KurdistanObserver.com   Top U.S. Defense Officials Deny Huge Turkish Troops Massing On Border with Southern Kurdistan July 13, 2007 AP - Top U.S. defense officials said Friday that Turkish soldiers do not appear to be massing in huge numbers on the country's border with Iraq. "I have not seen anything that would indicate there are numbers of Turkish soldiers along the border of that size," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, responding to a reporter's question about reports of 200,000 Turkish troops on the border. Such reports have bolstered fears that an invasion targeting hideouts of Kurdish rebels could be imminent. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: "The truth of the matter is that the Turkish armed forces on their side of the border have always had sufficient forces to be able to take actions without having to be reinforced."       Copyright © 2002, Kurdistan Observer