A Talk With Senator Mccain

BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen comments on his conversation earlier this week with US Senator John McCain. A summary of his column is as follows:
We’ve been seeing a great many delegations visiting Ankara and Istanbul lately, mostly US congressmen, senators and consultants exchanging views about the Iraq issue and Turkish-US relations. On a boat trip two days ago, I had the opportunity to meet with Senator John McCain, one of the US’ most respected and influential politicians.
The impression I got in our talk is that although he’s a Republican, McCain is opposed to the Bush administration’s Iraq policy and that he’s decided to make this clear once he gets back to Washington. During our talk, McCain repeatedly said, ‘Time isn’t on our side in Iraq,’ adding that the US administration really must re-evaluate its policy in light of recent developments. ‘It’s true that we ended the war earlier than expected,’ he added, ‘but we’ve been unable to establish peace due to a lack of preparedness. We’ve failed so far at both establishing security and at reconstruction.’
McCain also told me about things he had seen and heard in Iraq, for instance that their infrastructure systems such as water and electricity are old and in a bad state of repair. Because of this, the nation is angry, which fosters an atmosphere ripe for terrorism. ‘Soon I’ll bring up this issue back in Washington,’ said McCain. ‘I’ll tell the administration that it needs to set aside $13-15 billion to address these needs. I’ll also bring the issue to Congress.’ McCain also thinks that at least 18,000 additional soldiers are needed in Iraq so that the US can properly establish security and that the Bush administration should agree to give roles to the United Nations and NATO to ensure other countries’ contributions as well. In addition, McCain said that Turkish soldiers are needed there.
What will happen if Turkey refuses to send soldiers to Iraq? Saying that it would cause disappointment in the US, particularly in the Congress, McCain told me, ‘Turkish-US relations need stability. Our cooperation isn’t limited to just this. There’re so many other things we can do in other areas, for instance the economy and Iraq’s reconstruction. However, if we work together to establish peace and stability in Iraq, our relations will grow stronger.’