Here's some Turkish delight

COLOR THIS, WHAT IS NATO?

Stratfor this AM:

TURKEY: Turkey has no plans to send troops into Northern Iraq to confront Kurdish militants, though military action remains an option for the future, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Recent buildups of Turkish troops and tanks near the Iraqi border have sparked concerns that Turkey might launch operations against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members in the Iraq's Kurdish north, though the Turkish army has said the buildup is intended to combat PKK members in Turkey.

AP Noon:

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials told The Associated Press.

Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.

"It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands," one of the officials told the AP by telephone. The official is based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.

The U.S. military said it could not confirm the reports but was "very concerned."

The last major Turkish incursion into northern Iraq was in 1997, when about 50,000 troops were sent to the region.

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