News Analysis: Turkish gov't fights 2-front war for security, domestic politics reasons

Ankara, for national security and domestic politics reasons, has cranked up in the past few days military actions against the militants of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and those of Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq in response to the recent wave of terror attacks in the country, analysts say.

The two groups represent "fundamental threats" to Turkey, while the authorities now have to fight against the PKK and IS at the same time, political analyst Idris Gursoy told Xinhua.

Ankara is concerned that Kurds, emboldened by gains in Iraq and Syria, may have an incentive now to ask for a greater autonomy and even independence that risks the unitary structure of Turkish state.

Similarly, the IS, heavy on radical Salafi religious narrative, may pose greater threats to predominantly Sunni nation of Turkey by extending its network of recruitment and funding across Syrian and Iraqi border areas.

On Friday, Turkish fighter jets pounded camps of the PKK in northern Iraq overnight, hitting what the prime minister's office described as safe havens, shelters, depots, and logistical positions that were maintained by the PKK.

The armed forces also supported the air strikes by shelling targets in northern Iraq.

CROSS-BORDER INCURSIONS NOT NEW

This is not the first time Turkish military acted against the PKK hideouts in Iraq as it staged operations in 1990s and early 2000.

The Iraqi central government that has little or no control in northern part used to protest Turkish incursion, but Ankara defended its right to hot pursuit to terrorists under international laws.

The PKK attacks and the government's heavy-handed responses have the potential to kill the settlement process that Ankara launched in 2013 to resolve the decades-long Kurdish problem.

"Relations between the Turkish authorities and the PKK will no doubt remain tense and radicals on both sides might still try to provoke new clashes," Joost Lagendijk, an observer on Turkish politics, said.

Nevertheless, he argued that the overarching goal of the government is now to protect the nation from new IS attacks on the border and especially in city centers.

Still, the ratcheting-up of air raids against PKK has raised concerns the country about the future of the long-stagnated peace process.

CRACKDOWN ON IS CELLS

Turkey has recently intensified the crackdown on IS cells with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu saying that almost 600 militants suspected having links with terror groups have been rounded up within two days.

Turkish military has already ratcheted up its battle with the IS militants with air strikes hitting IS targets inside Syria after a suspected IS bomber killed 32 people in border town Suruc of Sanliurfa province bordering neighboring Syria earlier this week.

The Prime Minister's office said Turkey had to engage in cross border operations to protect national sovereignty, which is in line with the international laws, adding that international organizations such as the United Nations and NATO as well as allies were informed through foreign ministry.

"Turkey could not sit back and stand idle in the face of encroachment by terror groups along its border areas," Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, professor of international relations at Ankara-based Gazi University, told Xinhua.

"Both Iraq and Syria are unfortunately rendered ineffective in controlling the activities of terrorist groups in northern parts. That leaved Turkey on its own to defend its interest," he explained.

Two-days of bombings in the cross-border areas inside Iraq and Syria signals a major shift in Turkish policy in thwarting the PKK and IS terror groups.

Turkish officials have also sounded more hawkish in their statements.

"This is not just a pinpoint operation but rather a process," Davutoglu remarked, vowing that Turkey would continue the offensive as long as threats remain.

Turkey will not hesitate to retaliate against "the slightest threatening movement," the prime minister underlined.

TURKEY ENLISTS SUPPORT

The Turkish prime minister said he had talks with Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region in Iraq, whom he said agreed with the reasoning behind the Turkish offensive.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also had a separate phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama during which the two had discussed the terror threats.

"In our phone call with Obama, we reiterated our determination in the struggle against the separatist organization (PKK) and the IS," Erdogan told reporters.

The conversation came amid reports that Ankara had approved the use of its air bases by the U.S.-led coalition to mount strikes against IS.

Commenting on the deal, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the framework agreement was finalized to offer a better effective fight against the IS.

"Our goal is to eliminate the Daesh (IS in Arabic) threat," he stated.

The no-fly zone, safe zone or security buffer zone, long-demanded by Turkey for keeping refugee flow inside Syria, no longer seem to be part of discussions between Turkey and the U.S.

Instead local media reported that Turkey and the United States have agreed on a military action plan to create what they call an IS-free zone in border areas.

Cavusoglu said once the IS threats are removed from Syria and Iraq, safe zones would be established naturally.

DOMESTIC POLITICS PLAY A ROLE

Some Turkish analysts believed domestic politics play a major role behind the hawkish posturing by Turkish officials ahead of likely snap elections in November.

The June elections in Turkey resulted in no clear winner in politics as no political party garnered enough support to establish a single party government.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in power for the last 13 years, lost the majority in the Parliament.

The AKP chairman Davutoglu and former leader and current President Erdogan both hope to regain lost strength in early elections that will be called in when the coalition talks fail to form a government.

Both the IS and PKK attacks will pave the way for the AKP to come to the power alone again, Mumtazer Turkone predicted.

He said the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), seen as political affiliate to the PKK, will lose some of its support to the AKP.

Others are worried about the backlash from an incursion into Syria.

"Intervention in Syria would mean that the Syrian conflict comes to Turkey," Ihsan Yilmaz, the head of the Istanbul Institute, a think tank, said.

He estimated that some disturbances and explosions in different parts of the country may very well occur as a result of reshaped Syrian policy. Endit