Iraqi People Who Don't Want Foreign Soldiers In Their Country Warmer Towards Turkish Soldiers

ANKARA - Details of the report on Turkey's dispatch of soldiers to Iraq, prepared by the delegation comprised of Foreign Ministry, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Office of General Staff who held meetings in Iraq and returned to Turkey last week, have started to become definite.
Sources said on Friday that the delegation got the impression during their contacts that Iraqi people did not want foreign soldiers in the region but were warmer towards deployment of Turkish soldiers and expressed their impression in their report.
In the report, the delegation expressed their view that ''Turkey should not be equated with the United States'' and that ''Turkey's contributions should not only be limited with dispatch of soldiers.''
The report stated that most of the Iraqi people were pessimistic about the future of Iraq and had uneasiness that their country could be pushed into a chaos.
The report makes three or four recommendations about regions where Turkish soldiers could serve in case a decision on the dispatch was made.
Meanwhile Ahmad Chalabi, the current President of the Iraqi Interim Governing Council, said they were willing to improve every kind of relations with Turkey. Turkey's sending soldiers was also discussed at the meeting.
A high ranking official of foreign ministry said Chalabi was given the message that, ''we consider you as patriotic. If you say Bulgarians, Russians and Polish would understand better, this will be more easier for us. We already don't want to send our children there. If you say, ''you will understand us better, you will protect us, you will act as mother of a child, then we will take risk and make self sacrifice.''
Upon this, Chalabi told the officials not to stay away, stating that they did not have sovereignty. He said they abided by what U.S. said, and warned against those who might provoke.
(BRC-AY) 12.09.2003