THE TURKISH MILITARY OPERATION IN IRAQI KURDISTAN 16 AUGUST 1986

Turkish policy towards the Kurdish national movement in Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the key subjects of the Kurdish national liberation movement, as the Kurdish national liberation movement in Iraq has influence on the Kurdish movement in other Kurdistan parties. The main significance of this research is the evaluation of the Turkish policy and strategy towards the Kurdish movement. This study concentrates on the reasons behind declaring the military operations in the areas of Iraqi Kurdistan borders as well as its reflection. Hence, Turkey paid a great attention to its economic interests in Iraq and Kurdistan region particularly. Because of this, Turkey and Iraq have had close relationships. Also, the Iraqi role and Iraq-Iran war had been evaluated in this study. This study seeks to answer the following questions: Has Turkish policy influenced the Kurdish movement in Iraq? Has the Kurdish liberation movement in Iraq had an impact on internal affairs in Turkey? Do developments in the Kurdish movement threaten Turkey's interests and unity? What are the outcomes of the military operations in Kurdish border areas? What were the domestic and international responses to Turkish military intervention in Iraqi Kurdistan? Accordingly, this research was selected to provide a historical analysis of the Kurdish situation and to clarify the extent of Turkish policy's influence on them.