ABSTRACT
Civil–military tensions have hampered the unity of purpose with which Colombia and Turkey have been able to act. Successive Colombian governments have wrestled with the conundrum of balancing the various strands of their responses. Policy formulation in Bogota has fallen victim to civil–military tensions, as Colombia’s politicians have at times felt undermined by their generals, and vice versa. President Virgilio Barco tried to avoid this fate by gaining military support for his peace overtures. Barco made little progress talking to Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which ended its cease-fire in 1987. In the second half of the 1990s the military began to achieve results. Doctrinal reforms played a role in refining Turkish tactics for countering the guerrillas. Turkey’s military scored a coercive success against Syria, where Ocalan was living. Military campaigns can degrade armed groups but may be unable to defeat them.
