MOST
PEOPLE would agree that it's bad ethics for government
officials to invest in companies that they regulate.
But what about a US special envoy to a Middle East trouble
spot who happens to be a director of an arms company
selling weapons to one of the parties in the conflict?
That's the case of retired Air Force General Joseph Ralston,
who was appointed by the Bush administration in August
to help US ally Turkey counter the Kurdistan Workers Party,
or PKK , the Kurdish rebels who are seeking autonomy from
Turkey and have bases in northern Iraq. Ralston, a former
NATO supreme allied commander, has been negotiating with
Turkish generals and Iraqi leaders since his appointment
to develop measures to eliminate the bases.
The problem is that General Ralston is on the board of
Lockheed Martin, the world's largest arms maker, which
just last month finalized a $2.9 billion sale for advanced
F-16 fighters that may well be used in the Kurdish region
(the State Department acknowledges that F-16 s were involved
in human rights abuses in Turkey in the 1990s). This gives
the ex-general the appearance of holding a financial interest
in his shuttle diplomacy.
The administration hopes the Ralston appointment will
boost US-Turkish ties, which soured on the eve of the
Iraq war after Turkey refused to allow American troops
to deploy from Turkish soil. But the issue of PKK guerrillas,
who have been battling the US-equipped Turkish army for
22 years, is complicated, and efforts to impose a military
solution without causing more regional instability may
backfire.
The Kurdish uprising in the 1990s in Turkey accounted
for approximately 37,000 deaths, most of them ethnic Kurds.
Whatever happens next will be closely watched by the restive
population of 25 million stateless Kurds who spill across
the borders of Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria.
Both the United States and the European Union regard the
PKK as terrorists, but the group finds support among Turkey's
long-abused Kurds. At the same time, Kurds who hoped the
Turkish government would grant educational and broadcasting
rights were disappointed in 2004 when the PKK ended its
unilateral, five-year cease-fire and went back to war.
Now Turkey and the Kurds appear to be on a new collision
course, and Lockheed Martin, General Ralston's company,
may play a pivotal role. Last spring, Turkey moved 200,000
troops to its southern border, and its generals have been
pressing Washington for a green light to enter Iraq to
attack the rebel sanctuaries. Iraq's government opposes
the threatened incursion, arguing it would only add to
existing chaos in the country.
Iraqi Kurdish leaders fear local Kurds would join Turkish
Kurds to fight the Turkish army -- the largest NATO power
(after the United States) -- and the result would be a
Kurdish bloodbath. Privately, Iraqi Kurdish leaders complain
that the issue of PKK bases is only a pretext. They claim
that Ankara's real target is Kirkuk, the multiethnic, oil-rich
city that Iraqi Kurds vow to incorporate into their semi-autonomous
zone by 2007.
Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, who is a Kurd, recently
played a key role in behind-the-scenes negotiations to
disarm the guerrillas. The result was a cease-fire announcement
on Oct. 1 by the rebels, who also declared they might hand
over weapons to US forces in Iraq in exchange for Turkish
concessions that include human rights reforms and amnesty
for rebels. In a speech in Istanbul last month Ralston
opposed amnesty and dismissed the cease-fire, declaring
he would never "negotiate with terrorists."
General Ralston is on the board of the American Turkish
Council, the powerful Capitol Hill lobby, and he is vice
chairman of the Cohen Group, a corporation founded by former
Secretary of Defense William Cohen, with close ties to
the Turkish military. Unfortunately, Ralston carries too
much baggage to be special envoy, and he should step down
before he alienates the Kurds of Iraq, the best -- and
perhaps only -- friend the US government has in the country.
With the looming threat of civil or even wider war in the
region, the United States needs a skilled, disinterested
negotiator to resolve the PKK issue, while finding a peaceful
solution to legitimate Kurdish grievances.
Our new man in Ankara will be seen as an arms merchant
in diplomat's clothing. He should be replaced.
Kevin McKiernan has covered the Iraq war for ABC News.
He is the author of "The Kurds: A People in Search
of Their Homeland."
©
Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
