: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of Turkeys ruling AKP (and who may well be Turkeys prime minister within ten days) is already acting like a Turkish prime minister. Erdogan warned Iraqs Kurd factions not to test Turkeys sensitivities. Translation: dont think about starting a separate Kurd state. Some commentators see this fellow as a peace candidate. The Kurds know better. On March 5, General Hilmi Ozkok, the Turkish militarys chief of staff, also warned Iraqi Kurds. In his statement Ozkok told the Iraqi Kurdish factions that Turkey would defend its national interests.