As the Turkish government has, just a few weeks ago, launched yet another military assault against the guerrilla forces of the PKK, in the Zap, Metina and Avashin areas of the Qandil Mountains, politicians and political analysts are once again questioning the effectiveness of Turkey’s decades old policy of treating the Kurdish issue as simply an issue of security to be solved purely by military means. Dozens of similar military operations have been launched to great fanfare only to end in stalemate and eventual retreat with a great human cost of losses on both sides and destruction of villages and forests.