"Operation Steel" Is a Legitimate Response To Terrorism

By Hasan Mesut Hazar

The Turkish military's recent action in northern Iraq, codenamed Operation Steel, had three important aims. First, the armed camps established in the region by the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, were to be eliminated. Second, PKK military capability was to be neutralized, and third, the region was to be stabilized to deny PKK terrorists a base for future armed operations.

Operation Steel, which involved 35,000 troops and was the largest operation in the history of the Turkish military, was directed by Gendarme Security Region Commander Hasan Kundakci—nicknamed "the Schwarzkopf of Turkey." Planning for the pre-emptive action began on Feb. 26 after Turkish forces learned the PKK was planning a series of raids and massacres for the spring months. On the night of March 20, Mehmetcik (Turkish soldiers) crossed the border into Iraq and attacked an estimated 2,800 PKK terrorists in their camps.

PKK leaders, including the organization's chief, Abdullah Ocalan, fled to Syria following a tip from the government in Damascus. Some PKK members followed their leader to Syria, while others fled to Iran and attempted to blend in with the local population. Many other PKK insurgents hid during the Turkish operation. When they were flushed out by searching Mehmetcik, most of them surrendered. They understood that facing a Turkish soldier was not like killing defenseless women and children.

History of the "Safe Haven"

In 1992, Turkey reached an agreement with Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, leaders of the two major Iraqi Kurd factions. The accord permitted the presence of the PKK inside the northern Iraqi "safe zone" established after the Gulf war with the stipulation that PKK terrorists would be unarmed and prevented from staging terrorist actions in Turkey.

Barzani and Talabani soon fell to fighting amongst themselves, however, and failed to keep their promises. Masoud Barzani has stated, "In 1992, the PKK drew back to Down Zeli camp and promised not to establish camps in the north. After a while our internal conflict arose. When we started to fight against Talabani, we drew back our forces near the border [in the north of the zone]. The PKK, although it had promised not to, took advantage, returned and settled in the region" near the Turkish border. Jalal Talabani, in control of much of the southern part of the safe zone, even struck an alliance with the PKK in an attempt to outflank his rival, Masoud Barzani.

The 67 security stations which Turkey had established along its border with Iraq had been handed over to the Iraqi Kurd groups. In the wake of the Talabani-Barzani conflict, the PKK was able to slip freely past these checkpoints and kill women and children inside Turkey. Ankara was not prepared to leave this threat unmet, and Operation Steel was launched.

Unfortunately, European reaction to Turkey's operation demonstrated the hypocrisy of the West. Since the end of the Gulf war and the implementation by the allied forces of Operation Provide Comfort, thousands of civilians have died in northern Iraq. Some were killed in the Barzani-Talabani infighting, others were the victims of the international embargo on Iraq which has deprived the region of resources. Turkey has been the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Iraq, despite the toll of the Gulf war on its own people and economy. This fact, along with the previous silence of Europe and America in the face of Iraqi suffering, made the unusual pressure imposed by the West on Turkey during Operation Steel even more disturbing.

Western policymakers who took the trouble to come to the region saw a different scene than the one painted in Western capitals. British Labor Party MPs Ann Clwyd and Jim Cousins visited the northern Iraqi zone, saw evidence of a recent PKK massacre, and stated that Turkey's military action was justified. While stressing that the operation should be temporary, as Ankara always insisted it would be, Clwyd and Cousins added that there was no evidence of any Turkish violence against civilians in the area.

Tracing the Weapons Trail

As Operation Steel wound down, Turkish public attention turned to the large quantities of military equipment found in the PKK camps. Turks believe that the countries and companies which supply arms to the PKK, a terrorist organization which has murdered innocent adults and children without compunction, not a political group, bear a moral and legal responsibility. Thus, those who supply them with arms are guilty of human rights violations themselves.

Turkish military professionals I have spoken with say most of the PKK's arms are of Russian manufacture, and probably come from Iraqi and Syrian military stocks. In addition to Russian Kalashnikov assault rifles, Turkish troops found Dochka anti-aircraft guns, Russian-made 62, 82 and 122 mm mortars, and Diktiryov machine guns.

Yet European-made anti-aircraft and anti-tank rocket launchers were seized, in addition to 75-mm German artillery pieces and American and French weapons. Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu asked his German counterpart, Klaus Kinkel, about photos of "Hot" missiles captured in PKK camps. Kinkel replied that the missiles were a joint Franco-German venture, and that export of the weapons was being handled by the French.

Large quantities of Italian anti-tank and anti-personnel landmines also were captured. Turkish military officials point out that Italy is the world leader in landmine technology and production.

Providing Comfort

Operation Steel was designed from the start to be a temporary operation. After the Turkish military concluded its mission professionally and honorably, it began a staged withdrawal. In addition to an area free of PKK terrorists, Turkey also left behind a warning: "We will not permit any gap in authority in northern Iraq that will allow the PKK to resettle in the region." The area across the border from Turkey must be controlled and the population there comforted. The Iraqi government in Baghdad has been denied sovereignty and authority over the region, but this should not mean that chaos is allowed to reign.

Operation Steel was an historic military operation, both because of its success in achieving Turkish security and imposing a check on PKK terrorism, and for the low level of civilian casualties. Our hope in Turkey is that the world will realize that today terrorism is the number one threat. If we understand that terrorism has no religion and no nationality, and remain sincere to the values of humanity, we can avoid the pitfall of a "clash of civilizations." Otherwise, the danger is closer than we might imagine.

Hasan Mesut Hazar is the Washington bureau chief for the Turkiye Daily, TGRT Broadcasting and the Ihlas News Agency.