ANKARA - Mehmet Dulger, the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission said on Friday that the U.S. wanted Turkish soldiers in order to prevent the killing of its own soldiers in Iraq.
''How can I say 'yes' to a motion to send soldiers to Iraq?'' said Dulger, stressing that Turkey and the U.S. had to answer many questions together as two real partners on the table before preparation of a motion on sending soldiers to Iraq.
Explaining his own ideas to A.A correspondent about sending soldiers to Iraq, Dulger said that first of all the government, Turkish Armed Forces and the U.S. had to overcome the hesitations that were on the mind of the public opinion. Dulger asserted that the issue of sending soldiers was an equation which had many unknown parts such as ''why should soldiers be sent to Iraq? What will they do in Iraq? How will the expenses be met? When will they return back? How will the soldiers be supplied?''
Dulger pointed out that Kurdish forces in north of Iraq didn't want Turkish soldiers to pass from the region, adding that Shii Arabs decided to revolt after the recent incident.
''Where will Turkish soldiers pass from? It is said that a security corridor will be formed. What will happen if bombs are hurled to that security corridor and what if our soldiers be killed? What will happen if a suicide commando enters our headquarters with bombs put on his belt and kills our officers? There is a big chaos in the region. How can 20,000 soldiers do the thing that could not be done by 140,000 U.S. soldiers? U.S. wants Turkish soldiers to prevent the killing of its own soldiers.''
(Öª-AÖ) 05.09.2003