The Bush administration is seeking a reconciliation between the two rival Kurdish parties in northern Iraq as the prelude to a U.S. offensive against the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The agreement, officials said, would be followed by a plan for Kurdish help for any U.S. military campaign against Saddam. They said the Kurds have hesitated joining Washington since the CIA suddenly withdrew its agents from northern Iraqi in 1995, leaving the Kurds at the mercy of Saddam's troops.

Officials said the administration prefers to coordinate with rival Kurdish groups on military issues than with the London-based Iraqi National Congress. They said the consensus within the administration is that the INC is not capable of mounting any insurgency operation against the Iraqi military, Middle East Newsline reported.

U.S. officials said their goal is to ensure that the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan will agree to share power in the Kurdish autonomous zone near the Iraqi border with Turkey. They said such an agreement is vital in any campaign to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The administration plans to convene the two Kurdish parties in Washington later this month. Officials said the administration wants the parties to sign an agreement that would share power in northern Iraq. Such an agreement would cap four years of U.S. efforts.

Today, the Kurds seek guarantees that the administration will not back down from its commitment to end the Saddam regime. Officials said the guarantees have been sought by the KDP, led by Massoud Barazani, who aligned himself with Saddam in 1995 in expectation of a U.S. reversal in Iraq.

The PUK has been aligned with Iraq's neighbor Iran and has been suspicious of the motives of the KDP. Last month, PUK leader Jalal Talabani held talks in Teheran to seek approval for Kurdish cooperation with the United States.

On Wednesday, Talabani met Turkish defense and intelligence officials to prepare for his talks in Washington. Turkey opposes the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq.

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