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23 October 2002

U.S. Supports Territorial Integrity of Iraq

(State's Reeker Says U.S. opposes establishment of Kurdish State)
(410)
State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker reaffirmed that the
United States supports the territorial integrity of Iraq.
Speaking at the October 23 daily press briefing, Reeker was questioned
about the possibility of Iraqi Kurds declaring a Kurdish state in
northern Iraq.
"We strongly support the territorial integrity of Iraq," he said, "and
we oppose the establishment of a Kurdish state."
The deputy spokesman added that the Bush Administration is in close
consultation with Turkey over its efforts to rid Iraq of weapons of
mass destruction.
Following is an excerpt from the October 23 State Department briefing:
(begin excerpt)
QUESTION: Yes. There's several Iraqi, Northern Iraqi Kurdish leaders,
they announced that the United States give them some kind of assurance
or guarantee against the Turkish aggression. Did you give them any
guarantee or any assurance for a Turkish aggression for them?
MR. REEKER: I think we have talked about this subject generally
before. You know, we fully recognize that free Iraqis in Iraq run
risks, and the record of the Iraqi regime in terms of oppressing its
own people, including the Kurds, including murdering its own people,
is all too clear. I would just remind you of the 1988 Anfal campaign
against the Kurds, the use of chemical weapons in Halabja, and of
course the suppression of the Shi'a in the South, things we've talked
about long before where Saddam Hussein has demonstrated his
willingness to use weapons of mass destruction even on his own people.
So we are very conscious of the nature of Saddam's regime and the
risks to those who oppose it and so we have had Operations Northern
Watch and Southern Watch as part of our efforts to protect those
people.
In terms of discussions with Turkey, we have always made quite clear
that we support the territorial integrity of Iraq. So in terms of
those very specific reports that you mentioned I am not aware of
anything in that regard.
QUESTION: Before the Turkish officials, they officially announced that
if the northern Iraqi Kurdish group declared as the capital of the
Kurdish Federal State in Iraq, that Turkey is easily interfering
militarily.
MR. REEKER: I think you know, and I will repeat it, the US policy that
we strongly support the territorial integrity of Iraq and we oppose
the establishment of a Kurdish state. And as I said, we closely
consult with Turkey on all of those issues in terms of our efforts to
get Saddam Hussein to comply. So that policy is very much the same as
it has always been.
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)