Gareth Evans and Joost Hiltermann, " The Kurds: a Catastrophe Waiting to Happen ," International Herald Tribune, 3/20/03:
First, it is imperative that U.S. forces get to Kirkuk fast - before the Turks and before Kurdish forces.
Second, the United States must make abundantly clear to Turkey that it has to show restraint, avoiding any unilateral military moves in northern Iraq.
Third, Washington must simultaneously make clear to the Kurds that they should take no action that risks provoking Turkey: that they must refrain from unilateral military steps and consent to a temporary international presence in Kirkuk.
In exchange, America needs to give an explicit, public guarantee to the Kurds that it will protect them from attack (from either Turkey or a post-Saddam regime in Baghdad) and support their fair expectation of greater freedom to govern themselves during negotiations over the future of Iraq, including -- crucially -- an active Kurdish role in the central government.