YSK: Iran and Turkey Shell PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan

I have to apologize for neglecting this story of late. I have been so caught up with other things that I haven't kept a very close eye on the situation between Turkey and the Kurds (although I have been putting together a pretty long piece on what I think the outcome of this conflict will be - that should be up soon). Unfortunately, things seem to be heating up. Via Daily Kos: Iraqi Kurdistan is being shelled by Iran and Turkey (mostly Iran). They are, of course, trying to hit the PKK which has been performing guerilla incursions into each country as well as providing material support to indigenous Turkish and Iranian PKK separatists. The joint nature of this attack is bad news for the Bush administration. If the Turks acted alone, the administration could try and smooth this over between the Kurds and Ankara (which might mean moving more coalition troops into Northern Iraq - not something the US wants to do given the state of the rest of Iraq). If Iran acted alone it could be pretense for what many suspect, i.e. that the US wants an excuse to attack Iran. However, since both countries are aiding each other in this fight, the US might not know which way to jump. As I've said earlier, this whole situation has the potential of pushing one of our only Middle Eastern allies (Turkey) closer to one of our biggest adversaries (Iran). The Peshmerga (Iraqi Kurdish militia) could deal with the PKK if they really wanted to. The US needs to make sure that this situation is dealt with immediately and decisively before it opens up a new front in the region. (I thought it was funny that the poster at Kos was wondering why he hadn't heard of this - because you didn't come here.) Tags: World War III, Middle East, Politics, Terrorism, Iraq, Turkey, International, NATO, PKK, Kurdistan, Kurds