Iraq Plan to Add U.S. Troops at Kurdish Border Is Rejected by Turkey

Source: nytimes




October 27, 2007
Iraq Plan to Add U.S. Troops at Kurdish Border Is Rejected by Turkey
By SEBNEM ARSU and ANDREW E. KRAMER

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 26 — Turkey’s prime minister on Friday rejected an Iraqi proposal that included a military role for the United States in resolving a standoff over raids by Kurdish guerrillas across the rugged border into Turkey.

The offer, made by a delegation of senior Iraqi officials, was rejected by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said it failed to meet his country’s demands in dealing with the guerrillas, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K. In its latest raid, on Sunday, the group killed 12 Turkish soldiers and took eight captive.

“I can say that there is not really anything positive or anything that met our expectations,” Mr. Erdogan said, after his foreign minister, Ali Babacan, met with the Iraqi delegation here.

The Iraqis proposed positioning American soldiers in border forts in the Qandil Mountains, a jagged area that has never been fully under the control of any government. Although American military officials were part of the delegation taking part in the meetings, it was unclear what role, if any, the military might ultimately agree to............

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/world/europe/27turkey.html?pagewanted=print

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Somehow----IRAQ offering US troops does NOT sit right with me. (even though WE ARE the OCCUPIERS)

Are the Turks going to blink ? Maybe they know the real threat remains on their side of the border afterall.