Sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites continues to dominate headlines, but the latest threat to stability in Iraq -- and perhaps the whole region -- appears to be mounting tension between the Turkish government and Iraq's Kurds, both of whom are now reported to be massing troops on the Iraq-Turkey border. While regional experts say the breakout of violence along the border likely is not imminent, recent developments indicate the United States is taking the threat seriously, as the consequences of a conflagration could be dire for the fragile Iraqi occupation. Turkey insists its grievance is with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The PKK is based in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq, and Turkish leaders cite a lack of help from the United States and Iraq in preventing and responding to attacks believed to have been carried out by the PKK inside Turkey.
Turkey-Kurdish Conflict Threatens Stability of Iraq, Region
