For decades conventional wisdom held that Turkey absolutely could not abide the idea of an independent Kurdistan. Before Turkey would let an independent Kurdish nation happen they'd go to war to prevent it.
The calculus in Ankara appears to have changed, see a Bloomberg View article for details. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan seeks to run for president and, for a change, his opponents have coalesced around a single candidate to oppose him. This gives Turkey's Kurdish minority the ability to decide the election.
Recognizing this, Erdogan has decided to court the Kurds, rather than bash them as has typically occurred. The article points out that Barzani, leader of Iraqi Kurdistan, announced a referendum on independence on the same day that Erdogan announced he was running for president, which the article views as no coincidence.
For a less sanguine view of Turkish - Kurdish relations, see an article in Commentary. Hat tip to RealClearWorld for both links.
The Kurds are nearly as successful a group as the Israelis, clearly better organized and more effective than the Arabs among whom they live. COTTonLINE wishes the Kurds well.
