Turks relieved to keep out of Iraqi quagmire

News, October 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

Jordan Times, Friday-Saturday, October 31-November 1, 2003

ANKARA (AFP) — Though Ankara officially stands ready to send troops into Iraq, Turks were clearly relieved that the risky mission was ruled out after Washington backed down on the idea under stiff opposition from Baghdad's interim government.

"Deep down they are very pleased with this," said Ilnur Cevik, editor-in-chief of the English-language Turkish Daily News, in comments published on Thursday.

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer announced Wednesday he considered the question of whether to dispatch Turkish soldiers to join the US-led occupation force to be "closed."

Though he said he spoke for himself and not for the government, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan echoed the view. "We are not counting on sending soldiers" to neighbouring Iraq, Erdogan said, stressing he felt a "consensus" was needed to endorse such a controversial move — requested by Washington after the US-led invasion ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul charged earlier in the week that the United States had handled the issue with "ineptitude," unable to persuade the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council of the value of bringing in a Turkish contingent to help in the bid to restore order and pave the way for elections in Iraq.

The country has remained racked by violence blamed by coalition leaders on both Saddam loyalists and Islamic militant infiltrators. Washington has seen more US troops die since hostilities were officially declared over on May 1 than during the prior six-week offensive.

Cevik contended that the US back-pedalling however works in Erdogan's favour.

On the one hand, he said, there will be no loss of Turkish lives to further rile the majority of Turks dead set against sending in troops to join the US-led coalition.

On the other hand, by officially standing ready to send in soldiers, Erdogan "repairs the damage that was done with the first motion in March" when the Turkish parliament refused to allow the United States, its NATO ally, to use its territory as a springboard to attack Iraq.

Three weeks ago, Turkish lawmakers voted in favour of the deployment despite the widespread public opposition, which opinion polls put at 80 per cent.

Erdogan was also seen as being spared any more friction with Turkey's powerful military — which views itself the guardian of Turkey's secular status and views Erdogan's Islamist roots with suspicion. Keeping the military out of Iraq, observers say, will also keep their influence at bay.

The Americans have not officially renounced Turkish help, even if a top Washington hawk Paul Wolfowitz, the Pentagon's number two, said Wednesday the foreign military presence in Iraq was already touchy enough without bringing in soldiers from neighbouring countries.

The Americans have the lion's share of occupying troops in Iraq — out of about 155,000 soldiers from 34 countries, they have deployed 130,000.

The Turkish army — which was the first to speak out here in favour of sending up to 10,000 troops to join the US-led coalition in Iraq — was seen as counting on using the move to strengthen its fight against Turkish Kurdish rebels who have fled across the border.

Some 5,000 militants from the biggest Turkish Kurdish separatist group the Kurdish Labour Party (PKK, now renamed KADEK), which has waged a 15-year bloody armed campaign for self-rule in southeastern Turkey, are said to be holed up in mountainous northeast Iraq.

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

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