Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
October 18, 2007

Pentagon Urges Turkey Not to Move Against Kurdish Guerrillas in Iraq
--------------------------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=19ED28A:A6F02AD83191E16051BD457342E235E09574F7DCC14957C0 Senior Pentagon
official says US forces in Iraq busy fighting various insurgents and
terrorists, and cannot directly address PKK A senior Pentagon official
says U.S. forces in Iraq are busy fighting various insurgents and
terrorists, and cannot directly address Kurdish terrorists based in
Northern Iraq, who launch attacks on Turkey.  At the same time, the
official urged Turkey not to take military action against the Kurdish
group.  VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.







Lawmakers applaud PM Erdogan's deputy Cemil Cicek as the Parliament
debates a government motion on a military operation against Kurdish
rebels based in northern Iraq, 17 Oct. 2007Pentagon Press Secretary
Geoff Morrell says Iraq is already dealing with what he called "at
least two meddlesome neighbors," which he identified as Iran and
Syria.

"As we deal with those meddlesome neighbors on either side of Iraq, we
do not think this is the time to open up a potential third front in
which you then have military action coming over from our good friends
the Turks into what is now, arguably, the most stable region of Iraq,"
he said.

On Wednesday, Turkey's parliament authorized the government to take
military action against the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), a group
labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.  But
the Pentagon press secretary says he does not expect Turkey to take
any immediate action.

"The Turks are clearly frustrated," he added.  "They're clearly
angry.  But I also do not think there is a great of appetite to take
this next step.  It would be an enormous step.  It would have enormous
implications, not just for us but for the Turks.  And I don't think
there is any rush to war on the part of the Turks."

Many analysts have come to a similar conclusion, noting that previous
Turkish military incursions into Northern Iraq have had little impact
on the insurgents, partly due to the very rugged terrain where they
hide.

The Pentagon's Geoff Morrell says U.S. forces are also not planning
any action against the Kurdish insurgents.

"I think we'd like to end all threats to everyone in Iraq, but there's
only so much you can do at one time," he explained.  "And we certainly
have our hands full dealing with Al-Qaida, dealing with, sort of,
extreme elements of Jesh al-Mahdi [the Mahdi militia], dealing with
other terrorist elements and insurgents within Iraq."

Morrell says he has not seen any intelligence reports that suggest
Turkey is preparing for an attack inside Iraq.  And he says the United
States is encouraging a diplomatic approach to solving the problem. 

President Bush made similar comments earlier Wednesday.  The president
also referred to a Turkish troop presence in Northern Iraq.  Morrell
says several thousand Turkish troops have been in Iraq since the
1990s, well before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.  He says those
troops mostly stay on their base and gather what information they can
about the guerrillas' activities.  He says all their movements are
coordinated with U.S. and Iraqi forces, and with the Kurdish regional
government in Northern Iraq.


.