Kurds and oil: Erdogan’s unbridled desires in Iraq

Nora Bandari

Turkey has been seeking to establish new military bases in Arab countries in order to implement its goal of reviving the Ottoman Empire ever since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power. It has established bases in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Qatar, and now it seeks to establish new bases in Libya.

The primary role of Turkey’s bases, whether in Syria or Iraq, is to prevent the Syrian Kurds from achieving any kind of independence or autonomy, to confront the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in both Iraq and Syria, and to transfer the war against them there instead of inside Turkey.

Iraqi rejection

In this context, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced in a tweet on June 17 the deployment of special forces in northern Iraq as part of a ground operation against the PKK after Ankara claimed an increase in attacks recently against Turkish police stations and military bases located near the Iraqi border.

Iraq has rejected the existence of these bases, and the government in Baghdad has repeatedly demanded Turkey to withdraw its forces. Representatives in the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament submitted in late 2019 a request to remove the Turkish forces from the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This shows the strained relationship between Turkey and Iraq.

On June 16, Baghdad summoned the Turkish ambassador to protest the strikes launched by the Turkish air force against PKK sites on Iraqi territory, particularly in the northern cities of Qandil, Sinjar and Hakurk.

According to reports in 2019, there are about 20 Turkish military bases distributed in the provinces of Erbil and Duhok in northern Iraq, and some reports have indicated that Ankara has a number of security headquarters in which Turkish intelligence agents are stationed.

Turkish allegations

Ankara is reluctant to withdraw its forces from Iraq, as the country represents an important region, possessing the fourth largest oil reserves globally and an important geopolitical position in the Arab Gulf region. Iraq is also important for the security of Turkey’s southern borders, so Ankara continues to establish new bases despite Iraq’s rejection, claiming that its forces are pursuing the PKK.

Ankara seeks to use Iraq in order to obtain a regional role in the Middle East, and it also desires to limit Iranian influence in Iraq and Syria through its direct participation in the conflict.