WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (AFP) Amid intense speculation the United States
will next target Iraq in its war on terrorism, the State Department said
Monday it had begun mediating a long-running dispute between rival Kurdish
groups in northern Iraq.

Deputy spokesman Philip Reeker said a high-level US team led by Ryan
Crocker, the deputy assistant state for Near East affairs, was now in northern
Iraq to further Washington's efforts to oust Saddam Hussein by bringing the
factions together.

Crocker is meeting members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and
the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the first direct US attempt to
mediate between the two at their request, Reeker said.

"This delegation is the first step in that mediation process," he said, adding
that PUK leader Jalal Talabani and KDP leader Masood Barzani had asked
for State Department help in overcoming their differences.

Reeker noted, however, that US consultations with both groups was
longstanding. The last consultative mission was in February, he said. Crocker
and his team will also meet with Turkish officials as part of their trip.

Crocker's mission is aimed at demonstrating "continued US engagement with
the Iraqi opposition, consult with key players on issues in northern Iraq
provide for direct discussions on the status of reconciliation among the Iraqi
Kurds and to evaluate implementation of the oil-for-food program in northern
Iraq," he said.

Baghdad has reacted angrily to US officials meeting with Kurds and late last
month, Saddam repeated an offer to engage the factions in dialogue but was
rebuffed.

Washington has long sought to build up the Iraqi opposition -- including the
PUK and KDP -- in order to topple Saddam but has had little success thus far
in finding a military force with the ability to move against him.

Advocates of targeting Iraq next in the anti-terror war have noted the key
military role played by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.

They have urged President George W. Bush and his administration to back various Iraqi opposition groups so they might play a similar role.

Iraqi Kurdistan rose up against the regime in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf
War over Kuwait, leaving the three provinces of Arbil, Suleimaniyeh and
Dahuk outside Baghdad's reach.

The KDP today controls an area along the Turkish border, while the rival PUK administers areas close to the Iranian border.