MILLIYET- Columnist Derya Sazak writes about a possible US military attack on Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
In his influential book ‘Diplomacy,’ Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state and Nobel Peace Prize winner, characterizes his country’s situation in the post-Cold War era as follows: ‘In the new world order, the US can neither wash its hands of the world altogether nor take the full reins of it.’ Through the mid-1990s, when Kissinger made the above-quoted evaluation, the old superpower Soviet Russia had already quit the scene and the Gulf War had culminated in the withdrawal of Iraq’s forces from Kuwait. Bush the Elder’s new world order was gradually being consolidated.
The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center came at a time when the US had already declared its global superiority in the 21st century, and at that time no one suspected in the slightest that the new order wouldn’t last. Moreover, there was no nation capable of balancing out the US’ ‘omnipotence.’ This imbalance thus created an invisible enemy, and on Sept. 11, the birthday of the ‘asymmetrical war,’ the country went through the trial of fire. Since that day, the US has been trying to restore its almighty position by cloaking its cause under the country’s ‘security interests,’ waging war in Afghanistan and getting prepared for another one in Iraq. The US is formulating a new strategy at the expense of international law.
The military option has overtaken the diplomatic one. The US’ target is Iraq. UN weapons inspectors are in Baghdad and continuing their work, and they are scheduled to present a report to the Security Council on Jan. 27, a report which will help George W. Bush make up his mind about his orders to US forces in the Gulf region.
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers is currently in the midst of a very important visit to Ankara which will see a number of critical contacts. Yet the final decision on Turkey’s scope of involvement in a possible Iraq offensive will be made not by our military but by the government and Parliament.
In considering the US request to station 15,000 troops in Turkey for opening a northern front into Iraq, let’s not forget the Vietnam War and the mire the US was dragged into during those years. We need this perspective to fully evaluate Washington’s claims that a war in Iraq will last ‘only a few weeks’ should Turkey allow that front to go forward. To see why, it is worth quoting at length from Kissinger’s book:
‘When John F. Kennedy was president, the number of US military personnel stationed in Vietnam was about 900. By the time he was assassinated, it was over 16,000. At that time, acting US Assistant Secretary of State William Bundy estimated the probability that 40,000 troops could control what was going on in Vietnam was only 70%. Yet, an attempt to halt developments there would have cast a shadow on the US’ credibility in the international arena, and could have accomplished nothing more than delaying the complete collapse and failure to come.’
US officials proved unsuccessful in convincing the world that their goal wasn’t to sweep Vietnam off the map or change its government. Whatever the possible consequences of a war against Saddam, isn’t the US about to embark upon a similar adventure in Iraq some 40 years after Vietnam?
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION