Amid intense speculation the United States will next target Iraq in its war on terrorism, the State Department has said it has begun mediating a long-running dispute between rival Kurdish groups in Northern Iraq.
Deputy spokesman Philip Reeker said a high-level US team led by Ryan Crocker, deputy assistant state for Near East affairs, was in Northern Iraq to further Washington’s efforts to oust Saddam Hussein by bringing the factions together.
Crocker was meeting members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the first direct US attempt to mediate between the two at their request, Reeker said.
“This delegation is the first step in that mediation process”, he said, adding that PUK leader Jalal Talabani and KDP leader Masoud Barzani had asked for State Department help in overcoming their differences.
Reeker noted, however, that US consultations with both groups was longstanding. The last consultive mission was in February, he said. Crocker and his team would also meet with Turkish officials as part of their trip.
Crocker’s mission was aimed at demonstrating “continued US engagement with the Iraqi opposition, consult with key players on issues in Northern Iraq provide for direct discussions on the status of reconciliation among the Iraqi Kurds and to evaluate implementation of the oil-for-food program in the North”, he said.
Baghdad has reacted angrily to US officials meeting with Kurds and late last month, Saddam repeated an offer to engage the factions in dialogue but was rebuffed.
Washington has long sought to build up the Iraqi opposition -- including the PUK and KDP -- in order to topple Saddam but has had little success thus far in finding a military force with the ability to move against him.
Advocates of targetting Iraq next in the anti-terror war have noted the key military role played by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.
They have urged President George W. Bush and his Administration to back various Iraqi opposition groups so they might play a similar role.
Iraqi Kurds rose up against the regime in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait, leaving the three provinces of Arbil, Suleimaniyeh and Dahuk outside Baghdad’s reach.
The KDP today controls an area along the Turkish border, while the rival PUK administers areas close to the Iranian border.
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