Gul: We Would Go To Iraq To Help Its People

BY FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila comments on Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s view of postwar Iraq and Turkey’s stance on sending troops there. A summary of his column is as follows:
Saying that Turkey’s stance on sending troops to Iraq could be summed up as a desire to help Iraq and contribute to its stability, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told me, ‘If we send troops to Iraq, we would go there not to fight, but to help save the Iraqi nation. However, along those lines Turkey would take upon itself a duty, that is, it would go there not only to establish security, but would also have social aims.’
For Gul, the postwar conditions will be the most important factor in his stance on sending troops. ‘There’s a great difference between the prewar situation and now,’ he explained. ‘Back then, there was the risk of war. Today there is the problem of establishing stability plus the task of reconstruction. This is not only a military, but also a social, economic and political process. If Turkey can contribute to Iraq and if doing so would benefit our national interests as well, of course it would be right for us as a neighboring country to make a contribution.’
Stating that Turkey should neither act like an invading country nor be seen as one, Gul added, ‘We would take pains not to fight with the Iraqi people, but rather to help rescue it. We would make contributions so the people there will have welfare, peace and stability and so as to meet their basic needs. Turkey would provide such a service for Iraq.’
Gul also stressed that before giving a definite answer to the US on sending troops, Ankara should clearly lay out its stance. Gul’s words imply that Ankara is leaning towards sending soldiers to Iraq so long as humanitarian aims, social aid and political restructuring are at the forefront. Ankara also wants to make clear its stance not only to the US, but also to the Iraqi people.