Ankara: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said that an army operation is still planned against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, but diplomats suggested yesterday that any action would now be limited in scope.
Erdogan held talks with US President George W. Bush on Monday to push Washington to crack down on some 3,000 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels based in northern Iraq from where they carry out attacks in Turkey.
Bush said after their meeting that he was committed to countering the PKK, which he called their "common enemy" and offered to share intelligence with Turkey, a Nato ally.
While the talks yielded positive results they were unlikely to be enough to allow Turkey to step back from pursuing a military offensive, even if limited to air strikes and special operations, Turkish diplomats said.
"The US has agreed to give Turkey 'actionable intelligence' and that means allowing us to take military action against the PKK once we have real time information," a Turkish diplomat told Reuters, adding this included inside Iraq.
In response to what it sees as foot-dragging by Iraq and a lack of pressure from the United States, Turkey has mustered 100,000 troops on the border with Iraq and threatened to go after the PKK if nothing is done to rein them in.
The United States is against Turkey sending thousands of troops across the border, fearing it could destabilise northern Iraq and cause a bigger regional crisis. It has not opposed limited military strikes. Turkey is a crucial ally for Washington, which uses Incirlik air base to provide logistical support for its forces in Iraq.
Erdogan told the National Press Club in Washington late on Monday that action was planned against the PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union and Turkey. "We are not on the eve of a war. We have made a decision on an operation. I want to stress once again that what we will do is an operation," he said.
