BY COSKUN KIRCA
AKSAM- Former diplomat and columnist Coskun Kirca writes about the prospect of Turkish troop deployment in Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
In international relations there is a common principle behind such concepts as alliance, partnership, cooperation and friendship, namely a readiness to make concessions. Regardless of the nature of the relationship, whether political, military, economic, cultural or social, every country involved in such affairs must sacrifice certain things in order to gain others. Taking all while giving nothing is only possible for a country that has effectively annexed another.
This nature of international relations no doubt applies to our country’s relations with the US. Both Ankara and Washington have certain long-term common interests in Iraq and the Mideast in general. The formation of a pan-Arab state uniting all others under a single entity (and thus the eventual annihilation of Israel), the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the region, and a sudden spike in the price of oil wreaking great damage to the world economy – all these possible developments are certainly contrary to the interests of both Turkey and the US.
However, our two countries also have certain conflicting interests. It would be unwise for the US to back the formation of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq, as such a development would disturb Turkey, not to mention the Arab states and Iran. Thus, the US will not be assisting the formation of such a Kurdish entity there. Yet, Washington may have other plans for the region, ones which would provide Kurdish nationalists with certain other openings that Turkey may find equally threatening. Ankara could have obtained a guarantee from Washington on the northern Iraq issue had we deployed a large contingent there during the war alongside US forces. But our Parliament’s rejection of US troop deployments changed everything, and thus our country lost a chance for the US guarantee. And the only way now to get that guarantee is to maneuver diplomatically with the US, for Turkey lacks any power to directly challenge American interests in the region. So Ankara should make the necessary concessions on the condition that Turkish forces are deployed in northern Iraq and our other military requests are met. I’m sure that as part of a stabilization force in Iraq the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) would handle its objectives with the utmost success. The principle I mentioned at the outset also holds for the US. Thus, in order to reach an agreement, Washington must first make certain concessions that suffice to satisfy Ankara’s requests.