I thought Bush doesn't negotiate with terrorists?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/399346.asp

US wants to avoid armed conflict in Northern Iraq

US Special Representative for Countering Terrorism General Joseph Ralston was working to reduce tensions on both sides of the Turkish-Iraqi border, McCormack said.

WASHINGTON - The presence of the terrorist group the PKK in northern Iraq was a matter of concern to the US but Washington hopes that diplomacy will negate the need for Turkey to mount a cross border operation into the region, a US State Department spokesman said late Monday.

The PKK had killed both soldiers and innocent civilians on the Turkish side of the border and that was a real concern both to Turkey and to the US, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said during a press briefing in Washington.

“Obviously, it’s a very sensitive issue and we are engaging in diplomacy so that you don’t end up with an armed confrontation in northern Iraq,” he said in response to a question as to whether Turkey would send troops across the border to strike at the PKK.