Posted on 03/21/2003 2:14:44 PM PST by henbane
Powell: No quid pro quo with Turkey
By Eli J. Lake
UPI State Department Correspondent
International
Desk
Published 3/21/2003 4:41 PM
WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell Friday told Turkey there was "no need" to send troops into Kurdish-controlled Northern Iraq.
He made the comment after all-night talks between U.S. and Turkish officials aimed at preventing Ankara from making the move, which was authorized by the Turkish parliament Thursday.
The Turks have said they need a military presence in Northern Iraq to control the expected flood of war refugees seeking to cross the border into Turkey.
But observers say the dominant reason is Turkish resolve to prevent the Kurds from taking advantage of the present conflict in Iraq to form a breakaway independent state. The Turks fear a Kurdish state on their doorstep could incite their own Kurdish minority to seek independence.
"We are in contact with them about their desire to have a presence in Northern Iraq," Powell said. "At the moment, we don't see a need for any Turkish incursions into Northern Iraq."
On Thursday, the Turkish parliament passed legislation allowing U.S. military use of Turkish airspace in the war against Iraq. The same resolution authorized the Turkish army to deploy troops in Northern Iraq.
When the United States objected to the linkage between the overflight rights and troop deployment in Iraq, the Turkish government said it would delay the permission.
But following all-night negotiations and a phone conversation Friday between Powell and Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyeb Erdogan, diplomatic sources said, U.S. combat planes were again allowed to fly over Turkish territory.
However, the issue of whether Turkish troops would go into Kurdish territory apparently remained unresolved. Powell said the overflights and the troop incursions were separate issues, and the question of whether Turkey could send the military to Northern Iraq would be discussed later.
"Our position is that these two items should be separable," Powell said Friday. "Let's deal with the overflight issue, and deal with the need for making sure that there is not a disturbance along the Turkey-Iraq border," he said.
The Turks have said any troops in Northern Iraq would stay out of the present fighting. The Kurds, who are lightly armed and no match for the Turkish military, are apprehensive at the prospect of a sizeable presence of Turkish troops in their midst.
U.S. planes had been flying on regular missions over the no-fly zones in the north and south of Iraq from the Turkish air base at Incirlik since 1991.
Ankara's desire to position troops of its own in Northern Iraq has bedeviled U.S. efforts to negotiate access for 60,000 U.S. troops through Turkey to establish a northern front in Iraq. An earlier agreement would have allowed Turkish troops into Northern Iraq but the Pentagon quickly reversed this quid pro quo.
Earlier this month, the Turkish parliament rejected legislation that would allow the United States the basing rights for ground troops and in the process lost their best opportunity for a multi-billion dollar aid package.
-0-
(Anwar Iqbal in Washington and Seva Ulman in Ankara contributed to this article.)
On Thursday, the Turkish parliament passed legislation allowing U.S. military use of Turkish airspace in the war against Iraq. The same resolution authorized the Turkish army to deploy troops in Northern Iraq.
The Turks better stay the hell out of Northern Iraq.
The phony "control of refugees" motive is just a euphemism for rounding up the Kurds and tossing them into concentration camps.
If the Turks move across the border into Iraq, there will be confusion and bloodshed on all sides. The resultant scenes of stacked Kurdish bodies and Mideastern prisoners haggard and gaunt behind barbed wire will provide a wealth of photo ops for the world press who are just aching for these kinds of pics of war horror to smear America and the Bush Administration.
Repeat: the Turks must stay the hell out of Northern Iraq.
It would be "Sabra and Shatila Part 2."
Don't forget Canada and Mexico.
though it is more often served with crow.
dep
Ahhh...so it's quid pro crow.
Is that with or without the beak?
Not going to happen. Turkey is a lost cause and has been ever since this President took office. They will be running for their disgusting lives if they cross into Iraq.
In diplomatic speak, "are not needed" roughly translates to "If we find your troops in northern Iraq, we'll put a boot up your ass!" The Turks have to have noticed the 5 carrier battle groups we have in the neighborhood. Now is NOT the time to play hard ball with us.
Yeah.
I hope we never trade that off.
Charles Krauthammer on Brit Hume's Report tonight claims that the basic reason Turkey nixed American troops on the ground was to keep the Turkey-Iraq border clear of our forces. Turkey wanted to eliminate any U.S. restraining force once the Iraq War got underway.
The Turks, according to Krauthammer, will open up a Second Front on the Kurds. If these other threads are factual, we will soon have a helluva mess on our hands just as the Battle of Baghdad begins.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.