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<\/a>More interesting is that the US is pretending to object to other countries violating Iraq’s sovereignty and using Iraqi airspace for nefarious purposes. Indeed, this is precisely what the US has done to Iraq for two decades. In the context of this feigning outrage about violating Iraqi airspace and of providing Iraq with American-made anti-aircraft capabilities because of it,\u00a0Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen told<\/a> the New York Times<\/em> that\u00a0\u201cIraq recognizes they don\u2019t control their airspace, and they are very sensitive to that.” Each time Turkish fighter jets enter Iraq\u2019s airspace to bomb Kurdish targets, he said, Iraqi officials \u201csee it, they know it and they resent it.\u201d Micah Zenko at the Council on Foreign Relations responds<\/a>:<\/p>\nAs the countries\u2019 occupying power, the United States controlled Iraqi airspace from April 2003 until the last sector was\u00a0transferred<\/a>\u00a0in October 2011 to Iraq. As part of that role, the United States leveraged access to\u00a0Iraqi airbases<\/a>\u00a0to launch surveillance drone missions over Iran. At the same time, several of Iran\u2019s more capable spy drones like the\u00a0Ababil III<\/em>\u00a0were easily tracked and\u00a0shot down<\/a>\u00a0by U.S. fighter jets over Iraq.<\/p>\n
Prior to the U.S. invasion in March 2003, the United States played the predominant role in enforcing the Iraqi southern and northern no-fly zones (NFZs)\u2014encompassing sixty percent of Iraq\u2014for twelve years. Altogether, the United States has had excellent situational awareness of Iraqi airspace for nearly twenty years, until handing over control to Baghdad in October 2011.<\/p>\n
What makes Caslen\u2019s comments disturbing is that between April 2003 and October 2011, Turkish F-16s routinely entered Iraqi airspace to attack Kurdish targets\u2014suspected members of the\u00a0Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK). \u00a0These attacks were not only permitted by the United States, but U.S. manned and unmanned systems provided targeting information about suspected PKK camps to Turkey. This arrangement was cemented in November 2007 when the United States and Turkey established a joint\u00a0combined intelligence fusion cell<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Ankara to process all incoming intelligence on the PKK.<\/p>\n
On occasion, such Turkish attacks have been devastating to Kurdish civilians living in northern Iraq. Every single State Department Human Rights report\u20142007<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a02008<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a02009<\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a02010<\/strong><\/a>\u2014since the U.S.-Turkey cell opened warned of civilians casualties in counterterrorism operations where the PKK was the intended target. On December 28, 2011, a U.S. Predator drone\u00a0provided video imagery<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of a caravan of suspected PKK militants near the Turkish border. After Turkish officers directed the drone to fly elsewhere, Turkish aircraft\u00a0attacked<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0the caravan with four sorties and killed thirty-four civilians. To this day, the United States provides targeting intelligence to the Turkish Air Force.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n