BY FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila writes on yesterday’s press briefing on Iraq by the General Staff Office. A summary of his column is as follows:
Yesterday the General Staff Office held a press briefing on Iraq. After the briefing, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug answered reporters’ questions.
First of all, I’d like to underline that the General Staff Office should hold more such briefings to keep the press informal on critical issues like this one. This can serve to stem the tide of idle rumors and misinformation. Yesterday’s briefing was very important since it laid out Ankara’s political aims and current military situation on the Iraq issue.
‘As the present crisis in Iraq is deepening, there is a possibility that the country could disintegrate,’ warned Gen. Metin Yavuz Yalcin in his initial briefing. ‘Therefore, Turkey must take into account the possibility of the proliferation of terrorist activities in the war-devastated country.’ These words clearly expressed Ankara’s political aims: protecting Iraq’s territorial integrity, eliminating the terrorist groups there and preventing the country from plunging into deeper chaos or even worse domestic strife.
There’s no doubt that these goals are directly related to our country’s own security, so by serving peace and stability in Iraq Ankara is indirectly ensuring its own safety.
According to the General Staff, at this late date there’s no point in debating the legitimacy of the US-led war. The key task now is to determine future steps to both help the Iraqi people establish peace and stability and protect our own territories from a possible deeper crisis in the region.
Under these circumstances, one of Turkey’s priorities is the PKK/KADEK issue. ‘No matter what Ankara will do in Iraq, Turkey is determined to cooperate with the US on this issue,’ said Gen. Yalcin. These words stressed that the PKK/KADEK issue should be considered a separate matter from other developments in Iraq.
I believe the General Staff’s press briefing should be seen as an expression of Turkey’s political and military goals on the Iraq issue.