BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the desire of the US, Iraq and Turkey for Ankara to send soldiers to Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
When the issue of sending soldiers to Iraq first came up, we were discussing whether we wanted to do or not. However, recently the question whether or not the Iraqis themselves want it has received more attention. As the decision-making mechanisms in Ankara connect these two issues, their willingness to greet our soldiers in Iraq is as important as our willingness on the issue. Here ‘they’ refers to the Iraqi people, and studying if they want to see Turkish soldiers in their country is quite an extraordinary endeavor. If there had been a United Nations or NATO decision, this wouldn’t have been necessary. In any case, the results have been confusing because one day we hear that they would welcome us and the next we hear exactly the opposite. Interestingly, the new Iraqi administration is as divided as the Iraqi nation on the deployment issue. This is the reason for the contradictory voices.
As for the tribes, statements by various Iraqi tribal leaders both in Ankara and speaking to Turks visiting Iraq are also inconsistent. Some of them would welcome the soldiers, others not. The Kurds don’t want to see more Turkish soldiers. The Governing Council also lacks a consensus on the issue. Meanwhile, many Iraqi Turkmen have said they would be glad to see Turkish soldiers. But recently Turkmen leader Faruk Abdullah Abdurrahman said ambiguously that it would be better if Turkish soldiers were sent under a resolution, adding that Iraqis were against any deployment.
The US obviously very much wants to see Turkish soldiers in Iraq, and the Pentagon would be very pleased if Ankara decides to do so. However, Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently that there were ‘sensitivities’ in Iraq on the deployment. How, in this confusing atmosphere, will the government evaluate and make a decision? Most importantly, which criteria it will consider the most important: Turkey’s interests, or the various Iraqi voices, the US or domestic political considerations? The government will soon decide if we will send our soldiers according to what the US wants.