TURKEY EXPECTS U.S. NOD ON ANTI-PKK MISSION
ANKARA — Turkey expects the United States to discuss a proposal to
strike Kurdish insurgency bases in Iraq.
Officials said the discussion on a military operation against the
Kurdish Workers Party was expected to take place during this week's visit to
Washington by Turkish Chief of Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. Buyukanit was
scheduled to meet U.S. military commanders and Defense Department officials
in talks on Iraq and Iran.
"There's no U.S. agreement on an operation against the PKK, but for the
first time Washington has not said 'no,'" an official said. "We'll find out
soon enough what that means."
The meeting comes as U.S.-Kurdish ties have been strained in wake of an
American military strike that killed at least eight Kurdish soldiers in
northern Iraq. Officials said the air attack took place in Mosul on Feb. 7.
Turkish officials said the Bush administration has accepted Ankara's
argument that the PKK presence in northern Iraq must be eliminated. The
Turkish military has reported about 4,000 PKK operatives in the Kurdish
autonomous zone, most of them in the Kandil mountains.
"For a long time, the United States simply said 'no' every time we
raised the need for a military operation in northern Iraq," another official
said. "This time, we have the impression that they would agree to discuss a
limited and brief incursion."
Officials said the apparent change in the U.S. position was detected
during talks on the PKK in January 2007. The U.S. side was led by [Ret.]
Gen. Joseph Ralston, appointed coordinator on the PKK issue.
"Firstly, let's talk about alternatives," a Turkish source who met
Ralston told the Turkish daily Sabah on Feb. 8. "There's sympathy for
Turkey's position, but there are also certain efforts to find a scapegoat in
the PKK issue. Yes, the PKK is a large problem for Turkey, but the issue
doesn't end with it."
Officials said the U.S. Defense Department has become increasingly
dependent on Turkey amid plans to confront neighboring Iran. They said the
Pentagon has been bolstering its military presence in southern Turkey and
launched the first F-16 air exercises in the country in more than four
years.
"A key question by the United States is what happens after a Turkish
operation," a Turkish government source said. "Would Iran and Syria also
begin invading Iraq?"
