Iraqi Kurds Not Sold on Attack

A key Iraqi opposition figure said Wednesday that his group would not “blindly” commit to any U.S. plan to topple President Saddam Hussein.

“We have made no decision yet to participate or not in the attack,” said Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two Kurdish factions controlling northern Iraq. He was in Ankara for a meeting with Turkish leaders before flying to Washington for meetings with U.S. officials and other opposition figures.

“We are not for blindly participating in any attack or in any plan,” Talabani said after talks with Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. “We are not in favor of having a new dictatorship replacing the old one.”

The leader of the other major Kurdish faction, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said last week that his forces would not get involved in a U.S. attack without assurances of their future autonomy and safety.

Iraqi Kurds control an autonomous zone in northern Iraq that could become a key base if U.S. forces tried to oust Hussein.

Earlier, Talabani told Turkey’s private NTV television he was confident that the Iraqi opposition could unite against Hussein.

“There is a high possibility of unifying the opposition,” NTV quoted him as saying. “I think a new front will emerge.”