USA TODAY March 27, 2003
U.S. troops get hold of a crucial airfield
By Tom Squitieri
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey -- Paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade have seized an airfield in northern Iraq near Bashur, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
The civilian airfield in Bashur has a runway long enough to accommodate heavy military transport aircraft, according to GlobalSecurity.org. Those aircraft can carry tanks.
While the force of 1,000 U.S. paratroopers who landed Wednesday might not be large enough to put much pressure on Saddam Hussein's forces in the region, their presence could mean the U.S.-led coalition is moving closer to one of its other key objectives: securing the oil fields of northern Iraq before Saddam has a chance to damage them.
The paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne based in Italy join several hundred special operations forces who have been on the ground in northern Iraq, identifying targets, calling in bombing raids on sites in cities such as Mosul and Kirkuk, and working with local Kurdish militia.
One Kurdish commander said Wednesday that there were too few U.S. soldiers in the region to open a new front. "I don't believe the Americans have the significant numbers to open a front in this area, at least for the time being," said Babekir Zebari, commander for the Dohuk area of northern Iraq. The arrival of more U.S. forces also follows word from the head of Turkey's military, Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, that any "major" deployment of Turkish troops into northern Iraq would be coordinated with the United States.
If Turkey follows through on such a promise, it could make it less likely U.S. forces will be caught between battling Turkish and Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq. But, Ozkok also said, regardless of what U.S. officials prefer, Turkey will enter Iraq to make sure the situation "does not get out of hand."
Turkey is worried that ethnic Kurds in northern Iraq may try to establish an independent state if Saddam's regime is toppled. Turkey's concern: That could spur ethnic Kurds in Turkey to resume their sometimes violent efforts to break away from Turkey.
GRAPHIC: Snack attack: An Iraqi Kurd eats lunch while Marines guard the room where leaders are discussing military and relief strategies.
Copyright © 2003, Gannett Company, Inc.
