Talabani rejects any strike on Syria from Iraq

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in remarks published on Tuesday he would oppose the use of Iraqi territory as a launchpad for any U.S. military strike on Syria.



"I absolutely reject that Iraqi territory be used as a launchpad for any military strike against Syria or any other Arab country," Talabani told Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

U.S. President George W. Bush said last month that military action would be a last resort to deal with Syria, which Washington accuses of allowing foreign fighters to cross the border into Iraq, where U.S. troops are fighting a blooding insurgency.

Talabani, who also heads the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), had a long-standing alliance with Syria which allowed him to operate from its territory against former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

"I will not say a word against Syria which I owe a lot to. If I have anything to say I will relay it directly to brother (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad," Talabani said.

So that rules that out then