US warns Turkey not to invade Iraq "There is an intense internal debate in Turkey about whether Ankara should push across the border to root out guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), based inside the Kurdish autonomous region of northern Iraq." International disintegration ahead? Large sections of the Middle East are rapidly plunging into conditions which can be desribed as the shallow-waters of a dark age. They are characterised by the absence of a complex economy, the inexistence of an efficient and strong central government and by continual warring between different societal factions. Despite the presence of mobile phones and Mercedes cars in the streets, the larger societal current seems to be shifting into the direction of more simple and violent mode of coexistence. See also: "Spengler's" analysis of Iran's dire economic situation (Asia Times online)