CUMHURIYET- Columnist Hikmet Cetinkaya comments on United States plans to launch a military strike against Iraq. A summary of his column, which was written before Iraq pledged late yesterday to re-admit UN inspectors “without conditions,” is as follows:
As we all know, the US has recently been trying to build diplomatic support for military action to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. What about Turkey? What is Turkey currently doing on this issue? Turkey is in fact very preoccupied with discussions over early elections. Our politicians are caught up in the heated atmosphere of elections.
Bush’s recent statements on the Iraqi regime have recently grown harsher and harsher. He has already pushed the button to receive UN support for a military strike against Saddam.
Meanwhile, our Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel is establishing contacts with US officials in Washington. However, neither Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal have addressed the Iraqi issue. But aren’t these leaders the chairmen of the two parties which are most likely to emerge victorious in early elections? Isn’t Iraq also Turkey’s neighbor? Isn’t Turkey the country which would be most affected by a possible US military intervention in Iraq? Turkey borrowed billions of dollars from the IMF and the World Bank. That means our government will have to lend its full support to a US intervention at all costs!
With the exception of Britain, other European countries such as Germany and France are suspicious of US policy on Iraq. According to a dossier recently prepared by British officials on Saddam Hussein's weapons development programs, there is clear evidence that the Iraqi leader helped Osama bin Laden’s militants and supported Al Queada terrorists. British Prime Minister Tony Blair promised to make public this dossier as soon as possible. In addition, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that Saddam must either ‘deal with those weapons of mass destruction or his regime will have to end.’
The US is stepping up its diplomatic efforts to receive the support of Arab and European countries. US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently attended the meeting of the Arab countries’ foreign ministers. They discussed whether Iraq would re-admit the UN weapons inspectors. ‘Let the UN inspectors enter Iraq,’ Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammud told his Iraqi counterpart Naci Sabri. ‘If the UN inspectors return to your country, they will bring peace and stability along with them.’ However, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said that his nation would allow inspectors to return only if the United States doesn't bring military action and if UN sanctions are lifted. Meanwhile, Germany is also quite sensitive on this issue. We know that ahead of this fall’s closely fought elections, the German government has been strongly critical of US plans.
The US is demanding that Saddam relinquish all of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and stop oppressing its people. However, we all know that the US also has other demands. The right wing of the US political scene is busy re-drawing the map of the Middle East.
Iraq is a close neighbor to Turkey...
As I mentioned before, Turkey is just standing and watching what’s happening to one of its neighbors...
What do Erdogan and Baykal think about this issue?
How will the new government to be formed after November’s elections deal with this issue?
Let’s not forget that such a war will last for years, and that no doubt Turkey would be greatly damaged.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION