The Turkish parliament has overwhelmingly passed a resolution that will allow Turkey to invade Iraq to pursue the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).  The PKK’s purpose is to obtain more freedom for the Kurds in Turkey.  The vote was approved 507-19.  The decisiveness of the vote showed Turkey’s unwillingness to solely depend on Iraqi forces to deal with the PKK, despite Bush’s promise that a Turkish invasion is unnecessary.  The Iraqi Kurds fear that an attack by the Turkish military will destabilize the region.  However, Turkey has amassed 60,000 troops near the Iraqi border.  The Turkish military has not immediately attacked Iraq because the military is still hoping that a diplomatic solution can be reached.  The likelihood of a diplomatic resolution is shrinking, especially with the strained relations between the US and Turkey regarding Congress’s passage of the Armenian “genocide” bill.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press- Turkish Parliament Approves Iraq Mission- 17 October 2007

BBC News- Turkish MPs back attacks in Iraq- 17 October 2007