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| Iraq |
| Iraqi Kurds agree to U.S. command |
| 2003-03-18 |
| Iraqi opposition groups meeting in Turkey agreed on Tuesday to put their forces under U.S.-led command in the event of war. The decision mainly concerns tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurdish "peshmerga" fighters in the autonomous north of the country, whose representatives attended the meeting in the Turkish capital. United States envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said: "The Iraqi parties present...have committed themselves to fully cooperate with the coalition and to put whatever forces they have under the command and control of the coalition commanders." How does "The Kurdish Legion" sound to you as a working title? He struggled to hammer out a deal between the opposition groups and neighbouring Turkey on how to work peacefully in any U.S.-led assault on northern Iraq. As war looms, Turkey has yet to formalise how it will cooperate with the United States, its NATO ally, let alone with an array of Kurdish groups it traditionally mistrusts. Khalilzad said the groups were working on a consulting mechanism to avoid clashes that local Iraqi Kurdish leaders say could be possible if Turkey enters the region in force. "We are thinking of the mechanism for Iraqis and Americans and Turkey, so they can remain in touch, to deal with issues as they arise," the envoy told reporters. "It will focus on containing any sources of tension," a Kurdish source added. How about if Turkey just sits this one out? The main points of tension are the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, the heart of the country's northern oil industry. Kurds feel the cities are historically theirs and thousands of Kurds expelled from the region by the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might return there during a war. Turkey fears the Kurds may try to seize control of the oil fields, a step toward making their autonomous region in northern Iraq into an independent state. Khalilzad said Iraqi Kurdish groups at the meeting had agreed to hold back their people. "The Iraqi parties agreed to discourage the movement of civilian populations or militias into towns and cities such as Kirkuk and Mosul," he said. "The United States and the coalition will take responsibility for allowing movements of populations." But Kurdish sources at the meeting said Turkey had refused to promise not to act independently in northern Iraq. Bitter experience of armed Kurdish rebellion has taught Ankara that the region is essential to its own security. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has urged Turkey not to act on its own in northern Iraq, where Turkish forces have been stationed for years to crack down on Kurd rebels who base there. "I don't think the Turks want to go into northern Iraq militarily as an end in itself," Khalilzad said. Anybody want to wager on how soon the Turks will pass that resolution in light of this agreement? |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 "I don't think the Turks want to go into northern Iraq militarily as an end in itself," Khalilzad said. That's a fairly weak statement. How about using words like, "assured", or "agreed". It's clear they will militarily go in there, but he just doesn't think it will be as "an end in itself". Very, very weak if you ask me. |
| Posted by: becky 2003-03-18 15:21:06 |