The Turkish Parliament has agreed to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq. This marks the first predominantly Muslim country to send troops to Iraq.
However, there is a downside to this – the Kurds and the Turks have a long and bloody history, and Turkish troops can cause problems if they’re stationed in Kurdish areas.
On the other hand, the Kurdish areas are doing well on their own. Where the Turks can be especially helpful is in helping secure the Sunni Triangle. There are a lot of Islamic terrorists that may think twice about killing fellow Muslims, and the Turks have already dealt with violent terrorist movements like the PKK – they know how to reduce the threat of insurgents.
This also shows that even without a UN authorization, the world understands that a stable Iraq is more important than the protests of Dominique de Villepin and Jacques Chirac. While India has already stated it cannot afford to send troops, many other countries have chosen to do so. It is clear that the UN has lost credibility on Iraq, and their continued stonewalling and the fact that they’re continually pulling personnel back from Iraq it is clear they are not able to meet the demands of effective nation building.
