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The Iraqis proposed positioning American soldiers in border forts in the Qandil Mountains, a jagged area that has never been fully under the control of any government.

Nah..........it is time for the Iraqi Kurds and/or the Iraqi Army to take care of this.........willingness of the Kurds or not?.....Ability of the Iraqi Army or not? If either are lacking, lets face it now.

Here's a slight but IMO important different take on the tenor of the meetings. It's from the Middle East Media Research Institute's (MEMRI) Blog that specifically highlights brief NEWS ITEMS from Arabic, Persian, and Turkish language media sources.

Here's what they report:

Spokesman for Turkish Foreign Office said that the visit by a large delegation from the ‘friendly and brotherly Iraq’ and the delegation’s sincere efforts were appreciated, but that their ideas would take a very long time to implement. The spokesman said that what Turkey expects is for Iraq to take urgent and concrete steps to fight PKK in Iraq.

"It is reported that Turkey, unsatisfied with the Iraqi proposal, is urging the Iraqis to agree to rid Iraq from PKK, eradicate its training camps and extradite its leaders.

"Iraq’s Defense Minister Abdulkader Cassim and National Security Minister Shirvan Al Vaili led the delegation. U.S. military representatives headed by General Michael Barbaro were also in the Iraqi delegation at the request of Iraq’s PM Maliki."

Contrast that explanation of why the offer didn't meet Turkey's expectations with the nytimese version.