US Confirms Reinforcement in N. Iraq

A statement released by the Embassy denied a report published in The Guardian, which said American forces were "discreetly" reinforcing its military bases in northern Iraq to protect against the possibility of a Turkish intervention or ethnic conflict. The statement does confirm there have been changes to the duties in northern Iraq, but insists that these were not made to address a possible Turkish intervention. It also highlighted that every claim in this regard is false and says the concentration in northern Iraq is focused on insurgents in Musul (Mosul). The Embassy stressed that a military operation by any one of Iraq’s neighbors will disrupt stability and pave the way for wide scale disputes. The US acknowledged that Turkey already knows this fact and says it does not anticipate such a move from Turkey. The statement says Turkish-American dialogue is based on common interests and concerns about Iraq.

The Guardian and The New York Times Reports

Turkish diplomatic sources point out the importance of the timing of this statement and the care given to the statement. Officials also say that the statement implies a response to some pro-intervention circles in Turkey with its insinuation of the harms of such an intervention and says Turkey was aware of the shift in US forces in northern Iraq.

The British newspaper, The Guardian, had published an analysis by Simon Tisdall that said the US was discreetly reinforcing its military bases in northern Iraq against a possibility of a Turkish intervention. The New York Times published an article by Sandra Mackey that said if control of Kerkuk (Kirkuk) is given to the Kurds, Turkey will not refrain from intervening and, that if it did intervene, the US may use force in the region against the Kurds.