Why The U.S. Is Continuing Its Buildup?

MILLIYET- Columnist Taha Akyol comments on Turkey’s dealings with the US over the Iraq war. A summary of his column is as follows:
With the proposal our Parliament passed yesterday, Turkey greenlighted US warplane overflights through Turkish airspace. The US jets will be soon able to fly over. So what’s the meaning of all the US activity around Iskenderun and Mersin? Why are they continuing to rent land and warehouses and dispatch hundreds of vehicles?
An Ankara bureaucrat I spoke to yesterday explained it like this: ‘The US will need logistics help through Turkey. For example, it will request a new proposal on the grounds of the need to send humanitarian aid supplies. It might even request permission again to send soldiers.’ Ankara thinks that the US will certainly request permission for ‘humanitarian purposes.’ I wonder if Turkey won’t enter Iraq for the same reason.
If the war stretches out, the US will have to ask Turkey to let it deploy soldiers [through Turkey]. In addition, the US will need Turkey’s help for it to send food, health and social aid supplies to Iraq to reconstruct the country in the years to come. It’s very important for Turkey to keep control in northern Iraq, and this might be one reason for the Turkish Army to enter the region for ‘humanitarian purposes.’ I guess Ankara’s decision to allow the US to stockpile and continue its buildup is based on such calculations. The US needs Turkey on this issue, which means that Turkey has an opportunity right now. I hope that we make good use of it. Turkey missed out on the military and economic advantages available during the recent bargaining. We should learn from this situation.
The US operation against Iraq is, of course, unjustified. During the bargaining, the US acted in an arrogant, hurtful manner. The Bush administration’s rudeness was also apparent in the negotiations. Bush only exacerbated the hatred of the US. These are all facts. Establishing rational policies to protect against unfair damage likely to be wreaked by this unjustified war is Turkey’s most natural and legal right. Over the past three months, Turkey delayed the war by doing some hard bargaining to maximize our security and economic interests. Nobody would have accused Turkey of favoring the war. However, that point was overlooked due to the government’s timid stance. From now on, Turkey should seize its opportunities in a bolder way. Turkey should seize the day so Iraq can emerge as a good neighbor and a valued commercial partner after the war.

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