Turkey Should Cut A Deal With The Kurds Now

In these chaotic times, Turkey is in need of creative and unorthodox solutions to the enormous problems it faces as a result of the ongoing onslaughts by the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) in neighboring Syria and Iraq. One is the massive influx of Syrian Kurds trying to escape from the jihadi horrors. Two is the crucial role of Kurdish fighters from Syria, Iraq and Turkey in stopping the terrorist advances. Three is the growing pressure from the US and Europe on Turkey to play a prominent and visible role in the anti-IS coalition.
Let's start with the last point. With the 46 Turkish hostages freed, the primary reason for Turkey to prefer a role behind the scenes in fighting IS has been removed. I am not sure we will ever know what exactly the “political, diplomatic bargain” Turkey struck with the jihadists entails. A hostage-prisoner swap might be one element, but more controversial would be a promise by Ankara to keep a clear distance to the ad hoc alliance Washington is trying to build up. I simply can't see how Turkey could get away with sitting on the fence while its friends do the dirty job just across the border.
Turkish commentators have listed a number of other reasons why Turkey does not have a free hand to confront IS: The existence of a jihadist infrastructure and/or so-called terrorist “sleeping cells” inside the country and the possibility of more Turks joining the hundreds of Turkish jihadists already fighting with IS. These are real dangers, indeed, but they will not be accepted for long as an excuse to stay out by countries facing partly the same challenges that have decided, nonetheless, that IS poses a clear and present danger that needs to be eliminated as soon as possible.
The problem for Turkey is that it needs all the help it can get from the same friends and allies to cope with the incredible numbers of refugees on its soil. All over the world, Turkey's decision to allow the Syrian Kurds on the run to enter the country was recognized as a laudable gesture. That praise and admiration should now be followed by concrete financial and logistical aid to Turkey. But there is more to this situation than only the humanitarian side. To prevent the country from being overwhelmed by more waves of displaced Syrians, the Turkish government is, again, contemplating the establishment of a “buffer zone” on the Syrian side of the border. That makes sense but will never happen if Turkey is not able to convince the US and other militarily powerful countries to help, first with setting up such a zone and later with controlling and safeguarding the contested area. Why would Washington, London and Paris agree to do so when, at the same time, Ankara is trying to lie low in the fight against IS elsewhere?
Finally, the issue where Turkey has to jump over its own shadow: its relations with the Kurds at home and in Iraq and Syria. I am pretty sure President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ahmet Davutoğlu were planning to wait on taking substantial next steps in the ongoing talks with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) until the spring and summer of 2015. That time schedule would offer the best opportunity for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to link more rights for the Kurds in Turkey with Kurdish support for a new constitution, including the shift to a presidential system. The current crisis forces the government to abandon that time frame and come up with a set of meaningful reforms now to appease the PKK.
With each passing day, it is becoming clear that the Kurds are the only “boots on the ground” willing and able, albeit only with substantial outside help, to push back the IS forces. At a later stage, Sunni tribes in Iraq and mainstream rebels in Syria will have to play their part as well, but don't expect any foreign troops (American or Turkish) to join in. For the foreseeable future, only a united Kurdish military force can be trusted to deliver on the battlefield. I guess nobody in Ankara likes that idea because it means a sudden end to the Turkish strategy to cooperate with some Kurds (Iraq), and to oppose (Syria) or keep dangling (Turkey) others.
Forget about that old master plan. The fight against IS is forcing Turkey to strike a grand bargain with all the Kurds, at home and in the region, now. If Turkey would be able to pull that off, it might be forgiven for dragging its feet for so long.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)