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| Iraq |
| Turkish Press Review |
| 2003-02-06 |
| Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had done its utmost to avoid the need for a possible US-led operation against Iraq but that now it would do what the nationâs interests require. âTurkey will support the US in such an operation,â proclaimed Gul. âLast monthâs Istanbul summit to seek a peaceful solution to the Iraq issue was appreciated by the United States and European Union countries as well.â He also said that the government had continued its peace efforts at the Davos, Switzerland World Economic Forum and in a letter to US President George W. Bush, adding however that all these initiatives had fallen short and avenues to peace were now exhausted. âI believe that now only the Iraqi leadership has the power to head off such a war, specifically by cooperating with the United Nations weapons inspectors in good faith,â Gul stated. âNow we have to consider the nationâs interests, and these require our acting alongside the US in a possible war. For the sake of our national security, we canât be an onlooker to developments in our regional neighborhood.â He added that without Turkeyâs participation a Kurdish state could be founded in northern Iraq, a development which the nation is adamantly opposed to. The Justice and Development Party (AKP)-led government yesterday presented a proposal to Parliament to authorize the US to deploy its troops at Turkeyâs airbases and ports in preparation for a war in Iraq. The proposal stressed that Turkey should pursue an Iraq policy that protects its own national interests. The government also proposed that US military officials be authorized to conduct upgrades at Turkish military facilities. Parliament is expected to discuss the proposals during closed sessions. They are meeting on this today. British daily the Times of London yesterday reported that Turkish troops could patrol a sector of Iraq as part of a peacekeeping operation after a war and the expected ouster of President Saddam Hussein. According to the daily, Turkey has already proved its credentials in peacekeeping operations through its successful command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan. âThe Americans are hoping that the promise of a role for Turkish troops in a postwar Iraq might persuade the Ankara Parliament to approve a US troop presence in Turkey,â added the Times. âThe involvement of Turkey in the US-led coalition is seen as one of the most important elements in the whole American strategy for Iraq, before, during and after a war. The Turkish Parliament is due to vote this week on whether to allow American troops to be based in Turkey for an attack on Iraq from the north, although there are indications the vote might be delayed.â The deployment of US troops is not scheduled to be voted on until Feb 18th, after the Feast of Sacrifice holiday.The NATO Council, a body comprised of 19 permanent national representatives to the alliance, is to hold an extraordinary session today to discuss the Iraq issue and possible ways of protecting Turkey in case of war. The council is expected to recommend swift completion of preparations aimed at ensuring Turkeyâs national security, including measures to send AWACS surveillance planes and Patriot missiles to the country. Germany and France, who are urging restraint in the push to war, had earlier blocked a vote on such measures. Turkey, a NATO charter member, is the only country in the alliance which borders Iraq, and NATO doctrine says that an attack against one member is an attack against all. In the latest in a series of high-profile US visits on Turkeyâs role in a possible Iraq war, US Treasury Secretary John Taylor is due to arrive in Ankara today to discuss the possible economic fallout in Turkey of such a war. Prime Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday stated that Taylorâs visit carried great importance since he is expected to brief Turkish officials on Bush administration proposals designed to compensate for Turkeyâs losses. Taylor is today expected to meet with State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan and Treasury Undersecretary Faik Oztrak, and tomorrow with Prime Minister Gul. Just one day after the US presented the UN Security Council what it called proof of Iraqâs continuing weapons violations, Ankara is hosting a historic summit of Iraqi opposition leaders hoping to shape a post-Saddam Hussein future. The meeting brings together Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Jalal Talabani, Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Sanan Ahmet Aga, and Nechirvan Barzani, the nephew of Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Massoud Barzani as well as prime minister of the so-called regional Kurdistan government. Joining them will be officials from Turkeyâs Foreign Ministry and General Staff Office, as well as US Ambassador to Turkey Robert Pearson and Zalmay Khalilzad, US President George W. Bushâs envoy to the Iraqi opposition. The Turkish officials are expected to convey a message to the Iraqi and US sides that Turkey would consider the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq a âcasus belli.â This being a bad thing. Richard Perle, chairman of the Defense Policy Board, an important advisory panel to the Pentagon, yesterday said that the US launching an operation against Iraq without the benefit of Turkeyâs support was all but unthinkable. âTurkeyâs support for a US-led operation in Iraq is indispensable,â said Perle. âRegime change in Iraq will be beneficial not only for the US, but also for Turkey. Turkey and Iraq will then be able to improve their commercial ties.â A free people having more money to spend. |
| Posted by:Steve |