Sunday, December 23, 2007

What part of "casus belli" doesn't Iraq understand?

Turkey has bombed Kurdish rebels in Iraq and the Iraqi government is in a snit. First off, they maintain that the bombing was futile, that the Turks spent their time bombing unoccupied places. Right. This is a real country, with a modern army and serious weaponry, and they can't hit anybody?

They go on to blither about how Turkey has interfered in Iraq's internal affairs. When people from inside your country attack the military forces of your neighbor, that's one of the standard, legitimate reasons to go to war. Turkey has not interfered, it has invaded, albeit briefly, and with sufficient reason. They are to be applauded for their restraint.

The Iraqis naturally are loath to describe it as an invasion, having been invaded once and after almost five years remaining occupied. But someone needs to explain clearly to the Iraqi Kurds that they get their three provinces, but nothing from Iran, Turkey, or Syria. Them's the breaks.

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