Wednesday, Feb 05, 2003
Kurds to form core of Iraq invasion force
By Atul Aneja
MANAMA (BAHRAIN) Feb. 4. In an effort to muster an assault force in Northern Iraq, the United States has armed 80,000 ethnic Kurds who will form the core of the invasion force.
According to the Turkish language daily, Sabah, the U.S. has informed the Turkish General Staff that it has armed the Kurdish groups belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The U.S. has given a list of the weaponry that it has provided to the Kurdish forces to the Turkish authorities.
Apart from light weapons such as assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, the Kurdish groups have also been given anti-aircraft artillery as well as some conventional artillery pieces.
The U.S. has deliberately passed on this information to assuage Turkish apprehensions that weapons with the Kurds could one day be used against its own security forces.
Not surprisingly, the Pentagon and the Turkish General Staff are discussing ways to account for these weapons, once the war in Iraq is over.
At the present moment, the U.S. plans to deploy around 40,000 troops inside northern Iraq that would stand as a buffer between the Kurdish forces and the Turkish military.
The Kurds, who have bitterly fought the Turkish armed forces in the past, fear that the Turkish forces might intrude into northern Iraq, taking advantage of the fluidity of the war situation.
These U.S. forces are also expected to hold the oil cities of Kirkuk and Mosul that Turkey has claimed in the past.
Besides, around 4,000 to 5,000 U.S. troops will be attached to lead the Kurdish forces in the northern assault. Nearly 150 field agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency have reportedly played a key role in recruiting and arming the Kurdish forces.
Meanwhile, Turkey appears to have agreed to station 15,000 U.S. troops on its soil. These forces are expected to serve as the back up for the main body of U.S. troops who will be stationed inside Iraqi territory. Around 2,000 troops from the U.S. 1st Infantry Division in Germany were reportedly preparing to leave for Turkey, but the bulk of the force in this area is likely to be drawn from the U.S. fourth Infantry Division, based in Texas.
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