Turkish commanders discuss counterterrorism strategies and lessons learned from 25 years of fighting the PKK |
| |
Authors: | Karen Kaya |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , USA karen.kaya@us.army.mil |
| |
Abstract: | This article is an extended book review of the Turkish book Commanders' Front (Komutanlar Cephesi, Istanbul: Detay Publishing, 2007), written by prominent Turkish journalist Fikret Bila, who compiled a series of interviews with retired Turkish military commanders and two former presidents. It provides a foreign perspective on counterinsurgency/terrorism strategies and lessons learned from Turkey's small war against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The interviews reveal the generals' views on Turkey's long-standing fight with the PKK, discussing topics ranging from the social aspect of the PKK problem to mistakes made in arming local militia. In addition, it presents the Turkish perspective on US policy in Iraq. |
| |
Keywords: | insurgency terrorism PKK Iraq Turkey military counterinsurgency separatism northern Iraq Turkish Armed Forces |
|
|