Posted on 08/29/2003 7:33:58 PM PDT by a_Turk
ANKARA - Richard Myers, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States wanted to work with Turkey in Iraq, but Turkey will make its own decision on sending peacekeepers to Iraq.
Myers, as well as the Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, attended a reception late Thursday in Washington, hosted by the Turkish Armed Forces' attache.
Turkey is one of the countries that Washington has requested to send troops to Iraq to help stabilization of the war-torn country.
Government officials have signaled that a decision was unlikely to come in September and said Parliament could convene in October to discuss the request.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has recently said Turkey may contribute to the stabilization mission of the United States and Britain with up to 10,000 troops.
Asked whether the United States wanted to work with the Turkish forces in Iraq, Myers came up with a short but strong "yes."
But it will be up to the Turkish authorities to decide, he added.
Turkish Parliament refused in March to allow deployment of some 62,000 U.S. troops on Turkish soil to create a northern front on Iraq, a move that stunned Washington and dealt a strong blow to decades-long alliance between Turkey and the United States, leading some U.S. officials to question the path Turkey has taken in its foreign policy.
Asked to comment on the future of Turkish-U.S. relations, Myers noted that a strategic partnership existed for a long time in ties between Turkey and the United States and added that he was very optimistic on the bright future of ties.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said in his brief remarks that Turkey and the United States shared the same will that Iraq should become successful at the end.
Wolfowitz and Myers stayed at the reception for more than an hour. The U.S. military and the administration were not represented in traditional celebrations held to mark Turkish Day in New York earlier this year, a move which many has interpreted as a sign of deterioration in ties over the Iraq crisis.
Clashes last week between Kurds and Turkmens, an Iraqi community with whom Turkey shares close ethnic ties, in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk last week sparked protests in Turkey.
Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State, described the clashes as the biggest problem in the north and said work was needed to resolve the problem.
Turkey has a good deal of time to show some good faith before that might happen. I do grant the premise, however - it would be much better to permit Turkey to establish influence in Iraq than to have Iran do it under the table.
I think Turkey can show good faith and act in its own interests by keeping close eye on people crossing the border, and by investing in economic links with Iraq. Sending troops to assist the coalition would be ideal as long as they understood they would ultimately be under US military command, but I understand that it may not be politically possible at this time.
Thank you for the answer. I didn't know that.
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