The easiest way to get into northern Iraq is through Turkey.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Northern Iraq has become, economically, a natural extension of Turkey.
And the separatist terrorist organization, PKK, had easy access to Turkey to, inside Turkey.
Turkey is a safe country. Stay there.
Talk about national interests: When we went in with Operation Iraqi Freedom, some of our allies, Turkey, for example, would not let us through. How much trouble did that cause us, because we were not able to go into Iraq through Turkey?
Turkey must find its place if, of course, it can heal its internal sores, and none is more malignant than the perennial Kurdish issue.
Turkey has worked alongside its allies from the beginning.
That is one of the reasons why we advocate for good relations between the two countries. Turkey understands the needs of the region.
I had first visited Kurdistan in 2003 before the invasion of Iraq, camping out in Erbil and Sulaimaniya while waiting for Saddam Hussein's fall.
The Erdogan government's first major step outside of the U.S. alliance was during the Bush Administration, when it wouldn't let Washington use Turkey as a launching ground for U.S. troops entering Iraq in 2003.
Long-term, we must figure out a way that the Kurdish territory within Iraq operates with a certain amount of autonomy so that they feel comfortable and safe going back.
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