US warns against Turkish action in Iraq

WASHINGTON—The United States cautioned Turkey on Tuesday against making an incursion into northern Iraq after Kurdish rebels launched attacks from there and urged both countries to work together to resolve the conflict.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for all necessary measures to be taken against Kurdish rebels, including a possible incursion into northern Iraq, after they carried out a series of attacks. But the U.S. State Department warned against such a move.
“If they have a problem, they need to work together to resolve it and I am not sure that unilateral incursions are the way to go, the way to resolve the issue,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
Asked whether Washington had urged restraint on both sides, McCormack said sovereign states had to make their own decisions about how best to defend themselves. “We have counseled both in public and private for many, many months the idea that it is important to work cooperatively to resolve this issue,” he said.
Both the State Department and the White House said the United States was committed to working with Turkey and Iraq to combat the PKK Kurdish rebel group that has carried out a series of attacks in Turkey.
“It is critically important that all sides involved in this — the Iraqis, the Turks and certainly we will do our part — work to combat terrorism. You just can’t have these kinds of attacks emanating from Iraq and I think the Iraqis understand that,” said McCormack.
White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe would not comment specifically on whether the White House would support Turkey authorizing a possible incursion into northern Iraq, where many rebels from the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, are hiding, calling that a hypothetical question.
“Iraq and Turkey want to work together on this problem. The most effective and appropriate way is to protect the citizens of both countries,” he said. Turkish military officials said Kurdish rebels killed 13 Turkish soldiers on Sunday in fighting in Sirnak province, which borders Iraq. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined comment on the latest news from Turkey.
Turkey’s prime minister gave the green light on Tuesday for possible military action in northern Iraq to confront Kurdish rebels there, drawing a warning from the United States, which fears wider regional instability.
The ruling AK Party said it would request, as soon as possible, parliament’s authorization for a major incursion into the mainly Kurdish region, Turkish private broadcasters CNN Turk and NTV reported. Washington urged Ankara to hold off on unilateral action, fearing it could destabilize Iraq’s most peaceful area and potentially the wider region.
Erdogan is under pressure from Turkey’s powerful armed forces and the opposition to take action against rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after they shot dead 13 soldiers on Sunday near the Iraqi border. Iraq’s government said a recent security accord with Turkey was the best way for dealing with PKK attacks.
Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said parliament would need to authorize any large-scale military operation — a scenario most analysts say remains unlikely — but he said such permission was not required for limited, “hot pursuit” raids.
“To put an end to the terrorist organization operating in the neighboring country (Iraq), the order has been given to take every kind of measure, legal, economic, political, including also a cross-border operation if necessary,” Erdogan’s office said in a statement. The U.S. State Department warned against such a move.
“If they have a problem, they need to work together to resolve it and I am not sure that unilateral incursions are the way to go, the way to resolve the issue,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. Turkey, which has NATO’s second biggest army, has recently carried out small “hot pursuit” raids into northern Iraq amid an escalation in attacks against Turkish civilians and soldiers.
Turkey’s army has also boosted troop levels in the southeast to fight the PKK inside Turkey and try to prevent rebels from infiltrating from northern Iraq. Several security buffer zones have been set up as well. Turkey has called on the U.S. and Iraqi authorities to clamp down on the some 3,000 PKK rebels still based in northern Iraq but says it has yet to see any concrete results.—Agencies