We Should Be Careful On The Northern Front

MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the Iraq’s role in the Iraqi war and especially northern Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:
In the first three days of the war, US and British forces moved forward without meeting the Iraqi army but as they moved further in, they encountered fiercer resistance than they had expected. It’s known that Saddam Hussein established defense lines around the inner parts of Iraq, near settlements. As US and British forces approached these places, they encountered resistance. They can no longer move forward as easily as they did in the first few days. There is a clear slowness in the US advance, and even news that it has been halted in places. Meanwhile, US and British losses are climbing, and captured US soldiers were shown on TV.
It’s not known how this resistance will affect the war’s outcome. However, it’s clear that it will be hard for the US to reach its goal as quickly and easily as it had planned. Besides the Iraqi military resistance, another setback the US hadn’t expected is that Iraqi people in the south, who are known to despise Saddam, didn’t welcome the US and British soldiers with open arms.
According to analysts, when the war from the south didn’t move forward easily, a serious gap formed in the north, making it difficult to maintain control. Guns fired by units attached to Saddam against Kurdish groups there are considered a serious security problem.
The lack of US forces to maintain security in the region is endangering an air operation through Jordan. The US seems to be seeking new avenues, and there are serious signals that it hopes to find a solution in Ankara. The beginning of contacts concerning Turkey’s entrance into northern Iraq should be evaluated in this respect. Today these contacts will continue with the participation of President Bush’s envoy to the Iraqi opposition, Zalmay Khalilzad. These developments might be able to relieve some of the tensions between the US and Turkey which emerged with our rejection of the US troop deployment proposal. The government later got authorization from Parliament to send our own soldiers into Iraq. The General Staff stated that it was drawing up all sorts of plans and preparations for this authorization. It seems there will be new developments and surprises on the northern front. We should be careful about the north over the next few days. Turkey will enhance its importance as long as it stays strong and self-confident.

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