BY TURGUT TARHANLI
RADIKAL- During his visit to Turkey earlier this week, Commander of US troops in Iraq Gen. John Abizaid conveyed to Turkish officials Washington’s expectations over the military base in Incirlik, Adana. US military elements are deployed at the base under a 1980 defense and economic cooperation pact between Ankara and Washington. Yesterday this paper used the expression ‘extreme demands’ in writing about Abizaid’s expectations, because they included a number of unconventional requests such as being allowed use of the base without being obliged to obtain parliamentary approval, increasing the number of US planes there, and adopting more flexible rules for the US planes using the base.
Although our officials are trying to mend fences with Washington in the wake of the Iraq war, they can’t let Washington act outside the boundaries set by our laws. Under our Constitution, the sole institution empowered to invite foreign armed forces to our country and conclude agreements with them is the Parliament. Article 92 of the Constitution demarcates Parliament’s authority on this issue, stipulating that foreign armed forces can be invited to the country if necessary conditions set out by international law are met. Therefore, we are again facing the question of the legitimacy of the US occupation of Iraq.
The scope of the 1980 agreement must be evaluated within the legal boundaries drawn by Article 92. Therefore, not only because international law views the Iraq war as illegitimate, but also because no institution besides Parliament itself can exercise this authority, the US demands for Incirlik Airbase are unacceptable. No institution in Turkey, Parliament included, can exercise a state power in violation of the Constitution.
Turkey of course might adopt more flexible rules for the management of the base for humanitarian reasons or due to certain ‘extraordinary developments.’
We can also look at the issue from a quite different angle. The US is seeking Turkey’s approval for its military doctrine and so-called ‘sublime ideal,’ namely establishing democracy in Iraq, which cannot, unfortunately, be brought up without a dose of sarcasm or mockery. If democracy is such an exalted US ideal for which it is ready to pay any price, then what should we think of Abizaid’s said demands forcing Turkey – a model democracy for the Muslim world – to violate its democratic rules and principles?