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From Agence France Presse:
AFP: Turkish air force bombs Kurdish rebels in Iraq: TV report
Even as Turkey has complained excessively about Israel's seeking to inspect vessels bound for the Gaza Strip and its Prime Minister Recep Erdogan declared that Hamas is not a terrorist group, Turkey's actions reveal a clear double standard on at least two fronts:
1. Turkey allows itself a free hand when it comes to combating those it defines as terrorist organizations.
2. Turkey is willing to breach the borders of sovereign states in doing so, even as it complains about others who act in self-defense.
The reality is that both Hamas and the PKK are terrorist organizations. In addition, the inherent right of self-defense against terrorist organizations applies to all sovereign states, not just Turkey.
One wonders how Turkey would respond if the PKK were described as "a resistance group fighting to defend their land," the exact language he used to describe Hamas. Make no mistake, Turkey would take very strong exception to such a characterization. Nevertheless, even as Israel and other sovereign states are not likely to characterize the PKK terrorist organization in such terms, Turkey sees fit to apply an inconsistent standard when it comes to the Hamas terrorist organization.
Finally, the many critics who incorrectly asserted that Israel had violated international maritime law when seeking to inspect the flotilla--it didn't--are extremely unlikely to speak out against Turkey's carrying out an air raid in a neighboring sovereign state. That, too, is an inconsistent approach that reveals that Israel's critics are concerned far more about Israel's acting to defend itself than they are about broader principles.
Turkish warplanes bombed Monday several Kurdish rebel positions in neighbouring northern Iraq, the NTV news channel reported, amid an upsurge in unrest between troops and the outlawed group.
Six combat planes targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in Zap-Khakurk in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish zone, the channel said, citing the Internet site of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
AFP: Turkish air force bombs Kurdish rebels in Iraq: TV report
Even as Turkey has complained excessively about Israel's seeking to inspect vessels bound for the Gaza Strip and its Prime Minister Recep Erdogan declared that Hamas is not a terrorist group, Turkey's actions reveal a clear double standard on at least two fronts:
1. Turkey allows itself a free hand when it comes to combating those it defines as terrorist organizations.
2. Turkey is willing to breach the borders of sovereign states in doing so, even as it complains about others who act in self-defense.
The reality is that both Hamas and the PKK are terrorist organizations. In addition, the inherent right of self-defense against terrorist organizations applies to all sovereign states, not just Turkey.
One wonders how Turkey would respond if the PKK were described as "a resistance group fighting to defend their land," the exact language he used to describe Hamas. Make no mistake, Turkey would take very strong exception to such a characterization. Nevertheless, even as Israel and other sovereign states are not likely to characterize the PKK terrorist organization in such terms, Turkey sees fit to apply an inconsistent standard when it comes to the Hamas terrorist organization.
Finally, the many critics who incorrectly asserted that Israel had violated international maritime law when seeking to inspect the flotilla--it didn't--are extremely unlikely to speak out against Turkey's carrying out an air raid in a neighboring sovereign state. That, too, is an inconsistent approach that reveals that Israel's critics are concerned far more about Israel's acting to defend itself than they are about broader principles.