CUMHURIYET- Columnist Mustafa Balbay comments on Bush’s annual State of the Union Address and the US’ stance on the Iraqi crisis. A summary of his column is as follows:
US President George W. Bush’s annual State of the Union Address was interpreted in different ways on different continents. Bush’s speech took the spotlight in the immediate wake of the United Nations weapons inspectors’ report issued the day before. Concerning my interpretation of Bush’s speech, I can say the following: Everybody planned what to say beforehand; after the weapons inspectors released their report and challenged Bush, he announced this to the public! Bush called on the UN Security Council to convene on Feb. 5 so Secretary of State Collin Powell could tell the world how Iraq has deceived it! When we look at both the US administration’s recent statements and Bush’s speech, the following points become clear:
- The US is already set on attacking Iraq at any cost. The debate inside their administration isn’t about how to move into Iraq, but rather how to get out. - The Bush administration has various documents proving that Iraq possesses all sorts of weapons. Maybe multinational companies doing business with Iraq provided the US with this information. These documents will be released on Feb. 5. - Bush faced similar resistance from the world before the US attacked Afghanistan, and it was unable to give satisfactory answers concerning its evidence. During that time, I wrote, ‘Whatever the US administration calls evidence is accepted as evidence.’ A similar process is beginning now. - It cannot be said that the US has made great achievements in Afghanistan in the short term. However, it may have stabilized the region for the medium term. Maybe it actually wanted this. Of course Iraq isn’t Afghanistan, but the goal seems to be the same: stabilizing the region and not leaving there without establishing an order under its control within 5-10 years. - My colleagues have given Bush a host of nicknames, many quite derogatory. One writer for Le Monde Diplomatique calls Bush ‘the bandit.’ Clearly, the US is growing more isolated with each passing day.
A different sort of isolation awaits Turkey. The government can neither satisfy the US administration nor those who are opposed to war. The Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) main cover is the National Security Council (MGK) meeting to be held tomorrow. Prime Minister Abdullah Gul expressed his satisfaction that Turkish and US military officials were talking to each other. ‘We are acting and shaping our Iraq policy according to the military’s requests,’ said the AKP. However, the military believes that for even a single foreign soldier to come to Turkey, a decision from the political leadership is necessary. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer summarized his view of the situation during meetings on Iraq as follows:
This war isn’t Turkey’s conflict, but the US’. - Such a war has nothing to do with Turkey. - Of course necessary measures to protect our security should and will be taken. It’s Parliament’s decision to decide whether foreign soldiers can be stationed in Turkey. It’s also a constitutional obligation to comply with international law so that Parliament can make such a decision.
The MGK meeting to be held tomorrow will connect the three dots on Turkey’s stance, namely the government, the military ad the Parliament. We know that the military is following developments closely. During contacts with US officials, Turkey asked them this: Following an operation against Iraq, what will you do? But the US doesn’t want to give us a clear, written answer to this question!
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION