WASHINGTON — U.S. and Turkish military officials were working Wednesday to streamline procedures for any future attacks against rebels in northern Iraq after top American officials in Baghdad were angered about how Sunday’s Turkish bombing unfolded.
Americans have been providing Turkey with intelligence to go after the Kurdish rebels, and a coordination center has been set up in Ankara so Turks, Iraqis and Americans can share information, officials have said.
But State Department and Defense Department officials in Washington and Baghdad said top U.S. commanders in Iraq didn’t know about the incursion until the first of two waves of Turkish planes were already on their way, either crossing the border or already over it.
The Turkish military did not inform the American military as quickly as had been agreed. That meant the U.S. had to rush to clear air space for the incursion, two defense officials and a State Department official.
One Washington official said the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, was angered by the development. Another said American diplomats complained to the Turks about it.
The Turks replied they were chasing rebels and there hadn’t been time for notification earlier, according to a senior State Department official.
“There are supposed to be coordinating mechanisms for this kind of thing with us and the Iraqis, and whatever happens in the heat of the moment, they have to tell us in a reasonable and timely manner,” the official added.
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