BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on countries planning to send soldiers to Iraq and Turkey’s stance on the issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
The US State Department said this week that 30 countries had agreed to send troops to Iraq. Turkey’s name isn’t among them, which is only natural since we haven’t made a decision yet. We’ve put our trust in long-term political investments such as authorization from NATO or the United Nations. In other words, we made empty excuses.
If one considers 30 countries set to sending soldiers, we see a diverse picture, and the number of these countries will quickly multiply. First of all, there’s Japan which is the world’s second- greatest economic power, one which sustains its great industry with oil from the gulf region.
Sixteen European Union member and candidate countries, a surprising number, are seeking to send soldiers: Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Latonia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria. There are others as yet unable to join the EU: Ukraine, Macedonia and Albania. In addition, there are such Asian countries as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Korea and the Philippines… Also four Central American countries: the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Among these countries, there are only three Muslim countries, namely Albania, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The US has made requests of Pakistan and Indonesia, but hasn’t yet gotten an answer.
This picture is due to drastically change soon. Those who know the political landscape and international politics won’t hesitate to ascribe a meaning to this atmosphere. Moreover, the roles of most of these countries’ soldiers in Iraq’s reconstruction will be very limited. The Turkish soldiers’ role will be more comprehensive. It’s also understood that our soldiers will work in central Iraq and that when the PKK terrorist organization is defeated, we’ll withdraw our soldiers from northern Iraq.