Turkey calls action against Kurdish rebels in Iraq 'unavoidable' The Associated PressPublished: October 30, 2007
ANKARA: The Turkish prime minister said Tuesday that intensified military action against separatist Kurdish rebels was unavoidable and pressed the United States to crack down on guerrilla bases in northern Iraq.
Turkish helicopters, meanwhile, pounded rebel positions near the border with rockets for a second day, and Turkey brought in troops by the truckload in an operation against mountainside emplacements.
And Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey told members of his party in Parliament: "It is now unavoidable that Turkey will have to go through a more intensive military process."
But Erdogan also suggested that he was not seeking an immediate cross-border military operation against the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, holed up in bases in northern Iraq.
"The responsibility of leadership does not allow for narrow-mindedness, haste or heroism," he said. "We must remember that Turkey is part of this world and diplomacy has certain requirements."
Erdogan is to fly to Washington on Nov. 5 to meet with President George W. Bush for talks that could be decisive in whether Turkey carries out its threats of a major military incursion. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected in Turkey later this week.
"I will once again express Turkey's determination and the sensitivity of the people on the issue of terrorism to President Bush," Erdogan said. "We will openly express that we expect urgent steps from the United States, which is our strategic partner and ally and has special responsibilities regarding Iraq."
The United States, Iraq and other countries have called on Turkey to refrain from a cross-border campaign, which could spread disorder in one of the few stable areas in Iraq. A Turkish incursion would also put the United States in an awkward position with key allies: Turkey, a NATO member, the Baghdad government and the self-governing Iraqi Kurds in Iraq's north.
Inside Turkey, troops pressed ahead with anti-rebel operations in the frontier provinces of Sirnak and Hakkari and in Tunceli Province, to the northwest.
Cobra attack helicopters blasted suspected PKK targets in the Mount Cudi area, near the southeastern border with Iraq for a second day, trying to hunt down about 100 rebels believed to be hiding in mountainside caves, the private Dogan news agency reported. Fighting on Cudi has reportedly claimed the lives of three Turkish soldiers and six guerrillas since it began Monday.
Transport helicopters airlifted commando units to block rebel escape routes on Cudi, the agency said, adding that a 100-vehicle military convoy was seen traveling from Cizre toward the border.
The cabinet was to discuss Wednesday possible economic measures against groups supporting the rebels.
