March 2011, Page 63

Waging Peace

Turkey's Role in Iraq

Qubad Talabani, a representative of the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq, and Can Oguz, a counselor at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC, discussed "Turkey's Engagement in Iraq" at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, at a Nov. 30 event co-hosted by the Middle East Institute (MEI). MEI scholar Charles Dunne and Gönül Tol, executive director of MEI's Center for Turkish Studies, facilitated the discussion and introduced the participants. The issue of the formation of an Iraqi government dominated discussion, which included such considerations as regional stability, trade, Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Oguz described Turkey's role in Iraq as supportive "on a federal level in their quest to become a stable country," citing Turkey's engagement on matters related to trade, the economy and even transportation. Ankara, he stressed, is engaging with each and every component of Iraqi society, "regardless of their sectarian background," through both political and social networks. He was enthusiastic about the Turkish-U.S. relationship, saying that the degree of cooperation is "close to perfect...we are coordinating on an almost daily basis."

Qubad Talabani, the son of current Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, spoke next, highlighting the influence Kurdish politicians have had on the formation of Iraq's new government. "I'm proud to say that the Kurds in the process played a pivotal role in trying to change the dynamics of the discussion," Talabani said. He explained that Kurdish politicians had been holding up the process to ensure that all groups in Iraq had a role. Later, during audience questions, he again pointed to the stalled process, this time as evidence that Iranian influence in Iraq is much weaker than is often believed. More than who should fill what posts, he explained, "it is important to ask what posts there should be, and what kind of government they should have."

Finally, MEI's Dunne, formerly the Iraq director at the National Security Center, discussed the relationship among the U.S., Iraq and Turkey. He began his remarks by listing U.S. interests in Iraq: political stability, a stable security situation, reintegration of Iraq into the region, and a robust relationship between Iraq and the U.S. Turkey and the U.S. both want a stable Iraq, he said, as a check against its land being used to fight proxy wars. As for what he thought America should be doing, he suggested that the U.S. direct more resources to party-building activities, support for independent NGOs, and building judicial capacity—all elements he argued, "essential to the functioning of a democratic society." In Obama's 2010 budget request, Dunne noted approvingly, 66 percent of the assistance request for Iraq was devoted to the Governing Justly and Democratically rubric—a six percent increase from 2009. The same budget, however, cut support for civil society groups by 54 percent and programs that support political development and party building by about 6 percent. Regarding the role Turkey can play, Dunne praised the strong relationship between Ankara and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and suggested that it be used as a basis on which to build the government's capacity in the north.

Overall, each participant praised the other two countries' role in Iraq, reinforced the theme of cooperation on multiple levels, and sounded confident about Iraq's future.

—Evan Thomas-Arnold