PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE MAY PAVE WAY FOR COOL-HEADED DECISIONS
Lale Sariibrahimoglu
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 30 2007
Turkey has intensified efforts which can be described in military
terminology as a carpet bombing strategy* against terrorists both
inside Turkey and within the Iraqi territory near the border, that
in the words of a senior Turkish diplomat may help to calm public
outrage, allowing decision-makers to devise more cool-headed policies.
Carpet bombing is considered an important tool for placating the
public and is also implemented as a means to demoralize the enemy. In
this strategy, militaries select a target that they drop bombs on via
fighter aircraft while simultaneously opening gunfire on the target.
During this kind of bombing, it is not always expected that the
enemy — in our case the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
terrorists — will remain in place. But such a strategy gives the
impression to the public that the Turkish state has already started
bombing terrorist targets, no matter whether any disabling of the
terrorists will actually be achieved.
But this policy is hoped to at least soothe public fury so that
decision-makers can devise policies that will not push Turkey into
a quagmire.
The current front-page reports in the Turkish media give a strong clue
that the Turkish state has been pursuing a carpet bombing strategy
as part of psychological warfare to assuage public fury at increased
violence perpetrated by the PKK.
Mass demonstrations have been taking place all over Turkey with the
expectation that the Turkish military will invade northern Iraq to
crack down on the PKK terrorists, while the danger of an internal
conflict among Kurds and Turks has appeared on the horizon. In its
front-page news on Oct. 28, the Radikal daily reported sporadic
incidents of attacks against Turks assumed to be of Kurdish origin.
Yet while there have been attempts to lessen public outrage against
the PKK through psychological warfare, the possibility of a vote by
the US House of Representatives on a resolution labeling the deaths
of Armenians in 1915 at the hands of Ottoman Turks as genocide has
continued to remain an issue of tension, adding more fuel to the
Turkish desire to invade northern Iraq.
If the vague reports coming from the US saying the vote has been
postponed turn out to be correct, then this will take away some of
the immediate strain on the Turkish government, which has increasingly
come under strong pressure for an all-out invasion of northern Iraq.
A decision to postpone the resolution is expected to avert any possible
irrational steps that might be taken by Turkish decision-makers
concerning northern Iraq.
It has become highly important at this stage that common sense prevail
in Turkey so that decision-makers can make the right decisions,
decisions that will not have long-term negative effects on the country.
States prove their maturity during crisis situations, and Turkey has
been going through the delicate process of proving whether it has
been acting in a statesman-like manner.
Acting in a rational manner during moments of crisis is the first test
Turkey should pass. Once the dust has settled and if it is settled
with the implementation of cool-headed policies, then Turkey will go
through a crucial test of the degree of its maturity.
The only way to prove this maturity is through acting courageously
and pragmatically, seeking rational solutions to the problems that
have been taking Turkey captive for decades.
*The phrase carpet bombing refers to the use of large numbers of
unguided gravity bombs, often with a high proportion of incendiary
bombs, to attempt the complete destruction of a target region, either
to destroy personnel and materiel, or as a means of demoralizing the
enemy. The phrase probably is intended to invoke the image of bombs
completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a
floor. Initially, carpet bombing was effected by multiple aircraft,
often returning to the target in waves.