Bush Assures Turkish Leader on Kurds in Iraq

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON - President Bush gave Turkey assurances Wednesday that the United States does not support an expansion of autonomy for Kurds in neighboring Iraq.

Bush met in the Oval Office and then over lunch with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, praising his country as an important ally.

"The United States' ambition is for a peaceful country, a democratic Iraq that is territorially intact," Bush told Erdogan. They sat side by side in wing chairs in front of a roaring fireplace.

The term "territorially intact" refers to the desire of Kurdish Iraqis to expand the autonomy they've had in northern Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War. Turkey vigorously opposes self-rule, fearing that Kurdish control of the oil-rich territory could lead to an independent state that could also engulf the Kurdish regions of Turkey. Turkey fought Kurdish rebels for 15 years, until 1999, and sporadic fighting continues.

The Kurds, who established a semiautonomous area in northern Iraq under U.S. and British protection following the 1991 Gulf War, were among the strongest Iraqi supporters of the war that toppled Saddam Hussein.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57734-2004Jan28.html?nav=hptop_ts

[54anickel]

1. Uh-oh, here we go. You could be fairly sure of civil war before this

announcement. Now it's inevitable.

[legin]

2. Not that I have that much sympathy with the Kurds

but if they don't start getting their act together by empoloying advertising agencies, setting up think tanks and lobbying groups, so that they can work on public opinion in the u.s., then they are going to regret it.

They need to start playing the 'Democracy Game' almost immediatly otherwise they are going to get a royal shafting.

[daleo]

3. This may be a moot point

Give what is said below. However, it may be a green light to Turkey to go after the Kurds, once an acceptable puppet government has been put in place.

"The Bush administration has said that any decision on the Kurdish territory will have to be made by Iraqis after they regain control of the country. The United States is scheduled to turn over control of the country July 1."

[Aidoneus]

4. "don't worry--you don't need to fuck them over, we'll do that ourselves"

:eyes:

[yellowcanine]

5. I am sure the Prime Minister feels much better now

that he has the word of George W. Bush. After all, W. wouldn't lie would he?