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| Axis of Evil |
| Turkey: What army? |
| 2003-01-09 |
| The Turkish military has denied reports it is massing troops and equipment inside the northern border of Iraq, preparatory to a US invasion. The denial comes after revelations Ankara has been investigating old treaties granting it rights over oil fields in northern Iraq. Already there are about 2000 Turkish soldiers in Kurdish-held northern Iraq, ostensibly sent there in order to pursue rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). These troops also support a local Turkish minority and exert Turkish military pressure to prevent the formation of a Kurdish state. Baghdad lost control of northern Iraq in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War. The area is within the US and UK-enforced northern "no-fly zone", and is largely controlled by two Kurdish groups. Turkish newspapers have now reported the arrival of about 20,000 fresh troops in the region, an allegation firmly denied by the Turkish military, who are seeking to avoid the impression of a planned ‘carve up' of Iraq once Saddam Hussein's government has fallen. "The Turkish armed forces have not deployed any unit inside Iraq or in neighbouring regions," military chief General Hilmi Ozkok said late Wednesday. Denial means it's most likely true. Firm denial means a stone cold, lead pipe lock. He also stressed the importance of Iraq's territorial integrity and unity; a message to Iraqi Kurds that a Kurdish state would be unthinkable. Which is why those non-existent troops are not there. Regional tensions were earlier inflamed by a statement from Turkish foreign minister Yasar Yakis that a defunct treaty made with Iraq after the Ottomon Empire collapsed in the 1920s was being re-evaluated. Radio Netherlands' correspondent Dorian Jones says this development is not entirely unexpected. "For some time – over the last few months – there has been growing speculation that Ankara has been looking into this old agreement between Iraq and Turkey which gives Turkey a certain percentage of oil revenues from northern Iraq, although [Mr Yakis] was careful to stress they were just ‘looking into it'." Jones says the reasons for Mr Yakis' statement is obscure, given that Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has been touring the region assuring Arab leaders that his nation does not support a war against Iraq. "It's very unclear. What it seems to be is that Ankara is speaking with various voices. There isn't really a coherent strategy coming out towards Iraq over a number of issues, and again this is an indication of a lack of direction. There are some in Ankara who say a war in Iraq will devastate the economy, they point to what happened in the last Gulf War. That saw Turkey being hurt very hard economically and politically by the fallout of the Gulf War, and they are very keen to avoid a repetition of those events." While Mr Gul assures those in the region of his nation's neutral stance on Iraq, however, Ankara is negotiating with Washington for the best possible deal in the event of cooperation. "The Americans are pushing very hard for Turkey to open up its bases, not only for planes, but also for a large number of troops . . . Turkey is very reluctant to give that permission, and the US is offering a large amount of aid: according to the Washington Post, up to 15 billion dollars, as well as other inducements. This is part of Turkey's bargaining process." It's called a bribe. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 Jane's Def Wkly had photos of what was approximately a tank company in a town in Iraqi Kurdistan. The local Turkish officers got upset with the photographer's efforts to capture their smiling faces for all perpetuity. |
| Posted by: Tom Roberts 2003-01-09 20:52:28 |
| #3 Turkey is Islamic, not Islamist, and quite secular. Not highly tolerant of non-Islamic faiths, but adjusting to the 20th, if not the 21st, century. The Army takes its role as protector of their Constitution very seriously, and has deposed governments that strayed then returned rule via elections, perhaps unique in the world. In a way, that is also a function of our own Army, though never tested. |
| Posted by: John Anderson 2003-01-09 19:38:40 |
| #2 Actually, in that part of the world it's usually called baksheesh... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-01-09 14:19:38 |
| #1 The Islamist government of Turkey is the mortal enemy of the Free World. That country needs to be kicked out of NATO, until their Khilafah fever is cured. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-01-09 12:38:56 |