Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE= 04/10/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BUSH KIRKUK (S)

NUMBER=2-302037

BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS

DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The White House says U-S troops will control the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk, following Turkish concerns that ethnic Kurds might use the city to push for wider Kurdish independence. V-O-A's Scott Stearns has the story.

TEXT: White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the Bush administration has been in contact with Turkish officials, as well as Kurdish leaders to clear up concerns about who will be running Kirkuk.

Mr. Fleischer says U-S troops will control the oil-rich city alongside Kurdish militia and an expected deployment of Turkish observers.

Kirkuk fell to a Kurdish-led offensive (Thursday). Turkey fears Kurdish control would encourage broader separatist movements among ethnic Kurds across the border in southern Turkey. Ankara is again warning that a Kurdish attempt to permanently control Kirkuk would be unacceptable.

Since the start of this war, the Bush administration has tried to soothe Turkish concerns about its alliance with Kurds in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Kurds have been largely autonomous since the 1991 Gulf war and the start of a no-fly zone enforced by U-S air power. (SIGNED)

NEB/MEM/RAE