Turkish opposition leader: would back military action against Kurdish guerrillas in Iraq

Kurdish PKK fighters

ANKARA, Turkey: As Turkey's prime minister increased pressure on the United States to act against separatist Kurdish guerrillas based in Iraq, the main opposition leader on Sunday said his party would back a cross-border offensive if needed.

Turkey has repeatedly said that it will not tolerate the disintegration of neighboring Iraq leading to Kurdish independence, and military officers have spoken of the possibility of sending in troops to prevent that.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has severely criticized the United States this week for not keeping its promises and finishing off Kurdish guerrillas holed up in the northern Iraqi mountains.

Deniz Baykal, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, called on the government to urgently debate a possible military action in Iraq and empower the military.

"We're ready to back the government on this issue," Baykal told his supporters. "We're planning to invite parliament to debate this."

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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