BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI (STAR)
Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli comments on the Turkey’s stances now and before the Iraq war. A summary of her column is as follows:
What has changed since the end of the war in Iraq? Before the war, the government was splitting hairs on the issue of our sending soldiers to Iraq. Why is it so willing to send soldiers now? Foreign policy is established by taking a great many elements into consideration, and the decision-makers’ perspective is one of these. Back in March, the proposal for the deployment of US troops in Turkey might have been passed with the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) votes. However, there weren’t enough AKP votes then because most of the deputies viewed the prospect of US troop deployment in Turkey as ‘one Muslim country’s facilitating an attack against another.’
Current Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was prime minister at the time, and he signed onto the proposal. However, according to circles close to him, he actually didn’t favor it greatly out of fear it would lead to a state of war and a declaration of martial law. Another decision-making element, namely the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), also didn’t welcome this proposal warmly, due to Turkish soldiers’ past negative experiences with US forces. Most Turkish diplomats sincerely wanted passage of the proposal because they thought then Ankara would have a say in the reconstruction of the region due to its intensive cooperation with the US.
However, a great many things have changed since March. Now Gul is no longer concerned about martial law. What’s more, as the US has already invaded Iraq, the AKP’s stance about Muslim countries opposing the invasion of their peers has become moot. In addition, our military leaders are still feeling the effects of July’s Sulaimaniyah incident as a demonstration of the US’ military might. In brief, the decision-makers are warmly welcoming the idea of sending our soldiers to Iraq. It seems they have made their decision already and only a bureaucratic procedure remains. I wonder if Parliament will surprise both Turkey and the world once more. I hope it will.