"TURKEY AND THE UNITED STATES TO DEVELOP 'COMMON STRATEGIC VISION'
Mevlut Katik 4/26/06
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought to reassure Turkish leaders during her April 25-26 visit to Ankara that deepening chaos in Iraq can be contained. Though still wary about developments in Iraq, Turkish leaders appear eager to encourage closer US-Turkish relations.
Turkey is concerned that militants of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) are using northern Iraq as a sanctuary and training ground for a renewed campaign to carve out areas in southeastern Turkey as a Kurdish homeland. Turkish military leaders recently announced that 40,000 troops would reinforce the estimated 250,000 soldiers already deployed in southeastern Turkey as a deterrent to PKK incursions from northern Iraq."
More:EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Turkey and the United States to Develop “Common Strategic Vision”