Iraqi Kurds agree to place their forces under US command: American envoy

Agence France-Presse | March 18, 2003

[HAL9000]

ANKARA, March 18 (AFP) - Iraqi Kurds have agreed to place their forces under the command of US forces in case of military intervention in northern Iraq, the US special envoy to the Iraqi opposition, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Tuesday.

"The Iraqi parties agreed to cooperate fully with the coalition forces if they have to enter Iraq... to put whatever forces they have under the command and control of the coalition commanders," Khalilzad said after talks with Turkish officials and Iraqi Kurdish leaders.

He also announced that the United States "in order to guard against possible disorder" would assume responsibility for controlling "all movements" into the northern Iraqi towns of Mosul and Kirkuk, two oil-producing areas which Turkey fears could fall to the Kurds.

"We don't assume that the dispatch of regional forces from Turkey or forces from Turkey is the first or the best means to deal" with any problems, he said.

"All parties at today's talks committed to discouraging uncontrolled movements of refugees and displaced persons and to avoid any action whatsoever that could incite civil discord," he added.

[EternalVigilance]

This is very good news indeed.

I hope we don't give the Turks a freakin' thing.

No matter what anyone thinks about the Kurds, or some of the communists and/or terrorists in their number, they have gotten a raw deal from the 'world community' (barf) for the last 80 years. They deserve freedom.

[smith288]

Welcome aboard Kurds...

Im sure they read the news from Bagdad when the Northern Alliance virtually walked into Kabul thanks to the US. They want to be on the winning side no doubt.

[smith288]

Bagdad = Afganistan

[a_Turk]

Good.

What this says is that the Kurds will not attack the Turks when they come on by.

One thing not mentioned here is the US commitment voiced by Khalilzad to hunt down terrorists in northern Irak.

The other thing not mentioned here is that the Turkmen were part of this meeting, and that tomorrow will bring a meeting which will cover even more ground. Khalilzad's statement on the Turkmen was that they will be involved in every level of post war Irak.

These were two things we needed. Tomorrow's parliamentary vote should be in the bag, barring any unforeseen curveballs a la US DoS.

[a_Turk]

Where is Ankara? This meeting gave us everything.

[VRWC_minion]

Another diplomatic failure < /sarcasm >

[Libertarianize the GOP]

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