Turk troops in Iraq to operate outside US command-paper

A Turkish military spokesman was unable to comment on the report and a government official said only: "Consultations are continuing on this issue." NATO partner Turkey has been negotiating with Washington over opening its airbases to U.S. troops and the role Turkey’s army might play if the United States launches a campaign against Iraq for its alleged weapons of mass destruction. "The role the Turkish armed forces take in northern Iraq closely involves Turkey’s security…This is not a NATO operation. Therefore the role Turkish troops take on there will be tied to the Turkish armed forces’ normal command system," the commander said. The source was not identified by name. Despite public opposition to a war, Turkey has signalled its parliament will agree during a February 18 vote to allow tens of thousands of U.S. troops to station on its soil and use its bases as staging points for any attacks. Turkey operates a base and keeps thousands of troops in Kurdish-held northern Iraq to pursue Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas, whose struggle since 1984 for a homeland in southeast Turkey has left more than 30,000 people dead.