Why Send Troops To Iraq?

BY H. BULENT KAHRAMAN
RADIKAL- Columnist H. Bulent Kahraman writes on possible Turkish troop deployments in Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
Today I’d like to tell you what I think about the Turkish troop deployment issue. Let’s not mince words: Under the present circumstances, there is no good reason for Turkey to send its troops to Iraq. Sending our soldiers there would be sheer insanity. Here are my reasons for thinking so:
There’s only one reason why our government is evidently so willing to deploy troops in Iraq, but the prime minister is being coy about it. Whenever Erdogan talks about the issue, he makes vague and confusing statements. As a matter of fact, he made promises to Washington even before becoming prime minister that Turkey would do whatever the Bush administration wanted if the US gave full support to our European Union membership bid. However, due to greater-than-expected domestic opposition, Erdogan failed to keep his promise during the Iraq war. Now he wants to change all this. In addition, we don’t know what was discussed and agreed upon between the IMF and our government during their latest meetings. My point is that the only reason why Erdogan’s government wants to send troops to Iraq is to mend strained relations with Washington. But as the government feels it can’t be straightforward on this issue, when asked about it AKP officials are often reduced to making ridiculous statements.
The other significant point is that our country wants to prevent the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. However, Washington has already decided to handle this problem on its own, cutting Ankara out. We all know that the Bush administration wants Turkish troops deployed in Baghdad. Our soldiers’ mission will be exclusively restricted to the Iraqi capital. (But maybe our government doesn’t know that!) Under these circumstances, the US will use our soldiers as a tool for its selfish purposes, in other words, as collaborators for its dirty and difficult jobs in Baghdad.
It’s also clear that this time it’s the US alone against the whole world. However, Washington will sooner or later have to sit at the table with other countries to fix the mess it made in the Middle East. When the negotiations begin, no one will remember Turkey and its national interests. Let’s recall the US plans for the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, a well-known project which is also supported by France and Britain. If Turkey gets involved in this war, we’ll have to content ourselves with minor and secondary benefits. Nobody should expect more.
The last point is the problems of Iraq’s Turkmen groups and the issues of Mosul and Kirkuk, two favorite subjects of our ‘old ultra-nationalists.’ It’s true that the Ottoman Empire once held these territories, and it’s again true that these lands were taken from us by using unjust methods. These are both historical facts. However, these facts do not give us the right to pursue imperialistic policies today. I wonder what our government will say on this issue?