Diplomatic Efforts to Defuse Turkish, Kurdish Rebels Conflict

The State Department says there's "a diplomatic full-court press" underway to prevent Turkey from launching a full-scale military assault against the PKK, the Kurdish rebels inside northern Iraq. It’s a tough call for all the players involved—Iraq's central government, the regional Kurkish regime—and US forces. Former Congressman Stephen Solarz, once a lobbyist for the Turkish government, says from Istanbul, "the countdown for a military move has begun" and it's "a matter of weeks, not months." That's according to Jonathan Landay, national security correspondent for the McClatchy Newspapers.