The United States risks losing its credibility in the eyes of the Turkish people unless it soon achieves concrete results in the fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) presence in northern Iraq, a senior U.S. official said."We know we have to deliver on the PKK. ... There have to be concrete results soon," Matt Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told Turkish reporters here on Thursday. "If we can't, we no longer will have credibility."

Bryza said the United States had to eliminate terrorist havens in northern Iraq, and that not only Turkey's leaders and military but also its people demanded an effective effort. He did not elaborate on what concrete results could satisfy the Turks.His remarks came days before Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül's visit to the U.S. capital to meet next week with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other senior officials.Turkey has been urging the United States to work to eradicate the terrorist bases in Iraqi Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq from where the PKK launches deadly attacks against Turkish targets. Joint efforts to resolve the problem so far have failed, prompting Ankara to warn that its army may hold an anti-PKK incursion inside Iraqi territory.

"That's not something we're talking about at this point," Bryza said, when asked to comment on a possible Turkish military campaign in northern Iraq. He said the Iraqi government's sovereignty should be respected and that all actions should be in coordination."Please don't attempt to see my remarks as a green light or a red light," he said. But Bryza recalled that in the 1990s successive Turkish incursions into northern Iraq to root out the PKK's presence there failed to succeed. "The problem is not only a military one. Although Turkey has one of the most capable militaries, it was not able to fix it militarily," he said.Bryza also admitted that Iraqi Kurds, close allies of the United States since the 2003 Iraq war, had failed to cooperate with Turkey against the PKK's presence in their territory. "We haven't been able to convince them [Iraqi Kurdish leaders] to do more. They have to do more, and we'll push them," he said. But Bryza still urged Turkey to develop a closer relationship with the Kurdish leaders, as Iraqi officials, for better anti-PKK cooperation. However, Turkish diplomats say that Iraqi Kurds provide the PKK with arms, shelter and logistics. One senior Turkish official went further, telling TDN, "Barzani and the PKK are one and the same," referring to Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq. Turkey also rejects top level talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is Kurdish. But Bryza said "it would be wonderful" if Turkey agreed to invite Talabani, adding that the United States would favor close ties between Turks and Iraqis. Iraqi Kurds rule out military action against the PKK, saying that Ankara should resolve its Kurdish problem politically. Bryza said Washington would not suggest that Turkey declare amnesty for the PKK, saying that those responsible for terrorism should be punished. But he implied that any effort to win back non-terrorist, non-operative sympathizers of the PKK would be useful.

On the future of the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, containing a tense mix of Turkmen, Kurds, Arabs and Christians, and the contentious issue between Turkey and Iraqi Kurds, Bryza's remarks somewhat differed from the U.S. official line. When asked if he favored the holding of a controversial referendum for Kirkuk's fate that should be held this year according to the constitution, Bryza replied, "Will it? Who knows?" "We share Turkey's vision that if Kirkuk is not managed properly, it may be a terrible problem that will be against the shared goal of a united Iraq," he said.Turkey calls for a major delay for the Kirkuk referendum, saying that at a time when the Kurds have altered the city's demographic structure by bringing in hundreds of thousands of their kinsmen, the holding the census on time could lead to a large regional conflict. But seeking to make Kirkuk the capital of their region, the Kurds insist that the referendum be conducted this year. Earlier, State Department spokesman Tom Casey backed the Kurdish position, saying the referendum process should go ahead as planned.

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WASHINGTON - Turkish Daily News