11.   But its reliance on military repression has driven Kurdish civilians into the arms of separatist militants and united Kurdish political leaders on both sides of the border.

12.   But the Kurdish leader, whose alignment with Saddam outraged his opponents and alarmed the West, again defended his decision to seek backing from the Iraqi government.

13.   But when asked to describe military coordination between the two sides since then, the Kurdish leader demurred.

14.   Crocker was said by Iraqi opposition officials to have received a strong endorsement from one key Kurdish leader, Jalal Talabani, for a new military campaign against Baghdad.

15.   Even Saddam Hussein has been able to recruit dozens of Kurdish tribal leaders to his side in his efforts to suppress other Kurds, who had revolted.

16.   If the Kurdish leaders make their requests, how should President Clinton respond?

17.   Its diplomats have spent years trying to get the two rival Kurdish leaders to show some semblance of unity against the Iraqi government.

18.   Kurdish leaders have for years been asking Turkish authorities to grant Kurds broader cultural and political rights.

19.   Kurdish leaders, encouraged by the United States and other Western powers, had sought unsuccessfully to overthrow Saddam.

20.   Kurdish leaders, however, say the path to success is open only to assimilated Kurds.