Turks Suggest U.S. Take Charge Rather Than Pull Its Troops Out Of Iraq, Turkey Would Surrender Command

Under pressure from its Western allies to pull out of northern Iraq, Turkey is instead proposing putting its troops under U.S. command.

The United States and other countries are concerned that civilians are dying in the campaign by their NATO partner Turkey against Kurdish rebels based in Iraq.

Turkey suggested the United States take over command of its soldiers this week to U.S. officials in Ankara and Washington, an official familiar with the meetings said Thursday. The official asked not to be named.

More than 35,000 troops invaded northern Iraq on March 20 to wipe out Kurdish rebel camps used to attack Turkey. The military says 269 rebels and 17 Turkish soldiers have died since then.

The area is controlled by Iraqi Kurds who want independence from Saddam Hussein’s government.

Turkey has promised to leave the region after rebel bases are eliminated, but wants to ensure the guerrillas don’t come back.

The United States has been protecting Iraqi Kurds with air patrols since the Persian Gulf War in what is known as Operation Provide Comfort.

Prime Minister Tansu Ciller’s chief adviser, Emre Gonensay, was quoted by the Turkish press as saying Wednesday that “the most likely option to form a security mechanism in northern Iraq seems to involve Provide Comfort.”

“We do not want Provide Comfort to expand or internationalize. But we shall see what we can do with it,” said Gonensay, who was in Washington.

At the Pentagon, however, spokesman Kenneth Bacon denied that such a proposal had been made to the U.S. military.

And in any case, the Pentagon would not be in favor of such an idea, Baon said.