Iraqi Oppositionists (Kurdish Parties) in Damascus To Gain Support
Al-Hayat
March 12, 2002

Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan arrives in Damascus tonight on a visit lasting one week that aims to remove the "tension" with Syrian officials that last week led to the temporary closure of the PUK office for several reasons.  One of these was the PUK's agreement with the "Turkomen
Front" that stipulated "no party shall cooperate with a third party against the second party."  But a PUK source asserted to Al-Hayah: "Our relations with the Syrian brothers are strategic."

Talabani's visit comes in the wake of talks that a delegation from Mas'ud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party held with senior Syrian officials that included "confirmation that there is a US decision to change the Iraqi regime."  This was backed by Lieutenant General Nizar al-Khazraji, the former Iraqi chief of staff, who said in a telephone contact that Al-Hayah held with him in Denmark: " There is more seriousness than ever before to topple Saddam's regime.  But when and how?  The available information does not permit the
presentation of a clear picture of this."

Iraqi opposition sources told Al-Hayah that Iraqi forces "have moved from the contact lines with the Kurdish area in northern Iraq toward the border with Jordan and have started to dig trenches and set up assembly centers in the desert facing this border."  The sources pointed out that more than 40 US officers and experts recently visited northern Iraq for 10 days and inspected military bases there, among them the Harir and Bamarni Airports, within the framework of the preparations for the operations in Iraq.

A source in Al-Watan Party that is led by Mash'an al-Juburi, said: "The Iraqi forces' moves came on the eve of Al-Duri's visit to Amman the day before yesterday because the Iraqi regime believes that Jordan will have a principal role in the change process."

Other sources said:   "These reports were at the heart of the talks that Azad Barwari and Fadil Mirani held in Damascus yesterday with Syrian Vice President Abd-al-Halim Khaddam; Abdallah al-Ahmar, assistant secretary general of the ruling Ba'th Party; and Fawzi al-Rawi, member of the Party's Pan-Arab Command."

Al-Hayah learned the Syrian officials warned of the "grave consequences" that the toppling of the Iraqi regime will have on security and stability in the Middle East and pointed out that they "will continue to exert efforts to lift the sanctions imposed on it."

Syrian sources told Al-Hayah that Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Rashid is due to arrive in Damascus next week for talks with his Syrian counterpart Dr. Ibrahim Haddad that aim "at speeding up the technical study for building a new oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria with a capacity of 1.4 million barrels a day."   They added:   "The pipeline will operate only within the framework of the UN resolutions."