Gates hints at US willingness to take action against PKK

Gates hints at US willingness to take action against PKK

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Oct 18, 2007
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates hinted Thursday that US and Iraqi forces were prepared to take action against Kurdish rebels if they had more precise intelligence.

Gates said the United States was determined to work with the Turks to reduce the threat posed by the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group accused of carrying out attacks in Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.

"I think that if we were to come up with specific information, that we and the Iraqis would be prepared to do the appropriate thing, and if we had information on them in Turkey, that we would provide that information," Gates said.

He would not elaborate on what he meant by "the appropriate thing."

The US military has previously indicated that its forces are too tied up elsewhere in Iraq to be used against the PKK, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization.

Gates reiterated US concern about deteriorating relations with the Turks over the border tensions and a congressional resolution denouncing the World War I "genocide" of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.

He said there was "a very real risk" that the Turks would put restrictions on the movement of US supplies through its airspace or territory if the Congress were to pass the non-binding resolution.

"I don't think the Turks are bluffing," he said. "I think it is that meaningful to them. I think they see implications in terms of reparations and perhaps even borders."