Turkey lays out plans for Iraq's Kurds after independence vote

Turkey is considering a new border crossing to Iraq designed to avoid the Kurdistan Regional Government, but the terrain of the proposed route is controlled by Kurds.
Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq on September 27, 2017 in the Silopi district, southeast Turkey. Iraqi soldiers on September 26 took part in a Turkish military drill close to the Iraqi border on Tuesday, an AFP photographer said, a day after Iraq's Kurdish region held a vote on independence. / AFP PHOTO / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images)
Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate, Turkey, Sept. 27, 2017. - ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images
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Fehim Tastekin
@fehimtastekin
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Turkey is studying a variety of ways to punish Iraqi Kurds for approving an independence referendum Sept. 25. In addition to restricting oil trade and cutting off airspace, one plan being considered would create a new border crossing to Iraq that supposedly would allow Turkey to bypass northern Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) altogether.

Doing so, however, would require some creative problem-solving.

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