US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said before departing for Turkey that he would tell officials there that the six-day assault must not last longer than a week or two.

It was the first time that Gates, who that Turkey must be “mindful of Iraqi sovereignty,” put any time limit on the incursion.

Gates also said before leaving India that he will call on Turkey to use economic and political initiatives to address some of the complaints of the Kurds — who are the majority in Turkey’s southeast and neighboring northern Iraq.
Iraq has demanded an immediate end to the cross-border operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

No timetable

In Baghdad, Turkish envoy Ahmet Davutoglu, chief foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the aim of the incursion was “clear and limited” and said no timetable will be set “until the terrorist bases are eliminated.”

More than 40 Turkish military trucks ferried hundreds of commandos toward the Iraqi border and F-16 warplanes were seen flying over the border town of Cukurca toward Iraq. Helicopters brought dozens of troops to a base on the outskirts of the town. Some helicopters also headed toward Iraq.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said after meeting Davutoglu: “We condemn the terrorists and the PKK, but we also condemn the violations of the sovereignty of Iraq at the same time and we have to be very clear on that.”