By Yusuf Kanli
TDN- The kidnapping of shipping magnate Kahraman Sadikoglu in Iraq, the highest-profile Turkish citizen -- and indeed foreigner -- to be kidnapped in Iraq to date, has once again brought to the agenda the extreme state of lawlessness Iraq has found itself in since the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime in the wake of the U.S.-led operation on that country.
Indeed, “What you will install in its place? How are you going to have stability in Iraq once Saddam is removed?” were questions Turks asked the Americans before the Iraq war. Developments since then have unfortunately proved that the Americans had no plan for "the day after" nor did they work out an exit strategy.
Although according to many “well-placed” Turks Sadikoglu has most likely been abducted by his business rivals, whether he was kidnapped by terrorists or rivals doesn't change much in reality.
The murderers of scores of hostages, many of whom were Turkish, these hostage takers -- irrespective of whether they belong to a heinous machine of murder or are simply business rivals -- are all making good use of the state of lawlessness in Iraq. They are just trying to benefit from the huge power vacuum in that country, either by promoting their so-called "cause" or by furthering their business interests, while other feudal landlords in the northern part of the country are busy changing the demographics of the region in their favor in order to carve out a Kurdish state.
We keep on stressing one fundamental point: We might have opposed the U.S.-led operation on Iraq, and we might have refused American use of our territory for launching attacks on Iraq. Those were the issues of yesterday. Today we are opposing American cowboy-like treatment of the Iraqi people, the gross human rights abuses we keep hearing about and watching on television. But the bottom line is clear: We can’t afford to see the Americans fail in Iraq. That would be detrimental to the fundamental interests of Turkey.
The second point that has to be well established is the fact that even if the interim government was installed by the Americans, it can’t be considered to be fully representing the entire Iraqi population and is just that -- an interim government. The central administration in Baghdad is primarily responsible for the governance of the country and has to be consolidated.
Once these points are understood, the policy to be pursued by Turkey on Iraq must be clear: Helping the Americans succeed in their Iraq operation and then pack up and leave the country as soon as possible, while at the same time cooperating with whomever is in government in Baghdad in establishing full sovereignty over the entire country and bringing an end to the lawlessness.
An audiotape, purportedly from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, once again urged Muslims to wage a holy war -- a jihad -- against the U.S. forces and the government in Iraq and also urged the Iraqi people to boycott the parliamentary elections scheduled for January. The tape, which is believed to be genuine, also warned the Iraqis that they would be infidels if they took part in the polls.
Why is the terrorist chieftain so adamantly against elections in Iraq? A return to normalcy in the country would be detrimental to the terrorists. A continuation of the atmosphere of uncertainty and the state of lawlessness in most parts of the country provides terrorist gangs like al-Qaeda, the clandestine Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and such organizations with a valuable breeding ground.
As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly stressed on Tuesday, it is in Turkey’s best interests to contribute in any way it can to the restoration of normalcy in the country and to the full control throughout Iraq of the central government in Baghdad.