Turkey hints Iraq troop dispatch not inevitable

"I believe the Turkish armed forces could make a decision to send additional troops to northern Iraq if it is understood our forces already there will be unable to handle such threats and dangers," he told a news conference in the southeastern town of Diyarbakir.
Previously, Turkish leaders have been more insistent, without Ozkok’s qualifications, that Turkey would send in troops to supplement a smaller force long in place there.
A U.S. envoy was in Ankara on Tuesday in an attempt, apparently unsuccessful, to persuade Turkey to abandon its deployment plans.
The United States, fearing conflict between Turks and Kurds could undermine its military operation to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, argues that there are no signs of any refugee flow towards the frontier.
It also assures Turkey it need not fear that local Kurdish Peshmerga fighters now working with U.S. forces in the region would be allowed to establish an independent Kurdish state.
Ankara sees a Kurdish state in northern Iraq as first step to a broader "Kurdistan" that would claim Turkish territory.
Ozkok said Turkey would not produce any surprises.
"Undertakings will be coordinated with the United States, our strategic ally still fighting a war in the region, to avoid any misunderstandings," he said.
The United States announced on Tuesday, to the surprise of many, proposals for a loan package of up to $8.5 billion to help protect Turkey’s frail economy from the impact of war.
The dispatch of troops to northern Iraq against U.S. advice would make approval by Congress of such a package less likely.