Turkey’s Decision

BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on a possible deployment of Turkish troops to Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
During his recent visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was treated as if he were our country’s premier. Something incredible even happened: US Secretary of State Colin Powell kissed Gul, a la Turca, on the cheek. Obviously, the US has opened its doors as a test of Turkey. It wants to know our plans and intentions. It seems to be asking for Ankara’s friendship and cooperation. However, it says that covering the expenses of troops we might send to Iraq will fall on us.
We don’t want to act as a police force in Iraq. We sincerely want to participate in Iraq’s reconstruction. The Turkish-US negotiations must proceed on this basis, otherwise they will fail. This is completely a militarily issue. The opinion of our chief of General Staff is key. If he favors sending troops and considers conditions suitable, he should say so. Otherwise Parliament will never give its okay.
If the government decides to send troops, probably it will present a measure for doing so to Parliament. If Parliament rejects this, Turkey will be burning its bridges with the US, and we would have no business in Iraq or the greater Middle East, and the government could even resign. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has urged Ankara to make a decision on the issue as soon as possible. Powell, however, said the same thing but more diplomatically.