Turkish officials have signalled that they are prepared to send their army into northern Iraq if US and Iraqi forces do not take steps to combat Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there.
Such a move could put Turkey on a collision course with the US, which has repeatedly warned against unilateral moves in Iraq.
But Turkey is facing increasing domestic pressure to take some kind of action after 15 soldiers, police and guards were killed in fighting with the guerrillas in the past week.
"The government is really in a bind," said Seyfi Tashan, director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Bilkent University in Ankara. "On the one hand they don't want things to break down with the US. On the other hand, the public is crying for action."
Diplomats and experts cautioned that the increasingly aggressive Turkish statements were likely aimed at calming public anger and pressing the US and Iraq to act against the rebels, who are based in northern Iraq's rugged Qandil mountains.
But they also caution that Turkish politicians and military officers could take action if nothing is done.
US officials in Turkey and Washington were in contact with Turkish officials and military commanders to press them to work with Washington to combat the guerrillas and not take act alone, a Western diplomat said. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
Turkey's NTV television and Hurriyet newspaper reported yesterday that the government has instructed the military to draw up plans for a push into northern Iraq and to advise on the possibilities that such a move could lead to a clash with Iraqi Kurdish forces or US troops in the area.
Any operation was unlikely to take place before the end of August, when the current military chief of staff is replaced by an officer widely regarded as a hard-liner, NTV said.
The Western diplomat said the Turkish military has long had plans for fighting guerrillas in northern Iraq. Those plans range from limited artillery and air strikes on guerrilla bases to attacks by commando forces and a broader ground offensive.
American officials, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, have repeatedly warned Turkey against entering northern Iraq, one of the few stable areas of the country.
US Ambassador Ross Wilson said on Monday that Turkish, Iraqi and US cooperation is a "more sensible way to go forward than perhaps to ... try to do it unilaterally."
In Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan regional government that runs the north of the country, appeared to be addressing Turkish concerns about guerrilla attacks when he said yesterday that Iraqi Kurds "won't allow anyone to harm our neighbours by using our territory."
But he also warned that the problem with the guerrillas "cannot be solved through military means alone," Turkey's DHA news agency reported.
Turkey considers the guerrillas to be terrorists and has refused to talk with them.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to be confirming reports that the military was ordered to draft plans when he said yesterday that "we know how to take care of (our terrorism problem) on our own... Our competent units are making preparations and will continue to do so."
Erdogan's spokesman, Akif Beki, refused to comment on the reports and instead referred to government spokesman Cemil Cicek's Monday statement to the press. Cicek called on Iraqi and US forces to take stronger action against the rebels and warned that if they did not, "Turkey is going to use its international rights until the very end."
Officials on Tuesday reported no unusual military activity in the border regions.
A Turkish push into northern Iraq could also threaten relations with EU countries, which have been pressing Turkey to improve minority Kurdish rights as a step toward defusing tensions in the Kurdish southeast.
An incursion might also be a very difficult military mission.
The guerrillas are mostly based in the Qandil mountains, an area 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Turkish border with Iran. The guerrillas infiltrate into south-eastern Turkey from those bases to attack. Turkey has long had some 2,000 troops in northern Iraq near the border monitoring the area.
If Turkey sent in military units they would have to travel through territory controlled by potentially hostile Iraqi Kurds. The area is mountainous and Turkish Kurdish guerrillas often cross into bordering Iranian territory, which is mostly Kurdish.
"I don't think it is Turkey's desire to stage an intervention in northern Iraq," said Ilter Turan, professor of international relations at Istanbul Bilgi University. Turkey "is simply trying to draw attention to the fact that it is an untenable position."
But he quickly warned that "if you don't tread a line very carefully, you can become a captive of your own rhetoric."
Such a move could put Turkey on a collision course with the US, which has repeatedly warned against unilateral moves in Iraq.
But Turkey is facing increasing domestic pressure to take some kind of action after 15 soldiers, police and guards were killed in fighting with the guerrillas in the past week.
"The government is really in a bind," said Seyfi Tashan, director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Bilkent University in Ankara. "On the one hand they don't want things to break down with the US. On the other hand, the public is crying for action."
Diplomats and experts cautioned that the increasingly aggressive Turkish statements were likely aimed at calming public anger and pressing the US and Iraq to act against the rebels, who are based in northern Iraq's rugged Qandil mountains.
But they also caution that Turkish politicians and military officers could take action if nothing is done.
US officials in Turkey and Washington were in contact with Turkish officials and military commanders to press them to work with Washington to combat the guerrillas and not take act alone, a Western diplomat said. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
Turkey's NTV television and Hurriyet newspaper reported yesterday that the government has instructed the military to draw up plans for a push into northern Iraq and to advise on the possibilities that such a move could lead to a clash with Iraqi Kurdish forces or US troops in the area.
Any operation was unlikely to take place before the end of August, when the current military chief of staff is replaced by an officer widely regarded as a hard-liner, NTV said.
The Western diplomat said the Turkish military has long had plans for fighting guerrillas in northern Iraq. Those plans range from limited artillery and air strikes on guerrilla bases to attacks by commando forces and a broader ground offensive.
American officials, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, have repeatedly warned Turkey against entering northern Iraq, one of the few stable areas of the country.
US Ambassador Ross Wilson said on Monday that Turkish, Iraqi and US cooperation is a "more sensible way to go forward than perhaps to ... try to do it unilaterally."
In Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan regional government that runs the north of the country, appeared to be addressing Turkish concerns about guerrilla attacks when he said yesterday that Iraqi Kurds "won't allow anyone to harm our neighbours by using our territory."
But he also warned that the problem with the guerrillas "cannot be solved through military means alone," Turkey's DHA news agency reported.
Turkey considers the guerrillas to be terrorists and has refused to talk with them.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to be confirming reports that the military was ordered to draft plans when he said yesterday that "we know how to take care of (our terrorism problem) on our own... Our competent units are making preparations and will continue to do so."
Erdogan's spokesman, Akif Beki, refused to comment on the reports and instead referred to government spokesman Cemil Cicek's Monday statement to the press. Cicek called on Iraqi and US forces to take stronger action against the rebels and warned that if they did not, "Turkey is going to use its international rights until the very end."
Officials on Tuesday reported no unusual military activity in the border regions.
A Turkish push into northern Iraq could also threaten relations with EU countries, which have been pressing Turkey to improve minority Kurdish rights as a step toward defusing tensions in the Kurdish southeast.
An incursion might also be a very difficult military mission.
The guerrillas are mostly based in the Qandil mountains, an area 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Turkish border with Iran. The guerrillas infiltrate into south-eastern Turkey from those bases to attack. Turkey has long had some 2,000 troops in northern Iraq near the border monitoring the area.
If Turkey sent in military units they would have to travel through territory controlled by potentially hostile Iraqi Kurds. The area is mountainous and Turkish Kurdish guerrillas often cross into bordering Iranian territory, which is mostly Kurdish.
"I don't think it is Turkey's desire to stage an intervention in northern Iraq," said Ilter Turan, professor of international relations at Istanbul Bilgi University. Turkey "is simply trying to draw attention to the fact that it is an untenable position."
But he quickly warned that "if you don't tread a line very carefully, you can become a captive of your own rhetoric."
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