Agence France Presse — English
October 18, 2007 Thursday 8:07 PM GMT

Gates hints at US willingness to take action against PKK

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."