MILLIYET- Columnist Derya Sazak comments on Turkey’s possible stance on a US attack against Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
US Ambassador in Turkey Robert Pearson recently conveyed a message from US President George W. Bush to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader: ‘Make your decision about US soldiers as soon as possible.’ Mr. Erdogan must have told Pearson to meet with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, because he then visited Mr. Gul and told him the same thing: ‘We are waiting for your reply to our requests.’ This is our foreign policy situation. Even though we say, ‘We haven’t promised anything,’ the Turkey-US dialogue is having reverberations. Similarly, the US administration is reminding Ankara of the recent meetings in Washington. The US, which is trying to gather its forces at the Persian Gulf, is determined to attack Iraq from the north. The use of bases and harbors isn’t enough, so it wants to place US soldiers in Turkey. As the Erdogan-Gul administration is trying to buy time, the US is saying, ‘If you don’t hurry, we will make our war plans without Turkey.’ Can the Pentagon take such a risk? The strategic importance of northern Iraq is crucial. During the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam redeployed eight of Iraq’s military divisions to Turkey’s border. Following the war, Iraq’s power in the north diminished and the region fell under control by the Kurds. The US is suggesting to Turkey that the two countries’ forces attack Iraq in unison. Otherwise it’s ready to move alone. Ankara’s sensitivities due to Mosul and Kirkuk in northern Iraq attach much more importance to not leaving the US and Britain alone in the region. In spite of this, the General Staff is very guarded, wanting Turkey’s military contributions to be limited to the bases at the beginning. It’s also sitting on the fence in terms of the land support that the US is expecting. Actually the government must bring the problem to Parliament as soon as possible. During the Gulf War, United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 was in effect. Soon after Kuwait was invaded, President Turgut Ozal tried to get an authorization from Parliament in September 1990, but he was unable to convince then Prime Minister Yildirim Akbulut. After the war started, the Akbulut government applied to Parliament and got permission to send the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) outside Turkey’s borders and to provide forces under the UN resolution in order to ‘protect Turkey’s interests during and after the crisis.’ This is what Gul’s government is having problems with today. However, now the US is preparing to attack Iraq without any authorization from the UN or NATO. Turkey’s opening its territory to US soldiers would effectively mean declaring a war. That’s just how the Ottoman Empire got involved in the First World War, wasn’t it?

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