HURRIYET- Columnist Oktay Eksi writes on Turkey’s stance on the Iraq crisis. A summary of his column is as follows:
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday told a press conference that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) believed that Turkey should join a US-led war in Iraq in line with its national interests.
If the TSK as a military institution which always kept away from unnecessary ‘adventures’ says that Turkey must take part in this war, it means that there are no other choices for us other than backing the US. In other words, Turkey will no longer see a new UN Security Council Resolution as a must. This is not because the US has managed to win international legitimacy, but because Turkey has no other options due to ever-increasing US pressure.
“Simply speaking, Turkey will suffer economic and political losses in both cases,” said Gen. Ozkok. “If we don’t support the US, we will suffer great losses which won’t be compensated. We won’t have the right to participate in Iraq’s political restructuring process. However, if we back the US, some of our losses will be compensated by the Bush administration and we’ll be able to provide humanitarian aid to the refugees in northern Iraq.”
By the way, Parliamentary Speaker Bulent Arinc recently remarked that he appreciated Ozkok’s statement, in other words, Arinc also believes that Turkey should change its stance.
Therefore, it’s very clear that the government is planning to prepare a new proposal to be presented to the Parliament. Our government has to find a way to persuade reluctant deputies. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in trouble since he trusted the members of his party and did not want to make a group decision on the issue. If he now tries to make a group decision on the issue, people would believe that he is afraid of a second failure. However, no matter what people thinks, I believe that he has to make such a decision.
What about timing? It’s clear that the US wants a war to start as soon as possible. The earlier, the better, the Bush administration says. Please excuse us the members of the Bush administration! But I can’t recall that we promised you that you can count on Turkey when starting this adventure!
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION