BY DENIZ ZEYREK
RADIKAL- Radikal daily trumpeted in a headline yesterday that the US had given an important role to Turkey in its plans to withdraw from Iraq and that Ankara welcomed this. Sources close to the Foreign Ministry and the government we spoke to confirmed this. When we brought up how Parliament refused to help the US in March 2003, just before the Iraq invasion, and asked if this would happen again, a diplomat told us it wouldn't and that the two situations were completely different, as one concerned invasion and the other is about ending an occupation.
As it withdraws its soldiers from Iraq, the US will also send more forces to Afghanistan. So Turkey's role is wider ranging than just loading American soldiers and weapons onto ships and planes and then sending them. Obviously, our harbors of Mersin and Iskender and the Incirlik Airbase will be important hubs for this withdrawal. The use of the Diyarbakir and Malatya airports is also being negotiated. Also under discussion is the security of heavy weapons and armored vehicles to be withdrawn by land.
Important details include temporary headquarters to be established for these purposes and the legal rules to be followed by US soldiers on Turkish territory. The Foreign Ministry is ready to conclude this issue thanks to the deals which were struck before Parliament defeated the 2003 motion. The ministry has relevant texts from that time ready to be delivered to government after being updated.
One issue which would cause headaches for Turkey isn't the withdrawal of US soldiers, but Afghanistan. The Afghanistan issue has two dimensions which give the government, Foreign Ministry and the military pause. The first is the US process of moving soldiers directly from Iraq to Afghanistan. This might make Turkey part of a dynamic operation, rather than just hosting a transfer.
Justifying the operation on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions on fighting al-Qaeda and NATO Article 5 might make things easier for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. But if the operation drags on for some years, there could be a public backlash.
Also, there will be deals on sending soldiers to Afghanistan, as last week's meeting of NATO defense ministers in Poland shows. The Obama administration will inevitably put more pressure on Turkey and its other allies to send more soldiers to Afghanistan. The government and Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug might try to rebuff this pressure, and so run the risk of tension with the US. But recent Ankara visits from Washington officials show that Obama's team will be very insistent on having Turkish soldiers deployed against the Taliban and al Qaeda."