BY ERGUN BABAHAN
SABAH- As Iraq drifts closer to a new war, the Unites States’ interest in Turkey has risen. The revolt that was limited to Sunni areas has spread to the Shiite regions. Now Iraq has become a battlefield. Turkey didn’t get stuck in the Iraqi swamp, thanks to Parliament’s rejection of a prewar motion which would have allowed US troops to be stationed in Turkey and Ankara to send its soldiers to northern Iraq. However, Hurriyet columnist Ertugrul Ozkok predicted that a democratic regime would be formed in Iraq within a year. And according to Cengiz Candar, Baghdad was gradually becoming a safer country. Both of these predictions have falled short.
After reducing its troops to about 100,000, the US government is having difficulty controlling Iraq. US commanders in Iraq want more troops, but it’s hard for the Bush administration to say yes, as it’s focused on the fall elections. The main danger for Turkey lies at this point. Washington could tell Ankara that would accept 10,000 Turkish troops in Iraq. It’s already started to give signals on this. New York Times columnist William Safire said as much. US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers gave a similar message, saying that our friendship has never been so important as now. It was of course good that the dictator next door is gone, that he has to pay for his crimes against his people. But as we look more closely at past US military interventions, it’s clear that they didn’t bring happiness to the people involved. This is seen clearly in Haiti and Nicaragua. Without grasping this, the US set off on an adventure under the guise of its fight against terrorism and ruined the region in the process.
The US is also reluctant to leave the Iraqi administration to the UN. There is also doubt whether the UN would be willing to do so. Therefore, it would be a historic mistake for Ankara to join in such an adventure under US pressure. Turkey should steer clear of this swamp.