Turkey and the PKK: mutual violence is not the answer

After 30 years of bloodletting, none of the prerequisites to end the conflict are present. Neither side has reached a point of exhaustion, both expect to improve their position over time, and no catastrophic event has occurred to change the dynamic of the conflict, leaving both sides fighting a protracted war that neither can win.

Erdogan will be wise to remember a popular Turkish proverb that says, "No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back." Indeed, unless Erdogan finds a solution through negotiations, and heeds Öcalan's renewed call for talks, the conflict will continue to fester and would doubtless outlast him as it has outlasted his predecessors.

Erdogan will not succeed in killing every PKK fighter-not only because of the nature of guerilla warfare, but primarily because of the Kurds' determination to realize some form of semi-autonomous rule and preserve their rich culture and language that no people would sacrifice, regardless of how much pain and suffering they endure.

It is time for Erdogan to accept the reality that the solution to the Kurdish problem rests solely on peace negotiations. Anything short of that will only lead to ever more death and destruction on both sides, with no end in sight.