Pentagon, White House both reject prospect of talks with terrorist PKK

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday rejected a subordinate's apparent suggestion that there could be talks with the PKK, saying that the only talks might be with uncommitted individuals to convince them to abandon the terrorist group. Referring to Lt. Gen. General Raymond Odierno's remark, "Obviously, there's pressure that has to be put on them, the PKK, so we can start to talk and have negotiations with these terrorist elements," Gates said, "Well, I don't know what Gen. Odierno said or did not say, but I will tell you that when I was in Ankara last week, we talked a great deal about the importance of accompanying the security measures to go after these terrorists, the PKK terrorists, with efforts to try and address some of the civilian concerns among the Kurdish population, where they recruit people, where the PKK recruits people." He added, "And I think that both President (Abdullah) Gul and Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan have both put forward proposals in the cultural, economic and political arenas to begin doing that. So I think it's a matter of doing both. Ö Certainly nobody I talked to (in Ankara) was of a mind to have any conversations with the PKK. I think that the real objective is to peel away from the hard-core terrorists those who might be reconciled and brought back into the political fold." In related news, White House spokesperson Dana Perino yesterday said the Bush administration is continuing to watch the situation in northern Iraq. "As we have said before, the PKK is a common enemy," she added. "We have been strongly supporting Turkey in its efforts to combat the PKK. We have encouraged dialogue and coordination between the United States, Turkey and Iraq, but we have not and we will not negotiate or hold talks with the PKK, nor do we expect Turkey to do so. We are encouraged by the continued diplomatic discussion that is ongoing between Turkey and Iraq, between the governments of Iraq and Turkey; that they continue to try Ö to strengthen their ties, as well as to work together to beat back the PKK."