The Fox Guarding The Henhouse
Turkey today gave its approval for the eventual deployment in Iraq of up to 10,000 troops. This is a good thing but everyone concerned about the maintenance of a multinational, multireligious Iraq should be on guard, for if the example of Turkish troops in eastern Turkey is any example the ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq may be in for one hell of a ride.
I'm sure that with the troops being under US operational command that the worst instincts of the Anatolian peasants that make up the majority of the Turkish armed forces will be restrained. So Iraqi Christians won't have to worry about their homes and churches being burned down or their monastaries attacked, unlike their brethern in Eastern Turkey who bore the brunt of a decade-long anti-insurgent campaign poorly conducted by the Turkish military and backed up by the government in Ankara.
Involving Turkey in Iraq is a good step by the United States because it knits the only secular, Muslim country in the world into the fiber of Iraq and also relieves pressure on US forces. However Turkish troop should know they're under a microscope and each and every action they take in Iraq will be heavily scrutinized by those deeply concerned about its abysmal record with its own minorities. This is Turkey's chance to either shine, or fail terribly.
9:59:26 AM 
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