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| Iraq |
| Turkish Press Stories |
| 2003-02-10 |
| These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on February 10, 2003. HERE ARE NINE SINE-QUA NON CONDITIONS Turkish army will enter Northern Iraq on its own. Main duty of the Untied States will be to provide communication of Turkish-U.S. and Kurds. -Turkish army will enter Northern Iraq on its own when time comes. -Duty of the U.S. soldiers will only be to provide coordination. -Turkish units will act independently in Northern Iraq. -The United States will be deployed in the southern part of the 36th parallel. It will control Mosul and Kirkuk. -Armament of the Kurdish units by the United States will be under the control of Turkey. -Turkish units will launch operations if the PKK elements do not withdraw from the region. -Gen. Fevzi Turkeri will command the Turkish units. -Joint operation center will be in Diyarbakir. -There will be a Turkish general in U.S. operation center in Qatar. It all boils down to controlling refugees and limiting action by the Kurds. Turkish Armed Forces gave this message to U.S. officials: There is not a coalition or a United Nations (U.N.) umbrella yet. What we actually see is a U.S. operation in which Britain takes places at certain extent. In this case, it is out of question for us to be under the command of another country. We do not favor any operation against Iraq. In general, we do not favor war. Our aim is to prevent any incidents which will be contrary to Turkey's interests. Meaning - If the Kurds try to take over, we won't be under US control, so don't try to stop us from putting them down. As a measure against possible developments in Iraq, reinforcement of the Second Army has been completed to a great extent. It is learned that more that two thousand officers and non-commissioned officers have been assigned to join the units in the region. It is noted that officers were appointed to the units because Turkey expected that deployment will last long. Humm, were they short handed or are they being beefed up? General Staff has prepared its plans for a possible war and started to wait for February 18. According to the plan, Turkey will enter Northern Iraq with two army corps. Second Army Commander General Fevzi Turkeri said that five hours would suffice them for a security line to be formed in the north. Prior planning, unlike certain NATO countries. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Two corps? That's what I call an expeditionary force. Assuming the Kurds stay smart and stay quiet, that ought to be plenty to smack aside any Iraqi units that attempt to give battle in the north, assuming said Iraqis don't get pulverized by Anglo-American airpower. |
| Posted by: Joe 2003-02-10 18:32:13 |