Hugh Pope on NPR's "Morning Edition"

Huge Pope, author of Sons of the Conquerors and Turkey Unveiled was featured on NPR's "Morning Edition" this morning discussing the current crisis along the Turkish/Iraq border.

Hugh Pope, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said the Turkish government is under huge domestic pressure to invade.

"Their options are limited. They've painted themselves into something of a corner domestically because they've built up the impression that the PKK is an external problem based in Iraq — and that by trying to eliminate them in Iraq, they can solve the PKK problem in Turkey," Pope said.

The PKK's support among Turkish Kurds has dwindled in recent years. Pope said the Kurdish rebels are fighting to regain their relevance by trying to provoke a cross-border military operation.

"The PKK wants to internationalize the Kurdish problem. They want to pull Turkey into the trap. They want to drag Turkey into the morass of Iraq," Pope said.

Also check out Turks Today and Ataturk by Andrew Mango.