Turkey Prepares for Battle - With Iraq?

BAMARNY, Northern Iraq - Another potential war could be brewing in Iraq. For weeks, Turkey has been building up its military presence on its south-eastern border with Iraq. Turkey has accused Iraq and the U.S. military of failing to crack down on a rebel group that is taking refuge in Northern Iraq. Click the player to watch George Thomas' report from northern Iraq and Pat Robertson's comments concerning the possibility of an independent Kurdish state. Preparing For War Some Iraqi Kurdish villages near the Turkish border are preparing for war. In the small community of Barmany, home to about 15,000 Kurds last 30 to 40 days have been a nerve-racking experience for the residents of the small community. That is because about 30 miles to the northeast the nation of Turkey has been massing thousands of troops along the Iraqi-Turkish border, threatening to launch attacks inside Iraq. They have been chasing the PKK, a group that has been labeled by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization. The PKK is a Kurdish group fighting for a separate Kurdish nation in southeast Turkey. They are believed to be using the mountains in northern Iraq to hide, plan, and launch their attacks. In recent weeks, Turkey's military struck back, reportedly hitting several Kurdish rebel positions inside Iraq. Since 1995, the Turks have maintained some 1,500 troops several miles inside Iraq to try to stop the PKK fighters from crossing the border into Turkey. In Bamarny, also home to some 300 Turkish soldiers, there is growing anger at the foreigners. Turkey To America: "Help Us" One resident said, "Every day we are rebuilding our country and trying to make us stronger. Here now come the Turks from the North trying to destroy our dream of having our own homeland." Another resident said, "America, you have been our friends in the past. Please help us now as we face the threat from the Turks." But that would mean putting an overstretched U.S. military in the middle of a fight between two crucial U.S. allies: the Turks and the Iraqi Kurds. On Sunday, the governor of a major province, Dhouk, close to the Turkish border, called for diplomacy and not war. "The United States has a close relationship with Turkey, so we are asking the U.S. to step in and talk to the Turks and ask them to cool things down," he said. If not, some analysts warn that a major military operation by the Turks in northern Iraq could spark a series of regional wars. All of this is being watched very closely by the United States because the last thing they need is for war to open up on the northern front of Iraq.