CUMHURIYET- Columnist Mustafa Balbay comments on the reactions to a possible US intervention in Iraq and Turkey’s views on the issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
US President George W. Bush has recently ratcheted up the rhetoric on Iraq, calling Saddam Hussein a real problem who should be dealt with. We can easily predict that the current US policy on Iraq will determine how the global balances of power will take shape during the 21st century.
This time, the US seems to be standing alone on Iraq. The issue has three main parties: The European Union, the China-Russia line, and the Arab world.
No decision was made on the issue of Iraq at last week’s EU meeting in Barcelona. The EU has turned a blind eye to the issue for two reasons: 1) There are certain differences of opinion on the issue within the Union itself. 2) The EU does not want to cause any tension in its relations with the US.
Both China and Russia have publicly come out against any US military intervention in Iraq. However, the Bush administration has stated that the US could carry out a military operation in Iraq without the need for any support.
What mostly concerns Turkey is the future effects of such an intervention on the Middle East and the Arab world. US Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to arrive in Turkey tomorrow as a part of his Mideast tour. Jordan’s King Abdullah, Saudi Arabian Prince Abdullah and Egyptian President Mubarak have all voiced their opposition to any military intervention in Iraq.
What about Turkey? What is Turkey going to say to Cheney?
Both Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem have recently been stressing four main points:
1) Any military operation in Iraq would not serve Turkey’s interests. We stand opposed to any such operation. 2) We are against recent attempts to establish an independent state in northern Iraq. 3) The most important Middle Eastern issue right now, an issue which needs to be solved as soon as possible, is not Iraq but the violence between Israel and the Palestinians. 4) The US is not playing its part to end the ongoing violence in the Middle East.
It is an interesting coincidence that Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), will also be in Ankara during Cheney’s visit! Today’s US policy on Iraq cannot be evaluated as the continuation of its policies since the Gulf War. Let me stress what has changed since then. Before 1991, Turkey was among the countries which had very good commercial relations with Iraq. What about today? Thanks to the free trade zone in Jordan, it’s the US today which has significantly improved its commercial relations with Iraq!
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION