HIGHLIGHTS: Turkey, Iraqi Kurdish Tensions High as Turkish Nationalists Appear to Have Territorial Claims in Iraq||Russian Defense Minister Reiterates Opposition to Iraq Attack, Calls for Inspections and More Information from United States ||U.S. Poll: Support for Military Action against Iraq Dropping|| STORY: U.S. warplanes bombed an air defense site in northern Iraq on Friday after being targeted by an Iraqi missile guidance radar system, the U.S. military said.

The planes were on a routine patrol when Iraqi radar locked on the warplanes flying near the northern Iraqi Kurdish city of Irbil, the Stuttgart, Germany-based U.S. European Command said in a statement.

"Coalition aircraft responded to the Iraqi attacks by firing on the radar site," the statement said. "All coalition aircraft departed the area safely."

The incident came at a time when the United States is considering an attack on Iraq aimed at overthrowing its leader, Saddam Hussein.

The planes are based at Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.

U.S. and British warplanes have been monitoring "no fly" zones over southern and northern Iraq since shortly after the 1991 Gulf War to protect the Kurdish minority and Shiite Muslims.

Iraq considers the patrols a violation of its sovereignty and frequently shoots at them.

Turkey, Iraqi Kurdish Tensions High

Talk of a possible U.S. attack on Iraq is exacerbating tensions between Turkey and an Iraqi Kurdish faction - two crucial allies if the United States takes military action against Saddam Hussein's regime.


Turkey is worried that the Iraqi Kurds, who run an autonomous zone in northern Iraq, would try to carve out their own state if Saddam is overthrown. Turkish officials fear that would encourage Kurdish separatist movements in Turkey.

The tensions could complicate Washington's efforts to build an anti-Saddam coalition because Turkey is home to a key air base that U.S. warplanes use to patrol a no-fly zone over northern Iraq. Washington is also apparently interested in using former Iraqi air bases in the Kurdish enclave.

Turkey fought Kurdish guerrillas for 15 years in the southeast of the nation, which borders northern Iraq, and says that a Kurdish state would serve as an inspiration for the rebels.

The Iraqi Kurds fear Turkish domination and have been angered by recent statements by some Turkish nationalist politicians suggesting that oil-rich areas of northern Iraq, including the Kurdish enclave, should be part of Turkey.

Northern Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries and some Turkish nationalists have questioned the treaty that put the area in Iraq and not Turkey after the collapse of the empire following World War I.

The statement sparked outrage from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which controls about half of the autonomous enclave in northern Iraq.

The KDP warned that it will turn northern Iraq into a "graveyard" for the Turks if they enter. The KDP is believed to be able to mobilize some 40,000 fighters.

Turkey also recently announced that it is choking off vital border trade that is a critical source of funding for the KDP.

Turkish analysts seemed surprised by the harsh tone of the KDP's reaction.

KDP leader Massoud Barzani "should understand that he does not have the luxury to lose the support of Turkey," columnist Sami Kohen wrote in Thursday's Milliyet newspaper. "It would very useful for the U.S. to remind him of this again."

Russian defense minister reiterates opposition to Iraq attack, calls for inspections and more information from United States

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov repeated Russia's warning Friday against an attack on Iraq and urged the United States to lay out the details of its concerns that Saddam Hussein's government is developing weapons of mass destruction, saying they could be addressed with thorough inspections.

"If the United States has serious concerns about building and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, these facts should be presented not only to Russia but to the global community as a whole," the Interfax news agency quoted Ivanov as saying during a visit to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.

Ivanov reiterated Russia's opposition to the use of force in Iraq, a trade partner that owes Russia some dlrs 7 billion and recently announced plans for what its ambassador to Russia said was a dlrs 40 billion economic cooperation agreement.
At the same time, however, he suggested Iraq should allow inspections.

Poll: Support for military action against Iraq dropping

Half of Americans believe Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, but support for sending U.S. troops to remove Saddam Hussein has slipped, according to a poll released Thursday

The CNN/USA Today poll showed support for deploying troops to Iraq has dropped from 61 percent in June to 53 percent this week.

Four in 10 favor sending troops if it meant they would be in combat there for at least a year, and two in 10 favor sending troops even if the United States received no support from Western allies.

The poll, conducted Monday through Wednesday and having a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, comes at a time of intensifying debate over what to do about Iraq. A growing number of politicians and foreign affairs experts have spoken out in recent days about whether to invade, and the issue has moved onto the front pages of the America's newspapers.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraq's Trade Minister Mehdi Saleh, left, with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, right, in Ecevit's office in Ankara Friday Aug. 23, 2002. Saleh said that he hopes Turkey and his country can restore trade to levels before the Gulf War after holding talks Friday with Turkish leaders in Ankara. Unidentified Turkish translator is at the center. (AP Photo/Ecvet Atik, Anatolia