Country
Countries A-Z
Turkey
Republic of Turkey
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Note: Following a series of deadly attacks spearheaded by the PKK based in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, Turkey threatened to launch cross-border raids in to Iraqi territory, potentially wrecking the stability of Iraq’s most peaceful region in response to U.S. and Iraqi failure to neutralize an increasing threat, which put the Turkish government under severe public pressure. Consultations with Iraqi and U.S. officials throughout autumn 2007 yielded assurances that the United States would support the capture of PKK leaders in Iraq, as well as supply Turkey with “actionable intelligence” leading to their arrest. Nevertheless, Turkish troops remained massed on the Turkish-Iraqi border, complicating the security equation in an already volatile region.
Political Status: Independent republic established in 1923; parliamentary democracy since 1946, save for ...