U.S. Troops to Stay in Turkey to Protect Kurds

WASHINGTON —  The Bush Administration, fearing continued threats to Iraq’s Kurdish minority, has agreed to maintain U.S. troops in Turkey indefinitely as part of a multinational force that could shield the Kurds from government attacks, Administration officials said Thursday.

The troop commitment, which one official described as “open-ended,” is an important step toward establishing a comprehensive security arrangement for the volatile Middle East. It also marks the first time since the end of the Persian Gulf War that the Administration has signaled that it will stand by Iraq’s embattled Kurds for the long haul, even from a distance.

The composition and the final location of the force are still being negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III, who is meeting in Berlin with U.S. allies. But officials said the protective troops almost certainly would not operate under the auspices of the United Nations or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“It’s clear we’re not just going to pull out, and we don’t want others to, either,” said a senior Administration official. “The idea is to preserve the gains made from humanitarian activities, to see they’re not undone.”

At the same time, officials acknowledged that the protective force Baker hopes to assemble would be combat-capable and could not be defined accurately as “humanitarian.” As a result, it could not operate under the U.N. resolution that provided the underpinning for the allies’ current effort to feed, shelter and provide security for the Kurds.

The U.S. effort comes as about 2,000 American troops prepare for their final departure from northern Iraq. They have mounted a massive effort there to aid Kurds who took refuge on the Iraqi-Turkish border after the failure of their rebellion against President Saddam Hussein’s regime in March.

Today, the U.S. military’s European Command, which has overseen “Operation Provide Comfort” to aid the Kurds, plans to close its furthermost logistic support base in northern Iraq, at Sirsenk.

Another 10,000 American troops will remain in Turkey as part of the refugee assistance effort. But Pentagon officials have said that all U.S. troops are expected to be out of northern Iraq by July 4.

Officials said Baker hopes to mobilize a force that would look much like the 12-nation coalition now conducting Operation Provide Comfort in Turkey and northern Iraq. But the force would operate entirely from inside Turkey, making the Ankara government a vital partner in the negotiations.

Although officials said there is widespread support for Baker’s concept among European allies participating in the operation, substantial issues must be negotiated. These include the size and composition of the force and the financial contributions of participants.

According to some reports, the force could number up to 2,000 troops, or roughly a brigade.

The allies also are expected to debate the circumstances under which the force would be disbanded. A U.S. official said the Bush Administration has not finalized its position on this vital issue. But the official acknowledged that Washington “certainly wants to see Saddam Hussein go,” and added that if a successor less hostile to the Kurds were to come to power, Washington could rethink its support for the force.

In Berlin, Baker discounted reports that Britain, France and Italy have taken the lead in urging the United States to postpone its withdrawal from the region.

Baker promised that the United States will keep its military force in the Kurdish region of Iraq “as long as it is necessary to do the job that we came to do.”

Similar signals emerged from the Pentagon, which is making intensive preparations for the establishment of such a force.

“We are very concerned about the future safety of the Kurds,” said Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams. “We, at the same time, have made it very clear that U.S. forces are going to leave northern Iraq.”

Times staff writer Norman Kempster in Berlin contributed to this report.