree with Novak that this is a high-risk venture with low to negative returns, and we find the the tactics (again, allegedly) proposed by Edelman especially disconcerting, as it threatens to destroy yet more of our country’s global political capital. Like all other forms of capital, political capital will expand only if it is invested well. We’re supposed to be the good guys. Let’s invest our political capital abroad accordingly.