Turkey Says U.S. Main Loser in Iraq Arrests' Incident

reuters.com ^ | Tue July 8, 2003 12:29 PM ET | Gareth Jones

[Destro]

Turkey Says U.S. Main Loser in Iraq Arrests' Incident

Tue July 8, 2003 12:29 PM ET

By Gareth Jones

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey said on Tuesday the United States had been the biggest loser in a weekend incident involving the arrest of Turkish commandos in northern Iraq which has badly strained ties between the two NATO allies.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, speaking as Washington's top soldier in Europe flew into Ankara to mend fences, repeated Turkey's call for an apology for the three-day detention of the 11 special forces officers. The men were released on Sunday.

"It was the United States that lost in the Iraq incident, not Turkey," Gul told parliament, referring to the harm done to Washington's image in this traditionally pro-U.S. Muslim nation.

"This matter must be explained. Those who poison Turkish-U.S. relations must be given the necessary punishment. That is what we want," he said.

The arrests stunned Turkey, provoking calls for retaliation. Newspapers angrily described U.S. troops pulling hoods over the commandos' heads after being invited to drink tea with them.

Anxious to stem the fallout, the two governments agreed to launch a joint probe into the incident. It had been due to open in the northern Iraqi town of Kirkuk on Tuesday, but officials said it would now begin in Ankara on Wednesday.

General James Jones, NATO's top commander, discussed the format of the investigation with the chief of Turkey's General Staff, General Hilmi Ozkok, during a brief visit to Ankara.

"SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES"

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Jones and Ozkok had agreed to raise the level of those taking part in the investigation to lieutenant-general.

"It is of great importance that the work starting tomorrow is rapidly concluded and the incident cleared up," it said.

Diplomatic sources in the Middle East said one of the Turks detained was a colonel whom U.S. or British forces had expelled from Iraq twice previously for "suspicious activities."

They said there was some evidence the soldiers were involved in a plot to kill the interim governor of Kirkuk.

Gul told parliament such claims were "rubbish."

"Turkey would not be involved in an activity causing instability in Iraq," he said.

"It is unthinkable that Turkish soldiers would become involved in illegal activities there," Gul added.

Turkey has had small detachments of troops in northern Iraq since the 1990s pursuing Turkish Kurdish separatists.

Ankara has said in the past it could intervene if U.S.-backed Iraqi Kurds move to set up a new state, fearing a resurgence among its own Kurds of a separatist conflict that has killed more than 30,000 people in the southeast since 1984.

Turkey's military has enjoyed close ties with the United States, but the fallout over Ankara's refusal to allow in tens of thousands of U.S. troops during the Iraq war dented the long-standing partnership.

[Tai_Chung]

The US has warned Iran, Syria, and Turkey to stay out of Iraq. Turkey must have known the risk of sending troops into the area even if they weren't involved in ""suspicious activities."

If Turkey wants to break their relationship with the US over this incedent, I doubt the US will be the "main loser".

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[Bombard]

Turkey needs the USA more than the USA needs Turkey.

[rageaholic]

Turkey, where innocent American tourists get arrested and thrown into jail for decades with no right of habeas corpus, has ZERO right to complain.