USA / Turkey : Military in Agreement, We're Not Sure About The Sales Tax.

Can the USA forgo an offensive from the north, and, therefore Turkey, in a war against Iraq? While the answer to the question is "yes and no" in opinion of experts, in the background Ankara is stubbornly playing poker with Washington over a hefty one billion dollar aid package - money which Turkey would like to have to balance its economic losses in a war in neighboring Iraq . Indeed, Washington is prepared to ease Turkish losses financially as a return service for the stationing and transport of U.S. troops. The views differ widely over the amount of aid, however. Ankara, which sees itself as a “once burnt child” that “avoids fire” after its experience in Gulf War I, wants it put in writing this time. “Everything is hung up because of money”, commented Turkish papers on Thursday.

The Americans are growing slowly impatient. U.S. delegates aren’t keeping it secret that U.S. ships with material and soldiers waiting in the Mediterranean could be diverted to the Persian Gulf if Ankara doesn't make up its mind quickly. "Plan B", calls Turkish media this alternative plan, which the U.S. government is using to force a decision by Ankara. The U.S. news station CNN reported Washington has given Ankara 48 hours.

While The U.S. government waits for an answer from Ankara, the Turkish government views the matter from the flip side. It’s not going to continue that the USA demands constant unselfishness from Turkey, the boss of the Turkish ruling party AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, let its strategic partner know. Ankara is using “parliament “as a joker in the poker game with Washington. As long as the Turkish demands remain unfulfilled, it will be difficult to convince the representatives to agree to the stationing of American soldiers. .

Meanwhile, Turkey isn’t going to stand for being accused of haggling over money. Washington isn't any better in this regard, muses the newspaper "Milliyet". The U.S. army doesn't want to pay the petroleum tax on the gas for its vehicles, nor that GI’s be charged the VAT (sales tax – longjack) on its purchases in Turkey. Furthermore, Turkey is supposed to foot the bill for the ID cards U.S. soldiers use for access to Turkish armed forces facilities. "The ‘superpower' is haggling with Turkey over 10,000 dollars “, the paper wrote, outraged. .

On the other hand, Washington and Ankara have reached an agreement regarding military issues according to Turkish media reports. In the case of war, Turkish soldiers, who occupy Northern Iraq to "preserve national interests"; will not be placed under the authority of the U.S. command. Ankara is primarily pursuing the interest of preventing a Kurdish State from arising in Northern Iraq, and to avoid the important oil fields of Mosul and Kirkuk from coming under kurdish control. .

The first American military trucks and armoured vehicles have been unloaded in the Turkish Mediterranean harbour Iskenderun, in the context of, officially, the modernization of Turkish bases and ports approved by the Turkish parliament recently. In the meantime, "It won’t surprise us if 50,000 Americans land in the next few days, allegedly to modernize the bases", the columnist Fatih Altayli wrote in the widely circulated Turkish paper "Hürriyet"..

Interesting. Thanks for the ping.

There's a convergence of so many different concerns involved in this American-Turkish impasse that it's difficult to say that any given solution will permit a breakthrough. First of all, are the Turks primarily concerned with economic assistance or with geostrategic developments? Of course, both are imperatives for Ankara, but would agreement to either the request for financial grants or that for military operational freedom prove sufficient in itself.

I personally suspect not. On the one hand, the Turks are obsessed with the prevention of an independent Kurdistan (or anything which remotely resembles and independent Kurdistan). On the other hand, the Turks have struggled through a lengthy depression as a consequence of the first Gulf War and a decade of sanctions against their primary trading partner. If the United States is unwilling to guarantee both an economic package and the political integrity of Iraq (no Kurdish autonomy), I see only one solution from a Turkish perspective:

A preemptive military occupation of the Kurdish regions along with securing the administration of the oil production centers around Mosul and Kirkuk.

In any event, today should prove critical; if an acceptable resolution cannot be arrived at, I think the Pentagon will abandon the possibility of a second-front deployment based in Turkey. We shall see!

Yes. Of course, we're the obstinate ones, according to the Turkish press, anyway.

This is kind of a strange story, though. It tells of military agreements on one hand, then descibes quarrels over who buys the ID cards. It is a dpa article, which is reputable, but I'm still not sure if this anything more than idle conjecture. maybe a_Turk will check in.

longjack

Interesting. Thanks for the ping.

You're welcome.

The article seemed interesting to me, also. It touched matter-of-factly on the very important Turkish Military command issue, and the Kurdish independance / oil issue. The article seemed to indicate those issues are settled to Turkey's liking.

The small potatoes items are the kinds of things people shake their heads over, and eases tensions. I wonder if the press is being used for PR here.

longjack

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